And I'm also looking for a comeback record and it has to touch a lot of people.

Did people think I sounded black? Totally, but that was a marketing tool as well, but also this is how I grew up and these are my influences.

I'm not looking to go out there and make a rhythmic Timbaland track.

If we were truly in the studio making a record, it would have been more time consuming, and certainly I would have been more involved in the writing process.

When I first came out, like a lot of the artists at that time, I had a very polished, very overproduced sound.

But once you strip that down, you realize it's all about a voice, like a Norah Jones - that's inspiring to me.