A Minor is one of my all-time favorite keys to play in. It's a very moody key, and also 'A' is the first letter of my name. It just represents the songs through my eyes.

And I love kick boxing. It's a lot of fun. It gives you a lot of confidence when you can kick somebody in the head.

But when I first fell in love with the piano, I knew it was me. I was dying to play.

I feel like B sides are always better, no matter whose record it is.

I lived with my mom in a really small apartment. My bedroom was like in the living room. That's why I still love to sleep on couches now.

I love my own music.

I love the written word so much, I know it's gonna flow naturally.

I promised myself that I'd never actually admit to listening to 'New Kids on the Block.'

I really like to live my life in a low-key fashion.

I see what happens when one gets very attached to material things. That's just not what my life is.

I would hate to make music and people love me for something that isn't me.

I'd rather not have anything than be a liar.

I'm a very caring person.

I'm not ashamed of what I am and that I have curves and that I'm thick. I like my body.

I'm very happy with my body.

I've always been strong-minded, but I wonder.

If I didn't love it, I would not record it.

It's not until I hear songs that I've done, that I realize how much of an inspiration music from the '60s and '70s has been.

My mom is definitely my rock.

My mother is an actress, and she used to drag me from theater to theater and reading to reading.

Not because I'm trying to be fabulous, but I love those big crazy Jackie O shades.

Simplicity makes me happy.

Sometimes I've gotten photographs back and people have literally shaven off pieces of me, and I tell them to put it back.

Soul music is timeless.

Stevie Wonder's records introduced me to '70s soul when I was 12 or 13.

The last thing I want is to walk into my house after a long day and see all the Grammys and awards. It would make me feel weird.

When I was younger, studying classical music, I really had to put in the time. Three hours a day is not even nice - you have to put in six.

If I want to be alone, some place I can write, I can read, I can pray, I can cry, I can do whatever I want - I go to the bathroom.

I believe Aids is the most important issue we face, because how we treat the poor is a reflection of who we are as a people.

Once people see this 'Unplugged,' I just want them to feel the spontaneity, to feel passionate... I want you to see another side of me, that's free, and feel where my head is, where whatever happens, happens. I want you to feel inspired.

Adam Levine and I remade the Rolling Stones' classic Wild Horses, and it is right up my alley, that whole style. It has a style of its own but still stays very true to the classic arrangement, and I love it.

A lot of times I watch TV and I watch film and there's so many things I'd love to talk about that I feel don't get the opportunity to be shown. Sometimes things become very stereotypical and one-sided, and I feel like it's such a colorful world.

I always want to stay focused on who I am, even as I'm discovering who I am.

I love Bono. I really respect what he has done for Africa and how he has used his fame to do good in the world. I hope I can do half as much in my life.

You've got to love what's yours.

I have my mother who is an Irish-Italian, and my father who is African, so I have the taste buds of an Italian and the spice of an African.

My mom always said, 'Don't date a guy who thinks he's prettier than you.'

I love my legs.

I fell in love with the piano. I knew it was me. I was dying to play.

When I was first learning songs, I'd have a favorite song, and I'd take the chords and twist them around. I'd learn the chords and then play them backward. That was my first experimenting with writing a song.

I really appreciate Frank Ocean's lyrical style, I appreciate the way that he can kind of draw you into this personal space, but it's still lyrical. It's almost poetic, in a way, but it's very personal at the same time.

I've stepped more into my womanhood, I'm a mother now, I'm having a beautiful relationship as a wife and as a friend.

I've stepped more into my business and really... taken control for how I want that to be.

I was tired and I had overworked myself and burnt myself out. So I went to Egypt by myself. When I saw what was built there, it made me understand how powerful we are, that we can create anything. And I felt like I needed to create things that were timeless too.

We're all going to change. Otherwise, it's boring.

When you're talented, you're talented.

I love my heritage!

We are all one. We're not as separate as we oftentimes think.

I have big everything on the bottom, but I love my legs. You've got to love what's yours.

I love my heritage! I have my mother, who is an Irish-Italian, and my father who is African, so I have the taste buds of an Italian and the spice of an African.