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No one had ever told me that whites were supposed to sing one kind of music and blacks another - I sang what I liked in the only voice I had.

In the 21st century, white America got a wake-up call after 9/11/01. White America and the western world came to realize that people of color had not gone away, faded into the woodwork or just 'disappeared' as the Great White West kept on its merry way of ignoring black concerns.

For goodness sake, will they hear, will white people hear what we are trying to say? Please, all we are asking you to do is to recognize that we are humans, too.

'The Voice' is built on positivity. Once we started filming, I knew that America was really going to love it.

When the culture is strong, you've got this consistency where black people can grow up in these places with this voice just resonating about our special-ness in the universe. And I always say you're in trouble if you get too far away from that core that grounds you.

But I still don't have a clear idea of what my voice is.

In order to have your voice be heard in Washington, you have to make some little contribution.

Sometimes, growing up, I tried to be very Latina; I would change my voice... experiment with my hair a lot, trying to figure out who I was in a primarily white school.

'The Voice' is not just a singing competition. It really comes down to how you come off as a person and how you connect with America with your story, and being relatable to people.