I don't think that my parents even imagined that I would be exposed to drugs. In those days, for some reason, it was not talked about, just like sex was not talked about.

When you have put all your faith in man and continue to be disappointed, don't you hope there is something out of there that is not of human element?

I think foreign countries really do like it when American artists sing in their language. And when you go over there and say, 'Hi, how are you?' in their language, they love it. It makes them feel like you're doing it just for them. We in America take so much for granted.

My idols are Janis Joplin and Annie Lennox, who are neither of them from the typical pop culture.

I've had my share of doing things that I really wish I hadn't done.

I never got to make that transition from little girl to young woman... and that really screws you up.

I don't think that my parents even imagined that I would be exposed to drugs. In those days, for some reason, it was not talked about, just like sex was not talked about.

Aretha Franklin does not like me.

As kids, we had no clue about the racial stuff that seemed to preoccupy adults. We just enjoyed our life as kids.

As miserable as I was, once I started singing, I felt better.

Being my dad's daughter has allowed me to do a lot of things that maybe another artist might not be able to do or wouldn't be necessarily embraced doing.

By the time I approached my forties, I had the self-assurance to approach all the genres I love so deeply: R & B, rock, jazz, and pop.

God surrounded me with people of faith, people of strong faith, people of power, spiritual power, and I saw little miracles happen in their lives. By it happening in their lives, I started believing it could happen to me.

God was going to be to me the father that I never had, the father that I didn't have enough of, enough time with.

I already had high blood pressure. I have hypertension. And I think the chemo was just too much for my kidneys. And they went into failure. And that was September 12th of 2008. And the doctor rushed me right to the hospital.

I can laugh at myself because I've had to. Everything would have been much worse if I'd been the singing son of Nat 'King' Cole.

I continually acted up to get attention. My father gave me that, and once he left, I felt that I didn't have any.

I couldn't breathe. I - I went into - literally, my kidneys stopped functioning. They stopped, you know, processing the fluid that was starting to build up in my body.

I didn't realize I was still grieving for my father at 30-something.

I don't think anyone can measure up to what my father had achieved. I'm just happy to at least play some of his music, but he is really the one who was the pioneer, the one who started all this. He's really The King.

I feel enough distance from the person I used to be. I'm not ashamed about my life anymore, because I've learnt from it.

I get hugs all the time from strangers. I do believe that people can feel your persona when you perform live, but it is one of the nicest things if you can translate that on your records.

I had to make peace with my past because I can't change it.

I have been on dialysis in Istanbul, Milan, Indonesia, Manila, London. It's - it's amazing.

I have been to hell and back. I have seen the edge. I have seen the dark side of life.

I imagine there are a lot of people who will never be able to accept me because they feel I've let them down, but I am a different person, and most people have welcomed me back in that spirit.

I know that God has had my back, even when I was screwing up.

I like Kelly Rowland, I think that she's great. It's hard to come out of the group of Destiny's Child and still kick some butt.

I loved when my dad was home. He liked to sit in the living room and watch boxing and baseball on TV. Or he'd be tinkering around or listening to records by his musician buddies - George Shearing, Oscar Peterson and the Jackie Gleason Orchestra.

I managed to survive the worst things any entertainer could possibly go through.

I started saying, 'I don't want to be crazy anymore.' I need to make some changes. And the first thing I started doing was just got all the men out of my life, because that was a big problem for me. That was a crutch, if you will. You know, trying to define yourself through other people or men, in particular.

I still love recording and still love the stage, but like my dad, I have the most fun when I am in front of that glorious orchestra or that kick-butt big band.

I think it just came to a point where I made a decision to do better with my life and health. And that is only by God's grace because there are no guarantees.

I think people hear the warmth in my voice and the friendliness, and they think: 'Oh, she must be a very nice person'.

I think people just want to be popular. So they're going to write lyrics that are going to get your attention. You know, sometimes, they're a little graphic, and I don't think that's so necessary.

I think that I am a walking testimony to you can have scars. You can go through turbulent times and still have victory in your life.

I think that I sound a lot better than Diana Ross.

I think that it's going to be interesting to see where Beyonce's career goes.

I think that talented people really do have insecurities, and that is one of the things that kind of motivates them, because that's one thing they know they're good at. And when they're up on that stage, you can do no wrong. The audience is yours; they're there to see you.

I think we need to be sexy and kind of mysterious and still pretty and beautiful. I like to hear that when a man sings. I don't really want to hear about taking my clothes off.

I was determined to create my own identity. My first hits, in fact, were straight-up rhythm and blues. My voice was compared to Aretha Franklin's - though, for my money, no one compares to Aretha.

I was going to college to be a doctor.

I was madly in love with Elvis Presley. Dad wasn't into it at all, at least not for himself as a performer. He used to say, 'Mr. Cole does not rock n' roll.'

I was pretty bad. When I first was diagnosed with kidney failure, my function - the function of my kidney was less than 8 percent.

I was pretty young, but because of that first record, 'Cole Espanol,' we took our first trip - well, my first trip - to Mexico.

I'd sometimes fly for 14 hours, then go straight to dialysis. I spent a little time being tired, but we managed. I'm not a pity-party person.

I'm a born-again Christian. I was raised Episcopalian - I've always been of a Christian faith, but I became much more active in it when I married my first husband, Marvin. I changed from Episcopalian to Baptist.

I'm an ordinary person under extraordinary circumstances.

I'm just really, really thankful. I'm thankful to the doctors; I'm thankful to the family that donated the kidney.