Award-winning singer, songwriter, DJ, producer, and label owner who has had two Billboard #1 singles. She has received three GRAMMY nominations and has collected awards from the prestigious International Dance Music Awards, the International Songwriting Competition, and topped Billboard’s “Most Played Dance Songs of the Decade” chart (2000-2010). Her tours have touched the shores of six continents with landmark shows at international events such as the Beijing Summer Olympics. Last month she released a track that features a collab with Jerome Isma-Ae and on Spotify alone she not only has approximately 487 thousand monthly listeners, but more than 48.6 million streams on her top five songs alone. Plus, her official YouTube channel has a combined almost 4.5 million video views.
“It's usually pretty much a blank sheet of paper for me. A lot of the times I just kind of go with the moment with myself too. I mean, when I'm working on a song, I'm very particular with things that I like and I don't like. So, I'm kind of strictly that if it resonates with me sometimes I get very emotional when I'm writing. Sometimes I feel like I have to cry. Sometimes I just really feel it in my gut, especially with many songs that I have written.”
“The more years that I've written, the more I have an open mind to things a little bit more than when I started.”
“I love writing with people. I've been in writing camps, writing groups, with like ten people in the room, which is really interesting. I really loved it because it's interesting when you start vibing together and you've got ten people in the room. It's amazing the way that you're just working off of each other. That was very exciting for me to do that. But I do tend to write a lot by myself.”
“The most important thing is just feeling comfortable with the person… It can be very unnerving to… I’ve written with people I've never met before when I've had certain deals or that they just put you with people who are in town.”
“It's wonderful when you kind of meet someone who kind of … just knows what you're thinking, when you can discuss ideas and come up with wonderful – to write lyrics with someone when you can just go back and forth and kind of encourage each other and inspire each other and get some really cool things down. So, I just try to look for people who are respectful and nice and want to know you want to listen, want to share.
“I played in Jordan outside of the capital and they put down these rugs and we were inside of the mountains lit up. It was amazing. I’ve played on the beaches of Lebanon. I've played in Egypt. I did the Formula One races in Malaysia. I played in Beijing for the Olympics.”
“I have a more pop R&B show and an acoustic show that I also have been doing.”
“When it happened, it was amazing… it's incredible to actually see the inner workings. I did the carpet. I did the radio row before the Grammys. I did all the parties before and after. There's a lot of things you do. It's not just go to the Grammys. So, it was really exciting to see all that and to walk the carpet and to be part of that. And I feel very honored that I've been recognized in that way.”
“Living in Hollywood too it's such a music town. And I think there's just so much going on at all times. There's so many musicians and songwriters. I think living in L.A. and just being in this business and seeing the changes has definitely shaped my ideas of being an artist. Because you have to be not only an artist, but you have to be the performer and the businessperson.”
“I just try to be authentic and unique in my own way and to be consistent and disciplined with myself.”
“Believe in yourself and believe in what you're doing, believe in your music. If you don't really believe in it, it's hard to sell it.”
“All the Way”
“Stay the Night”