I found a belief system that worked for me, and I said, you know what, 'I actually do want to give being with men another chance.'
When people use their hurt and make a triumph in their song, that helps other people.
I love 'Battles,' and I love what it's doing for people.
There was a girl who messaged me and said she was on the verge of taking her life, then 'Battles' came on just in the nick of time.
Although all of us may not agree with that particular lifestyle for religious reasons, whatever the reason is, you still treat each other with respect.
I am one of the people who don't really agree with that lifestyle. I wasn't brought up that way; it wasn't how I was raised, but I do have a lot of friends and a lot of people that I love dearly who are gay and homosexual, and they're such sweet, nice people.
I knew being a musician was my calling when I was 12 or 13. I started singing when I was six but didn't actually see myself being a singer when I was 12 or 13.
When I saw how people would react and be touched by my voice, this was the moment I thought maybe there's something more to this than just singing around the house.
When I first start writing a song, I usually write the title first, then the song, and I'll sing the song in my head and think of a visual of the song. If I can't think of a visual behind the song, I'll throw the song away.
I would like for people to hear my music and hear/realize that people and experiences are deeper than what's at face value. Hopefully, with the span of my career, I can try to convey that in more ways than one.
I want to bring that old soul back, the meaningful lyrics and all of that. And I can't think of a better way to do that than through Motown.
I've also gotten messages from men and women who are not the most attractive, in their minds, or are self-conscious about their weight. They're thanking me for doing songs like 'Proud Mary' and shaking a tailfeather, because they say I seem real comfortable in my skin and it made them want to be comfortable in theirs.
Today, not to take away from any of the present artists, but music has gotten a little shallow, in my opinion. Everybody's talking about the same thing: sex, money, clothes, cheating... I want to open up not necessarily better conversations, but, in my opinion, more important ones, and touch on things that are actually going on.
I can't wait to meet Jennifer Hudson, Tamyra Gray, George Huff, Ruben Studdard, and I love me some Clay Aiken.
Now I'm going to show a side of me I haven't shown before. I'm going to be fierce.
My parents got to see all my hard work pay off.
My mom hates being on camera. My dad loves it - he eats it up!
