There are so many people that do things better than I do: dancing, singing like a black girl, singing country. Or if, while they sing, they move their arms in and around their crotch; when I sing, I play the piano and look like a little choirgirl. I'd like to mix it up like that.

My mom. She really encouraged me. That's the trouble with education: Unless you have a really supportive parent, you get left behind.

I have trouble with any kind of focus or concentrating, or getting anything done at all, really.

You have to reflect honestly what's around you in your music. I think a lot of people are just obsessed with their own relationships, so that is an honest reflection of what they see. A lot of people don't go much deeper than that.

I never know how to get off the phone, so I'm terribly admiring of people who can.

In New York City, when they develop something, they never use the old buildings. It's so wasteful. Why not use what's there?

I'm glad I got a record contract, because all of a sudden everything you were doing before that made you a stupid person now makes you a smart person.