I was an actor when I was a teenager and it could have been the direction that I headed in. But music and my relationship with music is quite deep, and it really is the nucleus of my creativity. So I gave up acting so I could pursue music fully, and I never thought about really going back. And then [director] Lee Daniels met me and wanted to work with me, and that's how it started.

I wouldn't play together with someone who likes to control everything like me.

The image that the public gets is whatever they perceive it to be. Everybody has an opinion, everybody has their own vision, so I don't know what my public image is. I have no idea.

I'm sure great scripts are hard to find, but I'm definitely open, and waiting to see what comes my way.

When I hear music, it's visual; I see things.

God said, Here. Have it. Enjoy it. I'm gonna be miserable?

I fell in love with Paris the first time I went.