On her first meeting with Clive Davis: "I remember just walking into this big office with thousands and thousands of pictures on the wall. I've never seen so many pictures in all my life, of so many people that I've admired." On her phone conversation with Prince: "It was such a wonderful conversation. It was incredible."

On the meaning of "Fallin'": "It's basically just a song about the ups and downs and back and forths, and how you fall in and out of love with the same one person, you know?"

On first impressions: "When I was going to radio stations, they were like, 'I didn't expect you to look like that.' I was like, 'What exactly did you expect me to look like?' I get that a lot, actually."

On her decision to pursue music: "There was no other path for me. I knew this was my path. I had to follow it."

On her image: "I just have to continue doing what I've always done, and that is be who I am, and that is who people will like. It's nothing coming from this hype machine. It's just Alicia. I like to be onstage, I like to write music, I like to make music. And that's really what the point is."

On her first record deal: "In my first deal I felt they wanted me to be a clone of Mariah or Whitney, and I couldn't do that. I'm not the sequined-dress type or the high-heeled type, or the all-cleavage type. I'm not coming like that for no one."

On her future: "When people say, 'I'm so sorry I missed your show,' I tell them 'don't worry, I plan to be doing it for the next 50, 60 years.'"