My dad would always play Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Anita Baker, so I fell in love with them. I would try to make my voice sound like theirs.
Mariah and Whitney Houston were my goddesses growing up.
We have jokingly said if you've got good hair, can sing and know three chords, you can lead worship at First Baptist Houston or wherever. But that's kind of scary, putting somebody on stage just because they have a good voice. Do they know theologically and spiritually what they're saying and why they're doing it?
Where I'm staying, near Lafayette Street, Bowery, and Houston, you get different people with different spirits, and that's what I like.
I've never known more Jesus-serving, Jesus-loving, people-loving, people-serving folks on earth than right here in my hometown of Houston, Texas.
I don't know how to explain it. A lot of Christians actually like other Christians in Houston. A lot of Christians even like non-Christians in Houston. And, on frequent occasions, a fair amount of non-Christians like us.
Rap got me out of the hood. Rap got me out of Houston and helped me to see the world.
I was in a theater company in Houston, Theatre Under the Stars, and I was involved in about 10 of their productions.
I started in musical theater as a little girl in Houston.
It's easy to forget, given her scandal-tinged life and tragic death, how incredibly talented Whitney Houston was. She holds the world record as the most-awarded female act of all time, with over 415 major recognitions during her career. She is the only artist to chart seven consecutive number one songs.
