Collaboration is the way to go. It's very timely and fun to do.

I think every artist strives for a record that crosses all energy, lines, boundaries or languages or barriers.

I never feel that far away from the tabloids.

I'm so, so full of joy that America elected Obama.

If there is enough space on radio for Busted and McFly, who are basically the same band, or for 50,000 versions of Stereophonics and Coldplay, there must be enough room for all of us.

I'm signed to a U.S. label, and I didn't enjoy the 3 A.M. phone calls. I'm not a great sleeper, so I didn't enjoy being woken up.

I'm so sick of hearing that U.K. hip hop doesn't get credit and success when I'm working to get it - for me and for others, too.

The people at my label are always endorsing what I say. They say, 'You see the truth, so speak it.' They believe in me. They respect my opinion. At least I have an opinion, and I'm not trying to play it safe. I don't go around saying, 'I think everyone is great, and the world is fantastic.' Everyone has opinions. They just don't say it.

I got to the point where I was fed up with so many people telling me how and who I was supposed to be.

Lesson one, introduce yourself to everyone when you walk into a room. Don't act like you're too bougie to say, 'Hello.'

The Americans love me because I'm so completely unwilling to change my whole Britishness.

A lot of big whoever producers, they come with a song and they say, 'Sing this,' and I'm not that girl.

With the first album, I wanted to do so many different things, and I was fighting with myself to try and see if I was worthy enough to do it.

This fame is a juggernaut: It slaps you in the face, and you don't know what you're doing. You don't know who has your back, who is your support system.

I always have to get my U.K. fix, and 'Downton Abbey' is definitely that. I absolutely love period dramas, but this one is particularly appealing - following the ins and outs of aristocracy as well as the interaction between the rich and the poor.

My mom, for all intents and purposes, was a single parent.

Reality really isn't as dull as it's cracked up to be.

I couldn't just hand in any old rubbish - I can't go on tour and sing something for three years if I don't believe in it.

I've still gotta come across as happy when inside I feel crap!

I can sit in my room and write a song that I think might be a hit. I can sort of make myself do that, and then I'll play it to a friend, and they'll say, 'Oh, that's nice.' But when something happens to me, and I sit down and write a song to get rid of my emotions, they'll turn around and say, 'Wow, that's great.'

BMG has been an awesome partner throughout my career, and with New London, we plan to continue bridging the gap between soul, pop, London, and New York - uniting them through music.

I feel like I'm beautiful, and every woman should feel like that.

My mum is West African, from Senegal; my dad is from Grenada. There was a huge controversy about them getting together.

People like the shows I do. I want to be real, to have fun, even when I dance on stage... it's a buzz.