“I definitely feel more complete than before. There’s a void you have when you don’t feel you’ve found the other part of who you are, so I’m in a different place now and that’s nice to experience.”

This is for all of you out there tonight, reaching for a dream – don’t ever give up! Never ever listen to anyone, when they try to discourage you, because they do that, believe me!

I know I can be diva-ish sometimes, but I have to be in control. The nature of my life, the nature of what I do, is divadom, it really is.

It’s not easy that everything you do, everybody has to come in and critique it and give their opinion. Sometimes it does help me and sometimes it hurts me as a person. That’s life. I have feelings.

It’s a long road when you face the world alone, when no one reaches out a hand for you to hold. You can find love if you search within your soul, and the emptiness you felt will disappear.

I’m proud of what I am and who I am, and I’m just going to be myself.

I look around and see the things I have, and I remember not having them. That is one thing that keeps me grounded. I’m definitely the same person I was. I never lose me, I never lose the real person.

I’m far from perfect. I’m still learning. I overworked myself, and I paid the price. I consider the breakdown a breakthrough. I needed to hit rock bottom. I needed to understand the cost of pushing so hard; fighting so hard against the system.

One day I promised God that if he would give me my voice back I would never smoke again. I got three octaves back after quitting.

Once I was a prisoner lost inside myself with the world surrounding me, wandering through the misery, but now I am free. Free to love, free to laugh, free to soar, free to shine, free to give.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully its not a freight train!

I don’t think anyone knows as much about what’s right for me as I do.

True diva could not live without smart remark every now and then, a good sip of water.

If you look inside yourself, and you believe, you can be your own hero.

Lord knows dreams are hard to follow, but don’t let anyone tear them away.

If you believe within your soul, just hold on tight and don’t let go! You can make it, make it happen.

Basically, I started singing when I started talking. Music has just been my saving grace my whole life.

Faith is different from proof; the latter is human, the former is a Gift from God.

When you do 10 interviews in one day, and 10 different sources want to talk to you, that means you’re doing good. I think about that every day.

Nice guys may appear to finish last, but usually they are running a different race.

Wherever people feel safe – they will be indifferent.

Even though Prince wasn’t rapping and it was a whole different era, it shows how artists expressed themselves without saying too much, and that was the real beauty of the art.

I can make any type of music, so I wouldn’t want to describe myself as having one type of sound. I think music is about keeping it diverse.

I would do the baby voice and it’s kind of like this character I made up. But in real life, I’m completely different. I’m very smart. I think a lot of people will assume I’m an airhead.

You cannot keep doing the same thing, the same way, and keep expecting something different to happen.