Quotes from Katie Melua

Children are resilient - they can always find a way to play.

But I do think I'm quite a selfish performer in the sense that I'm not one of those that's like 'Hey, come on everybody lets sing along' you know that kind of thing.

After 'Nine Million Bicycles', I was sent bikes from all over the world. I got about 10.

When I had a mental breakdown I was 26 and the most important thing before that was my work. And I still adore it. But it was all that mattered and everything else was secondary: my relationship, my family, my own health.

When the Soviet Union broke down, Georgia suffered a huge deal. Pretty much the whole of the 90's was known as 'the black decade... because we had a lot of electricity blackouts.

What I've picked up from working with the women in the Gori choir is that they don't have egos. All that matters is the music.

I've started making my wardrobe a uniform: I find that the fewer options I have, the better my state of mind.

And I've teamed up with a choir from home. They're called the Gori Women's Choir. They're a 23-piece all-female choir, and they've been going since the '70s.

My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast. It was very bittersweet when we said goodbye to our relatives, and I remember crying my eyes out at the airport.

Dancing is an important function of music, but so is crying.

I do know that there are some things that exist in this world that you just can't prove. That could be the case with God or whoever might be up there, but I don't follow any one religion.

When I do my own makeup, I limit my options: I have one Mac eye colour, a neutral shade with a bit of shimmer, plus eyeliner and subtle mascara. I wear a little foundation and put Laura Mercier concealer around my nose, underneath my eyes and on any dark spots.

We Georgians are really into food and drink. We would never have finger food at a party or a wedding - celebrations are always one long meal, on one long table, with endless toasts.

At 15, I did a ouija board with my best friend. I pretended I was possessed by a ghost, and she believed it.

I'm the worst customer for a credit card company because I always pay my balance off every month.

I mean Georgia, and also Belfast, aren't the most stable places, politically, in the world. But the thing is, in both places, the people were just so kind and so warm and in Belfast so welcoming.

If I have children, I am never going to read them stories about finding Prince Charming because they will grow up feeling disappointed.

Granddad was deported to a Siberian prison camp at the age of 15.

Of course, I like to keep my private life, private.

Ever since I left the Brit school I've been so protected. I had a woman to do my hair and makeup every day throughout my 20s.

I grew up eating quite well, even though the idea has got around that my family were terribly poor in Communist Georgia. I think it's partly because we had different standards then - it was tough, but we never truly struggled for food.

The Russians invaded Georgia in 2008 and my mum got stuck and had to be airlifted back to the capital by the UN because she'd left her passport at my grandparents. It was absolutely terrifying and it's why I always carry my passport in my handbag now.

Norway, for some reason, I find Norway really fascinating, you really feel nature in that country. And then there is somewhere like Japan, which is the most interesting culturally because their whole psychology, how they think is so different to us and how I've grown up.

I don't mind doing publicity but I want to make sure it's the right type and it's about promoting my music and not me.