We weren't allowed to have secular music in the house growing up. I was home-schooled, and gospel was the only choice we had.

My dad liked a lot of Motown, but I didn't listen to it until my teenage years.

Now that I'm coming out with my own record people can see I'm a solo artist.

In New York especially, I always want to wear a nice overcoat to get through the winter: you can wear them so many times, and they make every outfit better.

They are scared that the BBC or CNN may call them radicals, so they remain soft instead. The problem lies there, with the Muslim leaders, not the Muslim masses.

What happened with Hurricane Katrina was the American electorate was forced to look at what lay behind the veneer of chest-beating. We all saw the consequences of having terrible government leadership.

So long as the global economy continues to recover, that remains Obama's No. 1 claim to successful leadership. Nothing else even comes close.

I've said I'll stand for a full second term, but I think after that it will be time for new leadership. Terms are like Shredded Wheat - two are wonderful but three might just be too many.