Just because you're a star on television doesn't mean that you can be a music phenomenon or an artist. You have to have the material to back it, and ….

Some of the best songs that artists perform year after year are ones they hated..

I don't think people really understood what I did. And you know, in my book, 'A Helluva High Note' deals with my back story, that I was a songwriter,….

I wanted a child, and there was no way I could get pregnant under the stress of 18-hour work days and live TV. When you're somebody who's used to mak….

Yeah... I was a singer as a kid. I had a lot of stage fright, and what's happened with "Idol," it has got me past so much of that..

There's a lot of craft that goes into achieving a hit song - at the beginning of your career, you're usually more inspiration than craft, and you get….

I can make the argument that people who don't have the biggest ranges but have very unique voices, even if they may be pitchy at times... with the ri….

I don't go to record stores to look at my albums, but it's always a thrill to see them..

I'm a native New Yorker, so I'm edgier; I kind of tell it like it is..

I think Bruno Mars is a great example of a great voice and classic songwriting with a twist that makes it contemporary. I think he's done a great job….

Good new songs are the backbone of the music industry. There isn't an artist out there who could survive without hit songs..

The thing that's tricky is sometimes the best voices - just because someone hits the big notes and sounds amazing - it doesn't necessarily mean they ….

A great song should make you stop everything that you're doing. You should be so into it that you just can't imagine doing anything else for that mom….

I was a pop-music junkie. My parents were into Frank Sinatra and Doris Day. They weren't too excited when I had Aretha or the Stones pumping..

I've never been fired in my life..

I've never in my life bought a big piece of jewelry - like, 'I'm gonna get myself a big piece of jewelry!' Songwriters' lives are unstable and up and….

When I look at myself, I'd like not to have hair on the top of the ceiling..

You need to understand that a skilled professional songwriter can accelerate your success as an already talented musician. These people are writing e….

Listen to the Bee Gees and you can learn to be a great writer..

Songwriters tell the truth..

I looked a little pasty. But hey, at least I didn't wet myself!.