Blues artists now try and stay in a box. Back in the day at all the clubs you would see James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, The Isley Brothers, Little Richard and Etta James all play the same venues. It was a mix of funk, soul, blues and rock 'n' roll.
A lot of people don't do this. You can count on a couple of hands probably how many artists also produce and write, both for themselves and for others, and are able to be successful at both things.
I look at old performers like James Brown: back in the day when you actually had to work hard to get poppin'. I look at all those types of performers. Even like Kid n' Play and the Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff and Salt-N-Pepa. That era where they had to perform. You couldn't just rap. It had to be an entire performance.
I always loved Sam Cooke, because he seemed very versatile. He sang gospel, soul, blues, pop music.
There are very few people who have done more than one Christmas album.
On that show, I did country and some rock, too, whatever record I had out at the time, I'd sing that.
I was offered 10 Sultan Qureshi-type roles after 'Gangs of Wasseypur.' But I did not want to repeat that, as I have little fear of being rejected by the people.
I have different sounds... I don't want to be just that girl that sings reggaeton or trap music.
Country music is some of the best-written music in the world, so yeah, one day, I would keep my mind open to doing a country record.
Selling a band predicated on nothing is always an interesting proposition, and of course, the fact of the matter is that I really started out in music before I ever acted, and I've done a ton of singing.
I think that every time a country artist steps outside of the country boundary, it just brings more ears to us.
Certain people want to see me solely as a pop act, but there are many different sides to Christina Aguilera besides the pop girl.
I don't need to do only one thing, you know? Even in the entertainment industry, nobody's 'just a singer.'
I'm a country singer, and I'm comfortable with that. But why does a country singer have to play only on country radio or a rock singer only on a rock station? I still don't understand why it's that big a deal.
I headline concert halls for 20,000 people, but I still play smaller venues.
I think YouTube has destroyed the genre barrier. People can be into Justin Bieber and Eminem at the same time. It's a good thing.
I was excited to play Lil' Kim and I wanted to do the role justice. I worked really hard on that role, whether it was performing the rhymes, studying the dialect, her swagger and her stage performances. I wanted people to see my range and stretch my wings as an actress.
I never look for music by genre. I look for an artist who puts a dependable trademark on things. Like Elvis Costello - he's a great songwriter who presents his songs in a number of contexts. I feel the same about my own music.
