I wanted to be a teacher. I love children, so I wanted to deal with children. Then I wanted to be a veterinarian. But by the age of ten or eleven, when I opened my mouth and said, 'Oh, God, what's this?' I kind of knew teaching and being a veterinarian were gonna have to wait.

No, I'm not a drug addict, and neither is my husband. If that were so, you'd get a lot less work out of me. It would show in the performances and in the work.

My mother was the first singer I had contact with. She sang constantly to us around the house, in church.

There can be miracles when you believe.

When I heard Aretha, I could feel her emotional delivery so clearly. It came from down deep within. That's what I wanted to do.

My mother sang with me in her stomach; I sang with Bobbi Kris in my stomach. I believe the child starts to develop within, and whatever you read, whatever you think, whatever you do affects the child.

I would stay in my room for days, for days at times, just trying to get it together, to know what my next phase was going to be.