I'm not the coolest person in the world. I'm not the sexiest Diva or the strongest Diva. I know who I am. I'm not the most popular person, and I'm kind of dorky, and I'm someone you can see at your school or as your neighbor, and I think people like that.
I tend to hide behind my status of being a diva; it's easy for me to embrace that part of me and seek confidence by being a bit outrageous at times.
After 'Student Of The Year,' when I played that baby-doll, diva character, I knew I would be stereotyped, and I wanted to break that image of me. I loved that role, but I don't want to be attached to one particular genre, so 'Highway' was a blessing in disguise.
I went through a string of A&R men who all thought I should be doing something different. One thought I should be a dance diva; another thought I should do Rock n' Roll; and one thought I shouldn't even be singing at all!
I'm not a diva - not yet, anyway.
I was in the music industry as Amanda Diva for 10 years but I realized that I had bigger work to do and needed to get busy doing that work. I really do believe that I'm here for a bigger purpose, and I want to be a role model and speak for the black community and black women specifically. Humor was the way it felt most organic and effective for me.
I think the era of the diva actress is coming to an end.
I'd love to be a diva. But I'd then have to send so many apology notes for my abhorrent behaviour.
I hope we can see African American characters as the diva, as the villain, and also as the praying mother. We are all of those things. We tended to only be the best friend or the neighbor in everybody's sitcom.
I think diva is an inevitable outcome of the industry, and I don't think it reflects on the person at all. You take a normal human being, and basically, for 24 hours, seven days a week, apart from sleeping, you introduce them to places and things almost every minute that are brand new.
