When the night falls, my lonely heart calls.

I don't like it when they [media critics] see me as this little person who doesn't know what to do with herself -- like I have no idea what I want, like I'm just a puppet ... That's demeaning to me, because that ain't how it is, and it never was.

I've got some good saints out there - that's right - that pray for me constantly. You've gotta have that! You do.

Being around people like Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick and Roberta Flack, all these greats, I was taught to listen and observe.

Growing around great musicians, you just can't help it. I identified with it immediately. It was something that was so natural to me that when I started singing, it was almost like speaking.

My daughter is my greatest inspiration.

Never let your heart take precedence over reason, otherwise you will have problems.