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If you think about it, Aretha did basically the same things that I do.

When I heard Aretha, I could feel her emotional delivery so clearly. It came from down deep within. That's what I wanted to do.

I've been getting into different gospel artists; Aretha Franklin is someone I've been listening to a lot of.

Aretha Franklin does not like me.

I'm always making a comeback but nobody ever tells me where I've been.

You only think of the best comeback when you leave.

Aretha Franklin's 'Let Me in Your Life' is one of the few recent R&B albums that places the emphasis entirely and deservedly on a voice. Many R&B producers have been making records on which the singer is outshined by the song, the arrangement and the sound.

My introduction of Whitney was that if there's going to be one performer for the next generation who combined the beauty and lyric phrasing of a Lena Horne with those Gospel fiery roots of an Aretha Franklin, it would be Whitney Houston.

Look at Gwyneth Paltrow and my favourite, Kate Winslet. No one ever says, 'Oh, she's making a comeback.' To my mind, I just went on maternity leave and reported back to work.

I never finish a show without singing 'She's Gone.'