It hurts a lot when you cannot really comprehend what a person is saying in a meeting, or you don't even understand what you're reading in your contract.

Just don't let the hype of what people are saying and how much they love you, y'know, just take the compliment and be thankful that people are complimenting you, but don't let it consume you; don't let your circumstances around you and the way people view you make you act a certain way.

I can tell you I didn't feel good when I could not articulate properly. Getting my GED was important and I want other women to feel that.

I remember a time when all my fans were crying and sad and going through hell. Now, we're trying to uplift each other and accept ourselves for who we are, even if nobody else does.

You have to create different things, either through lighting or changing the format of the songs and how you're going to sing them, and even sometimes props.

There are people out there who want to provoke me and bring back the old Mary but I'm not giving them the satisfaction.

Music makes us want to live. You don't know how many times people have told me that they'd been down and depressed and just wanted to die. But then a special song caught their ear and that helped give them renewed strength. That's the power music has.