It’s just a theory really, but I have always thought that your physical surroundings can shape your voice and personality.

Life is so impermanent that it’s not about somebody else or things around me, it’s about knowing you are completely alone in this world and being content inside.

Television really has been my vehicle. I don’t get played on the radio much, so I’ve relied on TV a lot.

I don’t believe that human beings are necessarily monogamous.

Spend time reflecting on your emotional and physical existence and how that applies to the voice. You have to apply that wisdom and experience when you sing – it’s what comes through.

Look. Art knows no prejudice, art knows no boundaries, art doesn’t really have judgement in it’s purest form. So just go, just go.

There are days when I still want to be able to do what I want when I want, but there’s also something wonderful about being secure.

I never get tired of exploring Americana or country music, and I always have a little bit of a crooner in me that never seems to go away.

When women make their image about youth and sexuality, and not about intellect, that’s kind of a dead-end road. So I think it’s a combination of self-entrapment and entrapment by society.

You have to respect your audience. Without them, you’re essentially standing alone, singing to yourself.

There needn’t be a distinction between your life and your music.

I feel like at 50 I’ve decided to become a rock star, which is, you know, typical of me. I always seem to work backwards.

I mean, I am fully aware of my influence and my responsibility to society in general representing the gay community. But in the same time, I don’t represent the entire gay community because it’s a...

The older I get, the more I embrace who I am.

We’re in a period where society seems very attracted to flash, and that seeps into people’s musical taste.

If you knew how meat was made, you’d probably lose your lunch.

I think I have allowed my voice to experiment with the different genres. And I think that I have just really enjoyed the journey of getting to know my voice and seeing what it’s capable...

I just try to live a really simple, natural life, because obviously, life has an impact on your voice.

As a songwriter you have an umbilical cord to the song and it’s hard to expand on your understanding of the lyrics. Whereas when you cover a song you can create your own reason why...

I think I have a better sense of my weaknesses – being self-important, selfish and having a big ego probably triggers all the other stuff. I can see myself more clearly.

I often say fame is kind of like a drug or like sugar: when it’s controlling you it doesn’t feel good at all.

Heartache is very fertile ground for song-making but so is happiness, so is absolute bliss.

I started singing when I was five. I grew up the youngest of four kids who all studied classical piano, so you could say I’ve been listening to music ever since the moment of conception.

I sort of believe that my voice was preordained; I’m a Buddhist who believes in reincarnation so I think that my voice is a few lifetimes old.

I don’t sing anything that hurts my voice.

I believe in monogamy if that’s what a couple decides upon together, but it all depends on the personal history and culture of the two involved.

I think I don’t sing as hard as I used to sing. I used to kind of hit the accelerator a lot back in my youth, but now it’s just being able to control it,...

I’m nearly 50. I’m past being photographed falling out of bars.

I never, my producer never, we never let myself just sing. We were always trying to get the perfect vocal.

I just really allowed my muse to be my guide and I just go with whatever I’m feeling.

I just try to speak passionately about things I’m involved in and moved by.

I’m a singer and as long as I can sing – which, thank God, is something that I still seem to be able to do – I’d like to carry on making records.

I think I fall into a lot of cracks in terms of I’m too something. I’m too this, I’m too that. And my music has never really had a home. I’ve been this floating alternative....

I wanted to write songs that would play themselves on stage, songs that sweep you through their current.

Minimal is the word I’d use to describe how I live and dress, and it’s also how I sing. I’m not a big fan of overemoting.

I think masculinity is bravado against the mystery of the universe of women. It’s just a fear of not knowing what women have that’s so powerful. It’s this shield they put up to try to...

It was kind of easier for me to do records that didn’t take a year or two years of my life to write and to make.

The sky is an infinite movie to me. I never get tired of looking at what’s happening up there.

My public image is so low-key, but I get to travel the world and still have an audience and it’s really amazing. I don’t take that for granted.

My voice and the styles and genres I sing all express my appreciation for what I hear.