Quotes from Nicole Scherzinger

The problem is I'm a perfectionist, so the producer might say he's happy with my vocal take but I'll say, 'No, it can be better.' I'll do it again and again until I feel I've got the truth out of a song.

I'm a strong believer in 'everything is meant to be for a reason.'

In normal life people say, 'You're so different than on stage!' Offstage I'm down to earth, simple and a very goofy girl... I like to make goofy faces, be dorky and not take things too seriously. I just love to laugh.

Love makes me vulnerable. In business I'm tough on myself - I'm like a drill sergeant. If I'm down, I'm used to getting right back up, but when it comes to love, your heart can't do that.

I come from a strong religious background, and I had a very conservative upbringing. So I was nervous, and confused. Here I was wanting to be Whitney Houston, so why did I have to dress in lingerie to do that? I didn't get it.

Music is my passion - it's what I love and it's in my blood. You can never take me away from my work.

I think shoulders are sexier than cleavage.

I think the sexiest thing about a man is that he's confident. Sure, sometimes you meet someone and you see his appearance first, but then you get to know him, and he looks completely different to you.

A lot of songs are empowering because everybody who has been through a hard time in a relationship or in their lives can relate to it.

I don't like my thighs, the back of my legs or my chubby knees. I wear clothes that show off my legs in pictures and videos but not often when I'm appearing live.

I can be quite daring with my clothes but I believe that you have to feel comfortable and confident to carry off whatever it is you're wearing.

Growing up, I was very conservative in my wardrobe, so when I first joined the Pussycat Dolls, the biggest challenge was wearing those cabaret costumes. I didn't feel comfortable showing my body so much, showing my legs and butt, chest and midriff.

I never know if a song's going to be popular so I don't select them with that in mind. All I can do is follow my heart and my gut and go for songs that make me feel great.

I'm going to take care of the man I'm with. I grew up in a household where my mum takes care of my dad - she cooks, she does everything - and that's the kind of girl I am.

Although religion was around me my whole life I never felt it was forced upon me. It is my centring, my grounding, the soul of me. I feel I'm nothing without it.

I was a shy kid, but somehow I knew I would make it as a performer. I'd always be telling my mum that I was going to be a famous singer. In my school yearbooks I would write, 'Remember me when I'm famous.' I knew I had a gift.

I love a man with a great sense of humor and who is intelligent - a man who has a great smile. He has to make me laugh. I like a man who is very ambitious and driven and who has a good heart and makes me feel safe. I like a man who is very strong and independent and confident - that is very sexy - but at the same time, he's very kind to people.

Girl power is about loving yourself and having confidence and strength from within, so even if you're not wearing a sexy outfit, you feel sexy.

I see lots of women having beautiful children later in life. And, if not, just freeze your eggs!

When I'm a mum, I'm not going to be one of those mums who has nannies. Actually, I might have nannies - never say never - but I'm not having someone else raise my kids.

When I hit my thirties, that's when I calmed down and I wasn't so tough on myself. I wasn't doing the yo-yo dieting any more. I gave myself a break. I think that, if you're more accepting of yourself, you're more free and open and can just allow more people in.

It takes time to really understand your body shape and it's taken me years to know what I can and can't pull off.

I've never seen myself as sexy. I see myself as a goofball.

I'm no diva but I can be annoying in a recording studio. Of course I try to be a diva in terms of confidence of performance and owning a song but I've never behaved like one in terms of the negative connotations of the word.