Fantasia Barrino

I was very insecure growing up, and even though I'm not that girl anymore, I think that the passion, that not feeling pretty and being insecure, is where my soul came from. And from early childhood, I let it free onstage.

I want to still be singing at 70 years old. I want to be open to the dreams I haven't even dreamed up.

I've never been in a competition before, and I said I'm going to go. I think - I just love to sing.

I've been singing in church since I was little; my grandmother is a pastor.

I want real love.

When I was a child, I used to dream about being onstage in front of thousands of people, and it happened. It's not about the fame; it's about people being touched.

You can't tell me that dreams don't come true. My life is proof that they do.

I didn't want to be the type of mother where my child came to me, and I can't even help her with her homework.

I stopped going to church for awhile.

I wanted to be like some of the other young ladies that were in my school. I used to get picked on in church. Nobody wants to hang out with me. I want to hang out with the cool girls, and I started to take the wrong turn and do things I knew wasn't right.

I never started out as an R&B singer. I grew up on all types of music - jazz, rock, pop, country, folk - and I wanted to bring that to my stage.

R. Kelly is different - music is always going through his brain. I remember we'd be having a conversation, and he'd choose a word I said and write a whole song to it.

I wanted people to see me, to change their minds about me.

I wanted people to know that I've been through the rain. I've been broken into pieces; I had a daughter at such a young age. There were times people would say, 'That's it for her.' But that didn't happen.

People root for me in such a way that when they come to a show, the experience of not knowing what's about to happen is a great thing.

A lot of times, we get into relationships, and we go in, and we take our old ways. If we take that old baggage into something new, it will never work.

I'm a true country Southern girl that has always been built around family, cookouts and gatherings and being together on the holidays, singing together and laughing together. So whenever God opened doors for me to be able to travel the world and sing and do all the great things that I've done, I didn't want to lose that part so family first for me.

I always tell people, 'Stop coming to me and telling what people are saying about me.' I don't care anymore. I always get the people that come to me and say, 'Girl, I just want to tell you... ' and I'm like, 'Nope.'

You can't go into something good until you let go of all the bad stuff because you'll find yourself steady bringing up all the old in a new situation.

Everything in life is a fight. Everybody wants this microwavable life, and it doesn't work like that. I'm here to say, 'See what I went through? Look at me now.'

Working out started as something mental. It was a way to release and let some things go.

I love Pilates, yoga, and spinning.

I work out every day, sometimes twice a day.

I'm very soulful. I grew up singing in church. When I sing a song, I like to feel what I'm singing.

It's hard to be patient. It's hard to sit back and actually wait and allow everything - just let it be.