I decided to study special education and fell in love with working with individuals with autism. That’s what I planned to do with my life.

I’m really not that special. Really, I’m not. I was on a big TV show, but it was just a TV show.

She’s excellent. It’s really great to have somebody, we see eye to eye, ear to ear, I guess, on a lot of the stuff that we both like. She helps me figure out how to...

I don’t really feel like I have anybody to answer to but myself and God and the people I love.

Well, there are certain words and emotions I don’t want kids hearing, and I’m not changing because they think it’s going to sell better. This is going to sound horrible, but I got 12 million...

I sometimes think I might be autistic because I like to know – I need to know – my beginnings and my ends. I don’t have to be in control of it, but I need...

I embrace the Nerd.

You know, I think I’m a stronger person for realizing that you can’t make everybody love you.

I’m religious. I think this is something God had planned for me.

Reach Out (I’ll Be There).

I think I probably hoped for it a little bit, but I’m not an optimist. I’m a realist… or maybe even a pessimist.

Pain happens to everyone. To grow up, to fulfill your potential, to develop into what God wants you to be–this process takes support. No one succeeds alone.

I thought about that the other day after I went to the grocery store and had to sign fifteen autographs before leaving. On one hand, it’s just so flattering. On the other hand, sometimes it...

I don’t understand why people like me! It doesn’t make any sense!

Actually, I don’t hate cats, I’m just kind of afraid of them.

It’s not the money. It’s not the fame. It’s the influence.

There’s stars out there who would die to have this much exposure.

I did get a degree in special education.

It’s very rare that you get to go up and meet fans and especially at their house and surprise them. To come and knock on somebody’s door is kind of a neat experience.

I had the greatest time on Broadway and made friends I never expected to make!

The greatest glory never comes from winning, but from rising each time you fall. A person is defined by what he chooses to do with his life, not by what happens to him.

I know that I’ve got big ears and a big forehead and that my hair sticks up. But I’m happy with myself. I’m not necessarily trying to win a beauty pageant here.

No matter what the situation you’re in, if you’re raised in a loving environment, that’s the most important thing.

There are 120 million kids in the world right now who don’t go to school. Who have no education – who have no access to education.

It’s a whole team of people working 24 hours around the clock to make me look like this.

A song is like a smile. If you meet people from another country, even if you don’t speak the same language, you know what a smile means. A song works the same way. Music produces...

I really love live performing!

I have a feeling they are probably mostly ladies,

I went to school for special education. I always assumed when I had the opportunity I would love to try and help kids with disabilities.

There are stars out there who would die to have this much exposure.

If my career detour from special education to singing has done one thing, it has afforded me the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others.

Actually, I don ‘ t hate cats, I ‘ m just kind of afraid of them.

I think celebrities have an obligation to the public to not just sing or act.

All the stuff, curtains, fabrics and whatever else is coming, too.

It’s important that I make a difference in some way. It’s not necessarily how I make a difference, but I want to make sure that I do.

While everyone I work with may not share my beliefs, I have been surrounded by nothing but support.

And I don’t think that success can be measured by how many TV shows you’re on.

Heck, it’s just as insulting as when someone like you interviews me and asks a question like that, no matter how you word it. It’s part of the game. You just do it.

I auditioned just for fun.

First of all, I usually don’t watch (the talk shows) and someone else will tell me about them. And, heck, half the time, I think it’s funny.

I got rid of my glasses and they changed my hair. That’s really all they did. They went shopping for me, so the clothes are different too. It wasn’t like Extreme Makeover where I got...

I had a Spanish teacher in high school. I rarely got in trouble in her room because I felt I was disappointing her if I got a bad grade. That had more power over me...

But I was going to be a teacher my entire life, so I wasn’t counting on money to much.

I like to talk. I’m a terrible dancer. I love my hometown. I have freckles and oversized ears. I’m a geeks. I have tried not to hide who I am or what matters to me.

I could have a degree in music and come on the show, and Simon could still say ‘You stink’.

Whether this ride lasts for one year or 10 years, I want to have a home base.

I’d hate to have a job where I had to be rude to people.

I kind of had my life planned out for me. I’d be married at some point, have, you know, 1.5 children, and be a principal possibly one day. But I think that that was kind...

I am never going to sound like Johnny Mathis.

I spent years and years in middle school getting picked on, so I’m kind of used it,