I am here and you will know that I am the best and will hear me.

The ultimate of being successful is the luxury of giving yourself the time to do what you want to do.

Art is the only thing you cannot punch a button for. You must do it the old-fashioned way. Stay up and really burn the midnight oil. There are no compromises.

I am here and you will know that I am the best and will hear me. The color of my skin or the kink of my hair or the spread of my mouth has nothing to do with what you are listening to.

Accomplishments have no color.

Who I am is the best I can be.

I have never given all of myself, even vocally, to anyone. I was taught to sing on your interest, not your capital.

Be black, shine, aim high.

If you're not feeling good about you, what you're wearing outside doesn't mean a thing.

You should always know when you're shifting gears in life. You should leave your era - it should never leave you.

For a long time the only time I felt beautiful-in the sense of being complete as a woman, as a human being, and even female-was when I was singing.

Rational conduct on the basis of the idea of calling, was born... from the spirit of Christian asceticism.

Beyond all judgments of good and bad ...is perfection - Vivian Amis

«Regrets»... I regret how timid and meek I was back then... always telling myself that I couldn't do anything, never even daring to try. That's definitely something I regret. " (p.330)

It's precisely in those moments when I don't know what to do, boredom drives one to try a host of possibilities to either get somewhere or not get anywhere.

Be a practical dreamer backed by action.

I feel guilty for being a member of the human race.

Americans are genuinely and profoundly anti-intellectual. They are especially so in their pleasure-seeking, which is epically banal.

The moment I accept that there's an artistic, redeeming quality in puns, I have a horrible feeling I'll get hooked.

I wouldn't say I was sexy! But I guess that's fine if that's what they say. I like that in concert. That's neat.

I think it's sad, and weird, and strange that [race in casting] is still a thing. It's 2013. Somebody else needs to get their act together.