I was a nerd academically. But I was also an athlete and a musician. I never wanted to be shut out of any situation. I think it was that more than an….

I just do what I do and hope it's accepted by the public at large. It's different from when Marvin Gaye and Stevie revolutionized what music was 25 y….

He knows I rip him off every day. He's the godfather for me. Nobody can say they aren't influenced by what Stevie Wonder has done..

I do not wear my emotions on my sleeve; I write about them..

Being a musician, you want to be able to do the hardest stuff there is. People would think it's classical, but in classical, it's all on the page and….

It doesn't matter the genre or type of art, if it's authentic there's an apparent beauty to it and as an artist, that's very inspiring..

I listen to all kinds of songs. There's something to be learned from every type of music and from the one making it, whether it's pop or jazz or hip-….

Jazz is all about improvisation and it's about the moment in time, doing it this way now, and you'll never do it this way twice. I've studied the mas….

It's just exciting to be part of something that is brand-new..

I've worked with jazz artists, country artists, classical artists, pop artists. I never wanted there to be categories, because when I was a kid there….

You'd hear Willie Nelson, then Earth, Wind & Fire, then Chicago, then Billy Joel on the same radio station. Nowadays, everything is compartmentalized..

I'm not thinking about what needs to be on the radio. I'm not thinking about anything other than - I'm just going to let this music come out of me an….

I was probably six years old when I first sang before an audience..

Lionel Richie told me forget about the critics. But if you come back with hit after hit, you don't have to worry about anything..

I think I've tried to stay true to my music since the beginning. It's kind of hard because of the access and technology but I just do what I do..

The guy comes up to the plate, there's always a chance where he can get a grand slam and everybody forgets about all the times he missed..

Every song that I've done is me in one way or another..

My fans are the best in the world! They've grown up with me and stayed with me through this entire journey..

As I've gotten older, now I've really got to back that up with record sales. Anytime showed me that I could still have some of those elements I wante….

I started as a writer and when I sent my demos out everyone wanted to know who was singing and if that person wanted a record deal..

I'm not like a legend that - so I'm sort of in the middle in this sort of gray area where, you know, I'm creating music and I'm not saying there isn'….