I first got interested in music as a toddler by my childhood babysitter, Rosetta Atkins. She taught me how to sing by imitating the voices on the gospel radio station she listened to - both men and women's voices.

The golden rule would be to write a great, authentic song that is well produced and it will find its home. The audience can feel whether or not the artist is being genuine in their music. It's up to the artist to have the courage to reveal their truth through their songs.

I have to say one of the lessons I learned is to always be prepared.

We're living in a time of so much clutter that has allowed everyone to express themselves at any moment. We have access into people's lives like never before. It's a lot to take in and it's easy to get overwhelmed and swallowed up in it.

Pressure is high and jobs are at stake. There is nothing wrong with having commercial music to pitch for those situations, as well as for ad campaigns.

No matter what you're going through, there is no temporary feeling or circumstance that can take away the core of who you are.

In Europe, radio stations are owned by a variety of different entities, so there is less uniformity on radio programming and more opportunity for artists to get radio play and break overseas.