I'm proud of my mentors. Ray Charles is the strongest influence on me as a singer

To sing along with Stevie Wonder, you had to make your voice do things it was not accustomed to doing

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?

With the internet, things are so much more immediate. People taste-test things to see if they want to buy the CD

The whole industry evolves around a great song

The more complicated the movie, the more complex the budget, the more lonely it gets. There's a point where ... who do you go to, other than prayer and friends?

You're presuming too much by using the word legacy - presuming that someone is going to care.