I`m the lady next door when I`m not on stage.

I`m a big woman. I need big hair.

I think the hardest thing is losing weight. That`s the hardest thing more than anything else.

Don`t say Aretha is making a comeback, because I`ve never been away!

I always felt rock and roll was very, very wholesome music.

I sing to the realists; people who accept it like it is.

Being a singer is a natural gift. It means I`m using to the highest degree possible the gift that God gave me to use. I`m happy with that.

My faith always has been and always will be important to me.

If a song`s about something I`ve experienced or that could`ve happened to me it`s good. But if it`s alien to me, I couldn`t lend anything to it. Because that`s what soul is all about.