"A lot of pop people out there are cool, but they overdo it."

"The coolest thing I've gotten to do in the past few years is guest star on Sesame Street."

"I don't try to sound like anyone but me anymore. If something is out of my element, I try to avoid it."

"I've always loved to read. But sometimes I go for a year without reading, because I forget to."

"In college I had a weekend gig at a restaurant, a solo thing that was the best practice I could have ever had. That's where I learned to coordinate my singing and my piano playing."

"God bless Ray Charles. It was such an honor to meet him and sing with him and actually just to watch him sing from just two feet away."