The music and the message, to me, is something that is imperative and that's what drives me know.

I had a different upbringing - my dad worked three jobs. You know, it wasn't as easy as they had it.

It didn't feel organic and [Tito] Gobbi was one of the artists that was able to, along with Maria Callas, incorporate not just the sound, but the emotion, the technique of the singing.

I met Quincy [Jones], he had heard my album, someone played the album and he flipped over it.

I had a little bit of a vocal strain at a certain period of time that made me lay off the singing, and while I was lying off the singing, I was pursuing the acting.

Everyone, young and old, was responding to [Frank] Sinatra. So, the first time that I physically remember, it was as a youth. He always seemed to be there, let me put it that way. I can't remember the exact first time, but I can remember the effect his voice had on me.

I just sang, recently, for the Prime Minister of Bangladesh - the 34th most powerful woman in the world, according to Forbes Magazine. The United Nations had an event where her son got an award and they put me on this special program on competitiveness and sustainability, and we're talking about doing a world tour of me and the music.