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 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 making a decision about what they want to do and getting it and achieving it, when your body fails you, it's a whole other experience.
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 make the greatest artists.
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.
I can sing in front of people. I can go on a TV show, live, and not feel like I'm going to throw up.
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 of it. I think Katy Perry has undeniable songs for what she does, for that pop market. And, if we're talking in the truly pop market, I would say those two.
Good new songs are the backbone of the music industry. There isn't an artist out there who could survive without hit songs.
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 right record that's really unique and distinct, they can have big hits.
I have breakups that I can credit to every song. In my twenties, I picked people who would create that dysfunction and drama, so I could draw upon it.
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 great when those intersect. A skilled songwriter can get you to that intersection.