Considering the amount of information we're bombarded by, it's amazing if a song can transcend time.

I was blown away by the control and the range that I was hearing. I'm listening to Pavarotti and thinking, What the hell have I been doing with my voice all these years?

I have to be happy in the here and now because every time you start focusing on your legacy you're really setting yourself up for disappointment.

You know, fans who think we were made for each other and describe it in excruciating detail. You get peculiar things and beautiful things. But either way they're clearly thinking about you, which is nice.

When your car is about to go off a cliff, it’s a weird time to be thinking about gas mileage and drag coefficients; better to take the right control action—look out the window and steer or use the brake until you’re back on course.

Black music has increased my enjoyment of what I do. It has increased my range, my ability to reach into myself and accept myself.

A lot of my success comes from black music. It's something I'm very proud of.