Taylor Dayne

“I came out the box and for seven years I had a huge career. And then it's done, it's dumped. But I ain't gone, and I refuse to be gone.”

“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.”

“My current mantra is that sometimes we need teachers in our lives. I never had that in my life, parents and stuff like that; I tried to stay on the outside of them or anybody that had that kind of influence.”

“Creating a character and living truthfully through her is a whole different ball game. It's all part of the same person but it's a much newer medium for me.”

“My tastes and inspirational artists were always rather eclectic and diverse.”

“If we were truly in the studio making a record, it would have been more time consuming, and certainly I would have been more involved in the writing process.”

“I just try to get out of my own way because if anyone is their own worst enemy, it's usually you.”

“Singing and being truthful to a song... I've developed that skill, and I know how to do that real instinctively, that's all I've been doing for the last 25 years.”

“This is one hell of a business I picked to be in.”

“That's really my goal now. I'm trying to be a positive role model to my kids and to just enjoy this ride, because it's hard. It's hard to enjoy it when you're in it.”

“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.”

“All you needed back then was a blow dryer and a dream.”

“I smoked some pot as a kid, but I just never did drugs.”

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

“My first tour I was on the road for 18 months. You're just out there promoting.”

“Well, honey, I had the million dollar houses, I had the car, I had the horse, I had the barn; I had everything. Was I set free? I didn't even know what that meant.”

“I have to be very careful about diet and exercise.”

“If anything changes shape or takes off without me, I'll come after you and kill you. I'm too type A.”

“I think I was perceived in one fashion. A video is based on a song. I think you can get glimpses of people's presence within that. There's some people you enjoy watching more than others.”