I love the whole aspect of music, especially the singing; I never get tired of finding new songs to sing and sing them in a way that's interesting for the public.
Years ago, I went to Brazil and fell in love with it. I really like the music, samba, bossa nova, the language and the people.
I've found that if I limit my talking, just everyday talking, a couple of days before I have to sing, my voice is stronger. That really is about the only precaution that I take: I try to rest it as much as possible and keep the nutritional value of my food up.
I love Puccini and that oriental influence in his music.
I go to the gym rather early with a workout pal. I get there at 7, or a little before, and do weights and a little cardio for an hour, five days a week.
I started off as a kid singing with my dad. My dad was my best pal. But he had seven kids, and I was the only one who was kind of interested in what he was playing and singing at the piano. And he was not only my dad, but he was my best pal, and I was interested in doing whatever he wanted to.
It's the most personal thing that I do is sing. Because I can't tell a lie. I want them to know exactly what I'm feeling.
I'm always thinking about songs and how I can sing a song that would resonate with my voice, my persona. I want it to be a pleasant experience that's not just about hearing my voice. I remember some singers whose voices were so pretty, it didn't matter what they sang - you loved it.
I've recorded in Portuguese, too. I didn't set out to just sing ballads or romantic songs.
I used to stay up all night, roam around, drink, and carry on like everybody else. That all changed when I got older, started to exercise and play golf. I knew by the time the day was over I would not feel like exercising, so I made it a point to exercise early.
First, I try to take everything away that doesn't matter to singing. It sounds simplistic, but it works. There is absolute focus on singing: producing sounds and emotions that I have always enjoyed. This is key.
When I was 12 and started to take singing lessons from a woman, she told me that I would probably spend the rest of my life taking care of my voice.
I was really active athletically, definitely. I was a hurdler, a sprinter. I played basketball for years. I was a serious athlete.
I got an invitation to go to the Olympic trials. And in the same week, I got a telegram from a... big executive at Columbia Records.
I decided right away that whomever was going to advise me had to be fundamentally interested in music. This protected me from the skullduggery common to the music industry then and that still exists today. Of course, using this method meant that some things we didn't know and just had to learn how to do it together.
The world changes. The world is completely different now from when I was growing up. Back then, you didn't say things like they say now, out loud, about race and things. But that's just progress. When are we going to find out that we're all the same - we're all absolutely, without a doubt, the same?
