“And it's not a finger-pointing issue to me; I take as much responsibility as I can. It was more just me not really knowing what I wanted to do and how to get it done.”

“Directly after the show people might have responded better to it, but who really knows. It did what it did and while it seems like a failure to most but it was a success for me and has given me so many opportunities.”

“Either positive or negative comments are good because it shows I am still relevant.”

“Even though other people wrote my songs I put my stamp on them. I have a connection, but there is no truer connection than an artists and their own song.”

“For the second album I look forward to doing a lot of serious collaboration and taking the experiences I've had over this last year, good and bad, and working it into the album.”

“I am very conscious of what I say and do when I go out because the media is quick to make that a story.”

“I would love to be like a Brian McKnight. Shoot, I'd love to be Brian McKnight.”

“I'm not unknown, yet I'm not super famous where I can't go anywhere.”

“I'm very new to the industry. I'm not on the Billboard 200 and that is alarming to me. But when I sat down with my management they said it's not a big deal and that it happens all the time.”

“I've been working on something, just some jazz, relaxed stuff. It will be standard, just piano and voice. It started out as a fun project for me though, I'm still not sure about releasing it.”

“Jazz is not the format where I want to stay, but it really is a starting point for me.”

“Success is like a high-rise building I'm on the first floor. There are a lot of people in the basement or the parking lot but I was lucky enough to have made it to the first floor and I'm looking to make it to the penthouse.”

“The film I think was a good film for what it was designed for. It was for kids. Unfortunately the critics slashed it before it even started but that is just the way the cookie crumbles.”

“The one thing I seek above all else is understanding. Sometimes I'm so frustrated and I don't get it. But I'm lucky to have a good management team and people around me who explain things and answer my questions.”

“There are a million things I can think of that I would I want to do. Reporting like you, would be one. A talk show host maybe, also. I want to do a lot.”

“There is a fine line between assertiveness and being relaxed.”

“They look at what's more important, like subjects to help with the SAT's, etc. They miss that music is vital. It offers a break from a stressful day of science and math and it's different.”

“When you have a very hot single there is no reason why it can't drive album sales. People fall off and come back on. I'm looking forward to coming back on with a vengeance.”

“With Whitney she has such a unique sound and powerful instrument that she made those songs her own. She might as well have written them because she brought such a power and passion to them that were very unique. She has a great gift.”