So when it came to role models, I looked at presidents' wives. Of course, you're talking about a farm girl who stood in the fields, dreaming, years ago, wishing she was that kind of person. But if I had been that kind of person, do you think I could sing with the emotions I do? You sing with those emotions because you've had pain in your heart.

I grew up in the south, poor - on rock, dirt roads.

Sometimes in a restaurant you'll see a lady dressed very nice, she picks up a menu or something... a little fan is always a little bit nice.

I need that on stage. I need a burst of life. That's entertainment for me.

You take everything I've made the last 16 years. I'll take my freedom.

As a child my grandmother used to tell us stories about the dead and the mystical.

I never said Well, I don't have this and I don't have that. I said, I don't have this yet, but I'm going to get it.