“Pop stardom is not very compelling. I'm much more interested in a relationship between performer and audience that is of equals. I came up through folk music, and there's no pomp and circumstance to the performance. There's no, like, 'I'll be the rock star, you be the adulating fan.'”

American-Canadian singer-songwriter

Ani DiFranco is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter known for her independent recording career and her wide musical range. She has released more than 20 albums and has built her work around her own label, Righteous Babe. Her music is usually placed within folk rock and alternative rock, but it also draws on punk, funk, hip-hop, and jazz. That blend has made her a distinctive voice in contemporary songwriting, with a career defined as much by control over her releases as by style.