When you hold on to anger and unforgiveness, you can't move forward.

I don't know what kind of God the rest of y'all are serving, but the God I serve says, 'Mary, you need to be the hottest thing this year, and I'm gonna make sure you're doing that.'

'My Life' is not an autobiography. It's just music.

Working in the studio is a more personal experience whereas on stage in front of a billion people, its more exciting performing live.

I don't listen to people's opinions. I have people around me who I can trust, but most of all I listen to myself.

When someone comes up to me and says, 'Mary, you helped save my marriage', or, 'Mary, you helped me get out of this abusive relationship', I'm in it, really in their lives. And I'm so passionate about my feelings, but also about showing people the way through theirs.

Nowadays, with the state of the music business, for any artist, whether you're up-and-coming or you've been in it for awhile, you have to explore different revenues and different ways of expressing yourself.