I have to be very careful about diet and exercise.

When I first came out, like a lot of the artists at that time, I had a very polished, very overproduced sound.

But once you strip that down, you realize it's all about a voice, like a Norah Jones - that's inspiring to me.

If you eat healthily most of the time you can afford to indulge yourself occasionally, but if you eat nothing but junk, you’ll end up not being able to run for a bus without huffing like a steam train. (The only drawback to being super-fit is that centring your life around your quinoa intake and yoga classes often results in an overdose of smugness which may cause your social circle to shrink.)

By the second tour I had rice cakes and hummus with me, and I was jumping rope in my room.

Did people think I sounded black? Totally, but that was a marketing tool as well, but also this is how I grew up and these are my influences.