I always tell the story of 'Irreplaceable.' I initially wrote 'Irreplaceable' with myself in mind, with plans of it being my record. I love that record; however, what I realised about that record was that though given the circumstances of that situation - men and women are not that different - when you sing about it, it changes things, you know?

For the first few years of my life my mom used to cut my hair so there were a lot of bowl-cut hair styles.

I feel like everything is inspired by something else. There is no 100 percent original thought.

I know the music industry is based on a lot of smoke and mirrors in a lot of cases, such as making things look like one thing versus what it actually is. I feel like I've been here long enough that I've surpassed the need for any of that.

My first song was 'So Sick,' which was my first number one as an artist, and I turned the mic around to the crowd, and they sang the whole song. Every lyric. That was my first experience with the power of music.

I write because I actually enjoy writing. It's a plus and a fringe benefit that, you know, I can actually provide for my family and, you know, a few people know my name - that's great.

R&B is my home. It's who I am. It's who I've been. It's the first genre I fell in love with. It's the reason why I've been able to do other genres of music.

I'm never going to complain about doing my job. I love what I do!

I want to connect with my fans the way Mary J. Blige's fans connect with her.

A Las Vegas show is all-round entertainment. Which means there's some singing, some dancing, some magic, some drama - everything is rolled into that one performance.

Guilty pleasure implies that it's something that I feel guilty for watching... people tell me I should feel guilty for watching because I'm too old to watch it, but I don't give a damn: I love everything on Cartoon Network from 'Adventure Time' to 'The Adventures of Gumball', 'Teen Titans'... all those shows that are for my kids, I like those!

I'm a fan of FKA Twigs, The Weeknd. I love that kind of ambient R&B. I feel like it's just another soldier in the war to blur the lines and make things to where it's good music and bad music.

People are bringing a lot more of that funk element into their music, you know, with Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson - that's one that you never thought you would hear something like that on the radio again 'cause it just sounds so much like the Back Bay and what they were doing with music back then.

Who directed the video 'No More Drama' for Mary J. Blige. I was actually kickin' with J. Lo talking about some music that we're gonna put together, and we were talking about great directors. She said she really, really liked that video and was wondering who directed it, so yeah, I looked it up!

A man will talk all day about the woman he wants, but should he come across that woman, he'll do something stupid like cheat on her with the kind of woman he was trying to get away from in the first place. It's not a lot of second chances granted in the realm of that.

For me to be here at album number six, it's kind of a way to say, 'Thank you for allowing me to be here... to still be around.'

When you're dressing on a budget, simplicity is key.

Back in the day, Motown was on the pulse of young America. It wasn't about just dope contemporary. It was pop, it was R&B, it was all of that.

'Battle: Los Angeles' - I've got to say this was easily one of the most physically trying things that I've ever done in my life because I play a Marine in the film, and they had us training with real live Marines for, like, three weeks. It gave me a whole new respect for just the armed forces, period.

I recall my mum tried to teach me how to fry chicken once, and I almost burned down half the kitchen... I don't think I have the patience for cooking.

Early inspirations included Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie... Those were the people I actually wound up studying just to hone my craft.

I'm trying to escape the shackles of a pen and a pad. I've sat in sessions with Jay-Z where he doesn't write anything down. He'll come up with the most incredible triple entendre, all in his head - it's amazing.

I like to learn through doing. Let me make a mistake, and then critique me on what I did so that I learn that way.

You kinda don't know what's going to make a good song. You've got to shoot around in the dark for a little while.