I've always been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde. I always feel that you should keep singles as commercial as possible so that the people can walk down the road and whistle a song. But on the other hand on albums I think you can afford to show people what you can do.
To me, the lyrics of the song define the kind of style it is.
I'm not a real good musician, but I can write [a song] pretty well. I experiment once in a while to see what I can do. I find out the best I can do is stay with ballads.
We had always put ballads on all of our albums.
Radio has had my back since 'Missin' You Crazy,' which was a very traditional kind of song.
A lot of the songs are very rock-oriented. My voice makes them country, and a lot of people think that is a strange combination... I think it creates something different and unique.
When I do uptempo songs, I like to bring in the funk and world music and different elements.
I think it would be different to work with a guy like Kanye West or Jay-Z, those guys are so phenomenal, but just to work with a rapper, I don't think is really my thing. I really like songs, like true songs. Like indie songs.
I think it's mainly the language barrier and the cultural barrier, but of course also my songs, they have been very serious and melancholic, and so maybe people need to see more of my bubbly side and my personality.
I've done gospel songs on every album.
I sang a lot of low stuff on songs like 'Secrets' and 'Rockin',' almost like Toni Braxton. On 'Secrets,' I'm a different person.
My attempt at really doing classic sort of songwriting is Shins stuff.
'Routine' was written on piano, and you can hear that. But then you listen to 'Happy Returns,' and you can tell it's definitely been written on guitar, with that singer-songwriter-y strumming quality.
Yeah, I'd always wanted to do a song with finger-picked, nylon-string guitar.
My songs lie somewhere in between the evergreen standards, rock n' roll and pop.
It's kind of hard to believe that 'Sherry,' 'Walk Like a Man,' 'Big Girls Don't Cry' - the big three - belong to the same group that does 'Oh, What a Night' and 'Who Loves You.'
I was known as a ballad singer who sang melodramatic heavily produced ballads. I'm not known as a mid-tempo singer who does fun songs. I'm not going to do a song like 'Dancing on the Ceiling.'
Some of my songs are turnt up, but that's just 'cause I have to make 'em like that so the clubs can play them.
We Can't Stop' has so many different vibes to it. She sounds country; the beat has these live, knocking drums; and then it has these pop melodies. It's a feel-good record.
Something like 'Knock Knock,' I was trying to do a Joe Meek, 'Johnny Remember Me'-type thing.
I don't like to make fluffy little songs, but now I want to make some light songs.
There's a lot of women now with a whole lot of style but they are not necessarily song stylists. Some of their style is a lot like me and a lot of people sound a lot alike - you can't tell them apart.
On piano, I tend to write either gospel or singer-songwriter songs, sometimes kind of rocking blues songs. But the more heavier rock stuff I will write on bass.
