Always stay true to yourselves.
I've been doing African dance all my life.
I cried when I found out I was a finalist, I kind of went limp when they called my name. I felt like my spirit jumped out of my body, and I was just flesh - it was just amazing.
No matter what as an artist that's always what you want to do, you want to connect to the audience, you want to be able to send whatever message it is that you're singing about, you want to be able to convey that - and not make them feel - you want them to feel it, you want them to feel what you feel.
It's funny because a lot of people that know me as a dancer, don't know that I'm a singer, and a lot of people that know I can sing don't know I can dance. And so, I feel like at some point I have to show them both and really be able to display it and showcase it, and put that out there.
It's believing you can push through the exhaustion just to be able to sing after you do a cartwheel or a split.
If my life was a song the title would be 'Naima'.
I wouldn't compare myself to any past Idol contestant, because I don't feel like I am like any of them. Maybe stories are cool but my story is different from most people's story. I don't like to compare myself to other people, I like to just be me.
I wouldn't mind doing Broadway, but I am definitely trying to get a album out there first.
I couldn't imagine having to write a paper and have to think about what song I am going to sing.
I prefer to sing in the shower because the acoustics make you sound great, baby.
The live setting is always better for me. I usually thrive at live. I feel like having a band behind me and being able to interact with the crowd helps boost my energy up.
