"Dream big, when you’re up against it all, when you’re standing on a narrow bridge and you’re about to fall. Dream big, when you're blocked by a wall, keep on saying in your head, nothing is impossible. Dream big, and when your moment arrives, look up to the stars and thank God you're alive. Dream big, the power is inside of you. You'll be love for whoever you are and for whatever you do."

"Believe in yourself."

"It’s easy, it’s powerful."

"In 7th grade, I saw the Allman Brothers play at the Beacon Theatre. I also saw the Dave Mathews Band perform at Giant’s Stadium. Those concerts changed my life. I was inspired so much. In my heart, I knew that was the only thing I wanted to do with my life."

"I always thought there were going to be things in my life that would go away, like beauty, youth, all of that stuff...But I never thought that my voice would leave me, because it’s so inherent to my nature. It was my identity. So when I couldn’t sing, that was unbearable. There were times I couldn’t even get out of bed – I was so depressed."

"You go out in search of affirmation that you’re good, that people like you. But this time it was different – I was out there because I wanted to feel the pleasure of singing."

"I always felt that there had to be much more [than] just... shaking it, you know, eternally. Or just making music. Or more even than the pure enjoyment of entertaining someone – being on stage, which is a tremendous rush of adrenaline. But there had to be something else to my life. And I feel that with this work that I do, that’s how my life gets fulfilled. And how I find a purpose to my own existence. And I do feel that music is the platform. It’s become the vehicle that allows me to use my voice to speak about those issues that need urgent attention. I can take the spotlight that shines on me and shift it towards those issues that are infinitely more important than my own issues."

"It depends on the artist. I think some artists are meant to stay and some will disappear. It always happens. It's natural selection of the species. But I don't think of it as a boom in Latin music. I think the world is in a different place. Social media means it's not only the radio that decides what'll be a hit. It's the people."

"It’s in an area where there’s a huge population of displaced people – refugees in their own country. It’s a very impoverished area, where kids have no access to a high-quality education programme. So we just inaugurated this school for 1,700 students. And it’s already showing the kind of transformational power that education has. It’s already having an enormous social impact on this area. Before this school, there was no paved roads, or potable water, or electricity. And now all of this has changed, because of this alliance that we have created between our foundation, the private sector, and the [national] and local governments. And you know, it was recently reported that the gangs that used to hang in this area have dissolved completely since the school was built. So that is the kind of social impact that these kind of projects have. And that is why I vehemently and passionately advocate for education and for the construction of schools that are state-of-the-art – and that are open to the community ... That is the whole philosophy that we have in our foundation.”"

"I’ve always lived through my mouth. I am fixated on chocolate, the spoken word, things I’ve said and the things I should never have said."

"I do feel that I have to use my voice for those that don’t have one. I have to do the best I can in my own work to represent my culture, represent the women of my country, of Latin America. What we stand for. What we’re made of. I feel like there is a part of me that represents a minority in the US, a minority around the world. People who struggle, people who want to succeed with drive and ambition. So, people who want to try – yeah, I do feel in a way like an ambassador, for all of those."

"Playing music is something I would like to do my whole life."

"I came from a background of blues and rock based(music). I hadn’t listened to Jazz or even Classical Music until just recently. Listening to Stan Getz, you know, he is one of my favorite Saxophonists, so he’s influenced my sound and influences how I play this music. Right now."

"I'm bringing booty back Go ahead and tell them skinny bitches hey"

"If I was you, I'd wanna be me too"

"When I was younger I got into fights with my brother. Now I’m older, I can’t get into any bother... now if I explode, I’m the one who’s going to die. I’m an old man."

"Elvis was always over the top. It's funny that in those days people who wanted to look like Elvis would wear leather jackets and jeans, because that's what he wore in his movies. In real life, Elvis never wore denim. He thought they were work clothes. When he had to wear them, when he was driving a truck, he would do but he always loved the way black entertainers dressed. He styled himself on them, because he wanted to be flamboyant. That's why he had that gold lamé suit! He designed his jumpsuits himself. He always said, "If you're going to be a star, you should look like one.""

"Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent would be my five."

"I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside."

"Nobody makes me do anything I don't want to do. It's my decision. So the biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy. And that's how I have to deal with it."

"It’s an increasingly rare case for a solo artist to see exponential success from back to back decades, and Whitney Houston was certainly that exception."

"You can fool people. You can fool anybody any time of the day, but you can't fool yourself. At night, when you go home, you've got to be straight up with you."

"“I broke my heart for every gain, to taste the sweet I faced the pain.”"

"You've got to know who you are before you step into this business, because if you're trying to find it, you'll probably wind up being somebody else, that you probably don't even like."

"Success doesn't change you; fame does."

""I finally faced the fact that it isn’t a crime not having friends. Being alone means you have fewer problems.”"

"I decided long ago never to walk in anyone's shadow; if I fail, or if I succeed at least I did as I believe."

"I'm a feminist and the theme of her song is, 'When you're ready come and get it from me.' I'm sick of women being portrayed this way."

"The only thing to contemplate there is this raw force. It's as much terror as beauty. You don't feel welcomed by the natural world – I completely felt like an interloper."

"I'm so fancy, You already know. I'm in the fast lane, From L.A. to Tokyo. I'm so fancy, Can't you taste this gold? Remember my name, 'bout to blow."

"Let ya hair down and shake that shit, shake that shit, shake that shit. Sweat it out, go nuts in this bitch. Dip it, spin it, and watchin' my hips; I see you watchin' my hips."

"Walk a mile in these Louboutins, But they don't wear these shits where I'm from. I'm not hating, I'm just telling you. I'm tryna let you know what the fuck that I've been through."

"You used to dealing with basic bitches, Basic shit all the time. I'm a new classic, upgrade your status From a standby to a frequent flyer."

"Goodness gracious I can't seem to stop Calling it off Calling it off just to keep crawling to your arms"

"I had a heart then But the queen has been overthrown"

"We'll be raising our hands Shining up to the sky Cause we've got the fire fire fire And we gonna let it burn"

"I would die to make you mine Bleed me dry almost every time But I don't mind, no I don't mind it I would come back 1000 times"

"Tell the world that we finally got it all right I choose you I will become yours and you will become mine I choose you."

"I've got my little black dress on And if I tell myself that nothing's wrong This doesn't have to be a sad song Not with my little black dress on."

"There's no way to make the pain play fair It doesn't disappear just because you say it isn't there"

"You can have Manhattan I know it's for the best Gather up the avenues and leave them on your doorstep"

"You are all just perfect little satellites Spinning round and round this broken Earthy life"

"I say what I think Because it's more economic than drugs or a drink"

"They may be lies But say that we'll be alright If we stay tonight"

"A tongue like yours should be burned and branded So I can see you lie to me I wish the air would color red when you breathed it Oh, so I could've seen it coming Look in my eyes when you say you love me So I can see you lie to me"

"Maybe nobody loved you when you were young Maybe, boy, when you cry nobody ever comes Will you try it once? Give up the machine gun"

"I wanna darken in the skies Open the floodgates up I wanna change my mind I wanna be enough I want the water in my eyes I wanna cry until the end of time I wanna let the rain come down Make a brand new ground"

"Who cares if you disagree? You are not me Who made you king of anything? So you dare Tell me who to be Who died and made you king of anything?"

"I wonder what would happen if you Say what you want to say And let the words fall out Honestly, I want to see you be brave"

"Mean songs are still better than going postal"