A lot of places I go are dangerous, like Tel Aviv or Rio, but that never stops me from going there and putting on a show. I have good security. I don't worry about that.

But I love the idea - whether it's in my work or where I live - exploring new frontier, and I like putting myself in strange places and trying to survive and figure things out and gather up an infrastructure. I like knowing that I could figure out a way to live anywhere.

When I first came to New York I was a dancer, and a French record label offered me a recording contract and I had to go to Paris to do it. So I went there and that's how I really got into the music business. But I didn't like what I was doing when I got there, so I left, and I never did a record there.

My physical transformations - like changing my hair - are usually a reflection of what's inspiring me at the moment.

Because I was a dancer, I started going to auditions for musical theater, which forced me to sing.

I always felt like I was a freak when I was growing up and that there was something wrong with me because I couldn't fit in anywhere.