When you tell your truth, you are coming from a real place, so you are automatically a leader.

You demand respect and you'll get it. First of all, you give respect.

You either learn from your experiences or go back and do the same thing, and I learned from my experiences.

From being a little girl in the projects, going through all of the mess that I was going through, to ending up at the Inauguration for the first African-American president, I'm speechless right now because I never thought I'd - I never ever - I couldn't even see that far. Even when I ended up in the music business I couldn't see that.

You can look at my palm and see the storm coming. Read the book of my life and see I've overcome it.

I have to have lemon and honey. I have to have apple cider vinegar, Braggs. And I have to have either Red Vines or Twizzlers. These things, you know, are the things that help my vocal performance.

I still get nervous about singing. I drink tea with honey and lemon before every concert. And I need to have scented candles in all of my hotel rooms.