American Idol transcends age gender ethnicity everything.

I love things that age well - things that don't date that stand the test of time and that become living examples of the absolute best.

It's the kind of clothes that mothers and daughters can wear in terms of concept... It's not about age. It's about taste and it's about lifestyle. I believe women of all ages can wear anything.

The reason for the sadness of this modern age and the men who live in it is that it looks for the truth in everything and finds it.

With the song 'This Christmas' I wanted to do something that was kind of different. I mean Donny Hathaway is an amazing artist. So I wanted to bring my flavor to the song so when people over the age of 45 or 50 hear it they'll be like 'OK he did his thing with that record.' It's like I can appeal to everybody and not just a younger demographic.

I love my kids and the moments I have with them and it's kind of weird it's such an age old cliche but the way that my sons the way they make me feel when I look at them the way they say things no one else would probably react to them but it's a special thing for me.

It's not the normal way to look at things but I experienced death at a really young age and because of that it's been part of my mental landscape that death is really very possible.

I wanted to do two things when I was growing up about your age. I wanted to play in the NBA and I wanted to be a businessman after my basketball career was over and that is what I am doing now.

I want to be part of the resurgence of things that are tangible beautiful and soulful rather than just give in to the digital age. But when I talk to people about this they just say 'Yeah I know what you mean ' and stare at their mobiles.

One of the many pleasures of old age is giving things up.

You have to be desirable. And that's why so many woman of my age or even younger are pushed to Botox and plastic surgery all the things that people say 'Why do women do this?' Where do you go in your 50s in your career?

I don't believe in happy endings but I do believe in happy travels because ultimately you die at a very young age or you live long enough to watch your friends die. It's a mean thing life.

Look demanding somebody do anything in this day and age is not going to fly.

I learned from a very young age that if I pursued the things that truly excited me that they would reward in more important ways like happiness.

I think I'm a bit less inhibited and not thinking too much before speaking. It's not about being shameful I'm just a bit more unabashedly myself because of this thing and it probably started at age 15. I can be around people and say what I think without fear.

I basically get stereotyped a lot in terms of being a girl and writing 'chick' music for teenage girls or something. I think if anything the press kind of because of my gender and my age tends to kind of relegate my work to this sort of special-interest group. It's part of the cultural dynamic I guess.

My sister and I shared a bedroom our entire lives and I believe she discovered the Beatles when she was about 11 and I'm four years younger. So from the age of 7 until 17 we had nothing but Beatles paraphernalia in our room even those little stuffed Beatles that went on stands that are dressed as the Sgt. Pepper band.

There are only two things a child will share willingly communicable diseases and its mother's age.

Craziest thing I've done for love is getting married. I think it's crazy. I think it's crazy crazy crazy. I'm never going to say I wouldn't do it again but I have to make sure it's love and not settling for the 'I have to do this by a certain age ' which is kind of what I did.

Even from a very early age I knew I didn't want to miss out on anything life had to offer just because it might be considered dangerous.

I'm glad I was born when I was. My time was the golden age of variety. If I were starting out again now maybe things would happen for me but it certainly would not be on a variety show with 28 musicians 12 dancers two major guest stars 50 costumes a week by Bob Mackie. The networks just wouldn't spend the money today.

High expectations weren't nurtured in my neck of nowhere back then - children weren't fawned over from an early age as 'gifted' and groomed for a prizewinning future self-esteem was considered something you had to pick from the garden yourself.

Life expectancy in many parts of Africa can be something around the age of thirty five to thirty eight. I mean you're very fortunate if you live to that age. In fact when I went to Uganda for the first time one of the things that occurred to me was that I saw very few elderly people.

A lot of music you might listen to is pretty vapid it doesn't always deal with our deeper issues. These are the things I'm interested in now particularly at my age.