Every song that I've done is me in one way or another.
— Brian McKnight
I'm the fifth generation of Seventh Day Adventists and the youngest of four brothers. When I was still very small, we formed a gospel quartet.
I am a writer - that is what I am before being a performer or musician. I love waking up in the morning and then going to sleep that night with something that did not exist.
I write about moments, and I don't make blanket statements about anything because no one has all the answers; nobody's come up with a foolproof way to do anything when it comes to emotions.
It is great to have your own label; you can cultivate your own artists... I've worked with pretty much everyone I wanted to.
I'm not like a legend that - so I'm sort of in the middle in this sort of gray area where, you know, I'm creating music, and I'm not saying there isn't an audience, because there is; because all of those people go out and spend $80 to $150 on a concert ticket.
I think I'd have to say my favorite IWC. They have been around for so long and the craftsmanship is top notch. A watch maker that has been in business over 100 years has to know what they are doing.
I was brought up to be a gentleman. That means you know how to walk, talk and dress the part.
I decided I am not going to say things I do not mean anymore.
I kinda went back to that period between '88 and '94 where I felt like I was the most creative, without being hindered by powers that be. I was no longer going to try to hinder myself to what I thought was going to be on the radio.
Whenever I fill out the job description I put 'songwriter', never 'singer' or 'artist.' Singers come and go.
Stevie didn't use the technology to drive the song. He used it to enhance. I use the tools to further my work, I don't use my work to further the tools.
Jazz is all about improvisation and it's about the moment in time, doing it this way now, and you'll never do it this way twice. I've studied the masters. Why would I want to play ball after the guys who sit on a bench? I want to play like Michael Jordan.
I was a nerd academically. But I was also an athlete and a musician. I never wanted to be shut out of any situation. I think it was that more than anything.
I don't care how small the game. I want to win.
I listen to all kinds of songs. There's something to be learned from every type of music and from the one making it, whether it's pop or jazz or hip-hop.
There's only one thing that everyone in this world has in common: whether you want to love somebody and you want to be loved in return.
People don't like when you point out to them and remind them that they're not very smart.
I'm probably the furthest from being romantic that you've ever seen; I'm not even close to being romantic in any way until I have to be.
I do not wear my emotions on my sleeve; I write about them.
People now have been conditioned to believe they should only buy one song at a time, that nobody can make an entire record that would merit you paying, you know, $7, $8, $10 when CDs in the '90s were $18, $19 and people bought millions and millions and millions of them.
A lot of musicians put diamonds on things to show they had money. I on the other had felt that Daytona showed I had style and I didn't need to be flashy.
I just want people to take a step back, take a deep breath and actually look at something with a different perspective. But most people will never do that.
I am just like all the jerks and idiots you know. I am just a guy that watches sports all day.
I went back and listened to the first three albums I made and tried to figure out what was special about them, why people keep going back to them. I think it was because I didn't know what I was doing. I had no idea if they were going to play it on the radio or anything. All I did was write songs, so that's what I got back to.
When it's your chance to step up to the plate, just hit it out of the park, and everybody will forget about everything that came before.
Most of the stuff I learned to play, I learned in high school. I had a band in high school, a jazz-fusion thing, and I was the keyboard player. I was interested in how the instruments worked and the theory behind playing with them.
It's just exciting to be part of something that is brand-new.
I think they can co-exist. You don't have to put one down for another. I've been bitten by the acting bug, and where it takes me, it won't take away from the music.
He knows I rip him off every day. He's the godfather for me. Nobody can say they aren't influenced by what Stevie Wonder has done.
I was probably six years old when I first sang before an audience.
I kind of hate the fact that people are always trying to put you into a category. I hate walls, and I hate boundaries. I don't like that. I listen to everything.
I am at my core a singer/songwriter a la James Taylor or a la Billy Joel. It's not that I don't want to work with people, but I do just love doing my own thing.
Know the business; you need to know the business side of things.
I'll always write music. Whether I release a record, whether I let the public hear it or not, I'm always writing music.
I'm not thinking about what needs to be on the radio. I'm not thinking about anything other than - I'm just going to let this music come out of me and not have any sort of preconceived notion of what I should do. I'm just going to do it.
A fine timepiece is part of dressing like a gentleman. When I first made a little money, I bought my first watch which was a Rolex Daytona. It was just one of those things that said I was successful.
When the label came to me to say, 'would you like to do another record,' I said, 'Well I got these sixteen songs sitting here, so let's do it.' And that was pretty much it... I never stopped writing, it's just the way that the business is now; you just try to find a different model.
I am just a guy that watches sports all day.
You can't listen to what people who aren't musical have to say. When Anytime was released, I had bad reviews, and at first I was hurt. Your songs are like your children. You don't want to hear, 'Your kid is ugly.' But I knew the record was good and it would sell.
The guy comes up to the plate, there's always a chance where he can get a grand slam and everybody forgets about all the times he missed.
Lionel Richie told me forget about the critics. But if you come back with hit after hit, you don't have to worry about anything.
I watch my contemporaries, and they love to live in the studio and I don't. I have a life. I treat it as a 9-to-5. I try to create something new every day, and then I get on with my life.
I keep these songs in my head until I get behind the microphone. I never spend more than 30 or 40 minutes singing the vocal or it will sound mechanical. There are always mistakes, but it's about feeling more than being perfect.
Every little kid that steps on the court or the field has aspirations to go pro. I think being a pro basketball player is the best job. The thing I had to realize was that I can't do every dream that I have.
