I was looking for something to make me happy, and once I realised what I actually had, then I found success.

I absolutely love Nicole Scherzinger. She's worked really hard to get to where she is and really knows her stuff.

Constantly having to think about money is not nice. People used to say, 'Being rich doesn't make you happy'. And I'd think, 'I've got no electricity, nothing - tell that to my empty fridge'.

I like listening to old soul music. I like Sam Cooke. When I was growing up, the first things I was listening to was Whitney Houston and Cher. They were really big inspirations for me.

I can't watch my first audition because it makes me too upset. I just think it is really sad. I look at myself and don't recognize myself. I do think fame and fortune changes people.

People think that because of my nature and the tone of my voice that I'm stupid, and that's hard.

I knew I could sing. That one thing I did believe in was that I could sing, but then constantly getting rejected, it started to get me down. But my voice was always there and my dream and my ambition was always there when I went through bad times.