We put up these facades, of maybe strength of who we are, but inside there’s this incredibly broken person.

Some of the songs have a tinge more pop this time. I wanted to go into different worlds.

Whitney Houston, one of my biggest inspirations, also had that same mindset because her songs vary from R&B, hip hop, pop, and gospel.

My father was a pastor, my mother was the quintessential pastor’s wife.

The beauty of Broadway is that if I’m 60 or 70 years old, if they’ll accept me back, I can go back. So I think for right now I’m going to focus on the music–it’s the new baby–and see how it’s going to work out, and then maybe in a few years maybe I’ll go back.

I grew up on the island, Trinidad to be exact, and I never thought it would be possible. These sort of things happen once in a lifetime. I just know God is bigger than me and everything I do is to serve and please Him.

My husband is very supportive and is there for the kids, especially when I’m in projects such as The Color Purple.

I just have to give credit when it’s due because there are some things that took place in my life that I couldn’t explain at all.

I like to think about the quality, content, and concept for my music because I think these are the most important things and it just molds everything together.

When I was growing up, I grew up in church–my father was a pastor–so when I was growing up in Trinidad, I’d close all the windows in the church and go in the church every day after school and get a little microphone and pretend all these people were in the pews, and I would sing to them.

I love doing ‘I Will Always Love You.’

My aim is to bridge Broadway and the R&B world; and to bring all my Broadway experience to the R&B world; and one day, when I go back to Broadway, to bring some R&B to that.

We lived above the church, and I remember there was no air conditioning in the church. I would shut all the windows and I would have concerts in there. Practice, you know, take the microphones.

I am working on a list for collaborations and it’s just another way to share your artistic talent with other artist.

My husband knows the meaning of sacrifice and support and he doesn’t have a problem reminding me when I fall short. He will explain to me how and why this would jeopardize or compromise our relationship.

You know, the funny thing was that I grew up listening to, like Whitney Houston and Cece Winans, and a lot of American singers.

I just want to create amazing music that speaks and defines who I am. I want it to be based on my life and/or what I am going through at that specific time.

Broadway’s a lot of work, don’t get me wrong. It’s eight shows a week. You hardly ever see the sunset. I remember when I left, I was like, ‘Oh! The sun‘s setting! I haven‘t seen that in a year!’ Singing eight shows a week is hard.

I love music; I was never the type of singer to say, “This is my specific genre, or I only sing R&B music.” I feel like as a singer, you should be limitless and you shouldn’t be stuck in a box.

There are so many great artists out there; it’s hard to choose one. But, I would love to work with Ledisi; she has a great voice. I also admire and respect John Legend. When he wrote “All of Me,” I fell in love with the melody and music. He is an artist that really loves music and just has a great way with words.

I had to get used to the theater atmosphere because I haven’t had a role on Broadway since Aida. It was a different process from day one because I was learning my parts by myself.

As you’re learning your lines and the character you’re playing, you’re going to make mistakes but I learned more about Shug Avery. I learned my lines, but everything had to be done quickly.

I am able to stay humble because I recognize that God has truly blessed me; I can’t say that enough. I also understand without Him, all of this wouldn’t be possible.

Truth be told, I decided years ago not to call it a job, because I know people who work – my mother worked, hard.

I toured with Andrea Bocelli, went to London to do a show for a year in the West End.