Black music has increased my enjoyment of what I do. It has increased my range, my ability to reach into myself and accept myself.

To sing along with Stevie Wonder, you had to make your voice do things it was not accustomed to doing.

A lot of my success comes from black music. It's something I'm very proud of.

It's understanding the intention of a composer that allows a producer and an arranger to make those moments speak.

No matter how great we get with digital formats of instrumentation, nothing really quite duplicates the real thing.

One song will launch you, but you don't want to be a one-song artist.

Sinatra, here's a guy who plays a tough guy in all his movies, but was allowed to be vulnerable when he stepped up to the microphone.

Someone told me there was a publisher that could find a good home for my songs, but I didn't want to give up my pursuit of a career in the business as an artist.

There are certain people who have become better artists, but they're brilliant at marketing. I think someone who's been phenomenal like that is Madonna.

I'm proud of my mentors. Ray Charles is the strongest influence on me as a singer.

When I started studying for the arias it was like going into training for a heavyweight title fight.

When you have great songs that are going to live longer than the composers, everything you can do to bring those different elements and nuances out, serve the song.

Whoever best serves the song is going to be served by the song.

With the internet, things are so much more immediate. People taste-test things to see if they want to buy the CD.

You can't make everybody love what you do, but you can know how great you feel doing it.