Believe me, I love commerce as much as the rest of the readers of 'Businessweek.' But in art, you have to be true to yourself and your musical vision. People have known me well for a long time, so if I was chasing a trend and doing something that wasn't authentic to who I am, they would know it in just a few seconds.

Soul is a feeling, not a color.

I just like people. I'll hold a conversation at a gas station. It's not about the fame and the fortune, I just like people.

Exactly when people are in turmoil is the time that the entertainment business has always been at its best. Because people don't want to be reminded every day that they are under siege, or that they're not having a great time of life.

Lionel Richie, love song, OK, thank you very much, good-bye. And all of a sudden I realized that, in my career, what has made my career has always been the surprises.

People have allowed me into their homes, through my words and my music.

By growing up in Alabama, I had a melting pot of the whole pie: R&B, gospel, country.