Social media has been an incredible tool to connect to my fan base, and collaborate with people around the world. Some of my biggest breaks have come through people hearing my music on the Internet and then contacting me through social media.

Always have clear lines of communication and be open to trying new ideas. Being open to new ideas is crucial to growing as an artist. If you always have the same creative habits, how will you ever excel to the next level? The answer is, you won't. Taking those creative risks reaps the most incredible rewards.

Eventually as a teenager, I was pulled up on stage by James Brown's saxophone player, Maceo Parker, during one of his concerts and scatted on his stage for 20 minutes. After I was done, Maceo's bass player got down on one knee as if he were proposing, took a string off of his bass guitar and coiled it up around my ring finger. He hushed the crowd and said into the microphone, "Wendy, from this day forward you are married to music. You have a gift from God. You must devote your life to using this gift or else you will deprive the world of something so special." I got the chills.

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.

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

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.

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.