I'm really critical of my posture, it makes a big difference. And I try to suck my belly in. Everyone should do that whether you're on a red carpet or not. Even if you're just going out to dinner with your boyfriend you should try and suck it in.
There are a lot of things that are personally uncomfortable to show, especially me without makeup and completely bloated or crying. But I've realized that it's time for me to show my audience that you don't have to be perfect to achieve your dreams. Because nobody relates to being perfect.
I grew up not really having anything, so the idea that I can take care of my family and my friends now is a really cool bonus.
My mother is very emotional as well, but my dad is more of the guts of the family. He was the main preacher, so he kind of had this little Pentecostal flair, but they are born-again.
Oh, I will always be honest with my music. The records are black boxes for me. Like if you want to know who I am, my views, my perspective, things I love, things I hate, my convictions, my anthems. I've never let people's opinions affect the way I write.
The records are black boxes for me. Like, if you want to know who I am, my views, my perspective, things I love, things I hate, my convictions, my anthems. I've never let people's opinions affect the way I write.
I feel like my secret magic trick that separates me from a lot of my peers is the bravery to be vulnerable and truthful and honest.
I was raised in a super-sheltered atmosphere where we didn't watch anything besides Trinity Broadcasting Network - which was called TBN - or the Fox News channel.
I really like to look like a history book. I can look 1940s, I can look 1970s hippie-chic, or sometimes I'll pull that '80s Brooklyn hip-hop kid with the door-knocker earrings.
People talk about bullying, but you can be your own bully in some ways. You can be the person who is standing in the way of your success, and that was the case for me.
My career is like an artichoke. People might think that the leaves are tasty and buttered up and delicious, and they don't even know that there's something magical hidden at the base of it. There's a whole other side of me that people didn't know existed.
Fame is, I think, just a disgusting by-product of what I do.
I still want to be as approachable and relatable as possible - when I meet fans and they're crying, I'll say, 'Calm down, there's nothing to cry about.'
The first songs I wrote were catchy, but the subject matter was God.
My personality is up and down, sassy and cheeky.
Not to sound overly cheesy but I really appreciate the freedom we have in America - especially as a female.
At my second record label, they told me and other female artists that some of us were going on the chopping block. I was 19... and it was devastating.
I'll continue to try and balance like a circus act. And I will just fight to always tell the truth. Even if it's difficult.
I was never really attached to a clique, and I wanted to be in all the different groups; I was never a one-group kind of person. I think that's still part of my personality today.
I think sometimes when children grow up, their parents grow up. Mine grew up with me. We coexist. I don't try to change them anymore, and I don't think they try to change me. We agree to disagree.
