I'm a hypochondriac. Yesterday it was brain damage from the vodka the night before. Today, heart attack - my arm and chest started hurting at the same time.
I live with the things that I love: art, furniture, and objects that I have collected throughout my travels.
I work because I think that I wouldn't feel good about myself unless I was contributing.
I think having kids just makes you want to do things to help people. You have children and you see how fragile and innocent and helpless they are when they first start out. If they are going to be a victim of whatever they are surrounded by, I just do everything I can to try to make whatever change I can.
When I first started performing, some people were there just out of curiosity. I think that happens less often then you'd think, but when it is happening it's very obvious and I can tell what's going on. I had some of that in the beginning, but I think that ultimately I got a pretty strong fan base based on just my personality alone, and my honesty, my music. So it wasn't based on anything else, and I did notice if someone else came looking for something else, they'd probably leave, or complain it was too loud or something.
Anybody in the spotlight can get lost in that if they are not careful.
A couple of months ago I hauled my white ass on stage alongside Chaka Khan and Stevie Wonder for Divas Las Vegas, singing in front of a celebrity audience. If I can hold my own there, I can hold my own at Top of the Pops, trust me.
I don't think I realized what was going to be the hardest part of becaming an artist until I dove off the diving board ... first I had to overcome a pre-speculated idea of me. I had to sort of burst through that and introduce myself, and that was the first hurdle, and then now sing in front of everybody, and then that was the second one, and I'm the offspring of - you know, who I'm the offspring of - I had a few hurdles to get through, no doubt about it. But the scales never tipped in the other direction too much.
I'm not gonna marry somebody for any reason other than the fact that I've fallen in love with them. Period! Period! And they can eat it, if they wanna think any differently!!
I don't do yoga. I bite the hella outta my nails. I smoke, I eat all the wrong food, I don't exercise.
I was always writing music anyway. I just sort of fell into it. Writing for me is a therapeutic process.
I sit with the intention to write a record.
I take a situation, analyse it, break it down, put it in the form I want it to be in, and then I toss it away. Let somebody else go deal with it.
It's hard for me to be happy because I'm always worried about something going awry or what could happen to screw it up. It's hard for me to sit and look around, going, 'Ah, I'm really happy.' I'm not that kind of person.
I like helping children. I have a big thing with children. You can correspond with the child, send something to them as a gift. You know it's actually getting there and you are doing something to help.
You are always learning; there is a lot of grey; don't take things for granted.
I think I've failed every test I've ever taken. If there was a failure I would have been it.
I think people think I'm harder and more arrogant and cocky than I am - because I know how to put on a front, but it's nothing like who I am inside.
Mostly singing was cathartic, writing was cathartic, therapeutic. I don't think I had a goal, particularly, to sing or put it out there for anybody.
I wanted to come through with my own voice and, hopefully, have it affect people. I want people to know that I'm not an Elvis impersonator.
I have a lot of memories, but I don't go into capitalizing on that. Something's got to be my own. I'm not doing the record to sit here and broadcast my memories of my father.
I don't ascribe to any particular style or period.
I'm not doing this to be a pop star. I've had plenty of money and attention. I'm doing it for credibility.
I have a tendency to kick it up. I like to rattle the cage.
On my US tour maybe three out of 30 shows there was an Elvis impersonator in the crowd but that's it. I usually get younger fans, and those that come that are of an older generation end up walking out because it's too loud
