What's really important? That I'm an individual, I guess. I am an individual - a strong one, too. I'm Natalie Cole. I gotta be me.
— Natalie Cole
I look 10 years younger than I am. Unfortunately, sometimes I act like I'm 10 years old.
When I did 'Unforgettable,' it wasn't appropriate for us to take liberties with that music. There had to be kind of a fine line between what had made it so great and the fact that a woman was singing it. We changed some of the arrangements, but not too much.
It's the subtleties of a ballad that truly make it beautiful - and it's all in the way you present it to the listener.
There are a lot of great artists with great voices who aren't singing what they should be singing.
The dialysis is to wash my blood, to keep my kidneys functioning.
We have to stop rewarding bad behavior.
I like to grow and experiment, and as an artist, it's about kicking the bar up a little.
A lot of people want to donate a kidney, but they're not in a position to because they have health issues of their own, and a lot of people need them. That's why the list is long and it takes a long time.
There were so many groups that I had in college, but I was always the solo singer. But what made it so unusual back in the day was that I was a black girl playing with all these white musicians, and I was also singing rock music on top of it.
I think it just came to a point where I made a decision to do better with my life and health. And that is only by God's grace because there are no guarantees.
Being my dad's daughter has allowed me to do a lot of things that maybe another artist might not be able to do or wouldn't be necessarily embraced doing.
My father was a pioneer in so many ways. He was fearless, and I think that I kind of picked that up from him as well.
I was going to college to be a doctor.
I know that God has had my back, even when I was screwing up.
By the time I approached my forties, I had the self-assurance to approach all the genres I love so deeply: R & B, rock, jazz, and pop.
I've always adored my father's music, but ever since I'd started singing, whether it was while I was still a student at the University of Massachusetts or professionally, I avoided Dad's material.
I would never do an album with 10 songs like 'Jump Start' on it. I'll only go so far to please fans.
One of these days, I'd like to put together a revue of all my music, which would probably turn into a marathon. There's a couple of hit songs from almost every phase of my career. At the same time, visually, if you don't handle it properly, it could be a cacophony of craziness, because there's just so many different kinds of music.
I'll never totally get away from being who I am, which first, to many, is the daughter of Nat King Cole, which became even more intensified with the 'Unforgettable' album.
I felt that if I'm serious about acting, I would like people to see me as an actress. It's less of a stretch if I'm singing, unless I'm playing a character who sings.
I thank my dad for leaving me such a wonderful, wonderful heritage.
If you don't shop smart, you get a little trendy.
When you make your living as a singer, you have to go where the gigs are.
When you reach 50, what you care about is being honest, being accurate, and being an example.
I'm just really, really thankful. I'm thankful to the doctors; I'm thankful to the family that donated the kidney.
I think people hear the warmth in my voice and the friendliness, and they think: 'Oh, she must be a very nice person'.
I didn't realize I was still grieving for my father at 30-something.
I like Kelly Rowland, I think that she's great. It's hard to come out of the group of Destiny's Child and still kick some butt.
I don't think anyone can measure up to what my father had achieved. I'm just happy to at least play some of his music, but he is really the one who was the pioneer, the one who started all this. He's really The King.
Like my father, I don't want to see anyone mistreated, anything like that. I'm very racial-conscious because my father had a lot of, you know, challenges in the area of race. I'm very sensitive to that kind of issue.
I'd sometimes fly for 14 hours, then go straight to dialysis. I spent a little time being tired, but we managed. I'm not a pity-party person.
I was determined to create my own identity. My first hits, in fact, were straight-up rhythm and blues. My voice was compared to Aretha Franklin's - though, for my money, no one compares to Aretha.
Physically, I've seen a change in my life. No, I haven't had a face lift or anything like that. I've grown. That's God's countenance.
It's the same girl-who-has-everything story. You know, the one where she's insecure and scared and unhappy and has marriage problems and doesn't know how to handle stardom and screws up right and left and gets in with the wrong people and goes down the drain.
I would hate to look back on my life and go, 'You know, I wanted to do a rock n' roll album. I should have, and I never did.'
I like Babyface, but he keeps the good stuff for himself. If he's willing to give his good stuff to me, we'll talk. But it can't be any of his B-grade stuff.
I'm the type of person who won't cancel a show even if I don't feel my best.
I love what I do so much. I just keep going. Not much can bring me down.
Even when I had no money, I spent everything I had on clothes.
People say I look younger than the music I'm doing just because the songs are older. Hopefully I can keep my youthful look!
My friend was on dialysis for six years before he got a new kidney. I was on dialysis for eight months. I'm almost not even the typical person who has kidney failure.
It's remarkable what a new kidney does to your life. I have no complaints... I'm pretty amazed. I have been working on my stamina.
I get hugs all the time from strangers. I do believe that people can feel your persona when you perform live, but it is one of the nicest things if you can translate that on your records.
It's hard to be in the shadow of a Beyonce.
I think that it's going to be interesting to see where Beyonce's career goes.
One thing that stays the same is my passion for music. Other than that, I've become more dedicated. I think that I really work much harder than I ever did when I first started at my craft; I'm more dedicated, and I have become a perfectionist.
We are born with two kidneys and only need one to survive. Maybe God gave us the other one so that we could give it away.
As miserable as I was, once I started singing, I felt better.
I was madly in love with Elvis Presley. Dad wasn't into it at all, at least not for himself as a performer. He used to say, 'Mr. Cole does not rock n' roll.'
