My mom never taught me to be waiting for some prince on a white horse to swipe me off my feet.

I've been singing for six years. I've been in and out of the studios with top producers, but it wasn't something I was ready to express to the public or to the press. I wasn't ready to come out. I wanted to perfect my voice and be 100 percent positive that I could come out right.

Smiles come naturally to me, but I started thinking of them as an art form at my command. I studied all the time. I looked at magazines, I'd practice in front of the mirror and I'd ask photographers about the best angles. I can now pull out a smile at will.

The runway symbolizes something in society that's very intimidating to women.

Black women have always been these vixens, these animalistic erotic women. Why can't we just be the sexy American girl next door?