I seemed so different from other kids; I grew up in church and felt a connection with God, and a lot of kids my age really didn't understand that.
I wanted people to see me, to change their minds about me.
I want to still be singing at 70 years old. I want to be open to the dreams I haven't even dreamed up.
I think my purpose was just to get out and sing. I love to sing. I wasn't even in it for the - you know, the prize. I was, like, 'Hey, man, I'm going to sing.'
I've been singing in church since I was little; my grandmother is a pastor.
I want real love.
When I was a child, I used to dream about being onstage in front of thousands of people, and it happened. It's not about the fame; it's about people being touched.
I didn't want to be the type of mother where my child came to me, and I can't even help her with her homework.
I stopped going to church for awhile.
I wanted to be like some of the other young ladies that were in my school. I used to get picked on in church. Nobody wants to hang out with me. I want to hang out with the cool girls, and I started to take the wrong turn and do things I knew wasn't right.
I never started out as an R&B singer. I grew up on all types of music - jazz, rock, pop, country, folk - and I wanted to bring that to my stage.
I was very insecure growing up, and even though I'm not that girl anymore, I think that the passion, that not feeling pretty and being insecure, is where my soul came from. And from early childhood, I let it free onstage.
I wanted people to know that I've been through the rain. I've been broken into pieces; I had a daughter at such a young age. There were times people would say, 'That's it for her.' But that didn't happen.
People root for me in such a way that when they come to a show, the experience of not knowing what's about to happen is a great thing.
A lot of times, we get into relationships, and we go in, and we take our old ways. If we take that old baggage into something new, it will never work.
My main thing is family first. This industry can get you so caught up that you're so busy chasing, wanting to be number one and wanting to be the richest that you lose sight of what life really is about.
I'm a true country Southern girl that has always been built around family, cookouts and gatherings and being together on the holidays, singing together and laughing together. So whenever God opened doors for me to be able to travel the world and sing and do all the great things that I've done, I didn't want to lose that part so family first for me.
I always tell people, 'Stop coming to me and telling what people are saying about me.' I don't care anymore. I always get the people that come to me and say, 'Girl, I just want to tell you... ' and I'm like, 'Nope.'
You can't go into something good until you let go of all the bad stuff because you'll find yourself steady bringing up all the old in a new situation.
True story - I had index cards; I would write things on them and post them on the mirror in the bathroom. And I would speak it. Because you have to speak life. You have to speak what you want. You have to watch what you say because it's power in your tongue.
