The first song I fell in love with
God Will Open Doors by Walter Hawkins. I grew up on the Hawkins gospel family. They were my teachers. I was raised by my grandparents, and my auntie fell in love with the gospel sound and imported records from America \u2013 although my grandparents thought it was a bit too secular, even though it was gospel.<\/p>\n
The song I inexplicably know every lyric to For some reason, out of all his songs, Adore by Prince always speaks to me.<\/p>\n
The first single I bought
Funkin\u2019 for Jamaica (NY) by Tom Browne from Red Records in Brixton, although I was so young I could hardly reach the counter.<\/p>\n
The best song to play at a party
Sex Machine by James Brown gets everybody up, and sends everybody nuts. It\u2019s one of those songs that cuts through everyone\u2019s musical taste.<\/p>\n
The song I can no longer listen to
It really hurts listening to Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston, because I knew her so well. It\u2019s funny, I don\u2019t feel that way about Prince\u2019s music. But anything by Whitney just destroys me.<\/p>\n
The best song to have sex to
Distant Lover by Marvin Gaye.<\/p>\n
The song I do at karaoke
If there\u2019s one song that gets people moving, it\u2019s Gimme Some More by Busta Rhymes. It\u2019s such a wicked tune, and you don\u2019t have to be a great singer. I go for the funky stuff and Busta\u2019s my boy.<\/p>\n
The song I secretly like, but tell everybody I hate
I\u2019m always pretending to people I\u2019m a bit too past it to like Shake It Off by Taylor Swift. I\u2019m a grandmother, babe. And a soul singer. They\u2019re like: \u201cWhat the hell? Whatcha doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n
The song that makes me cry
Every time I hear I\u2019m Still Here by Dorinda Clark-Cole from the Clark Sisters \u2013 who are like the female Jacksons of the gospel world \u2013 I\u2019m in tears. That song always hits me.<\/p>\n
The song that changed my life
What\u2019s Going On by Marvin Gaye. My dad played it to me in the car when I was around 12. I just remember looking at him and saying: \u201cI don\u2019t want to do gospel music for much longer, Dad. I want to do this kind of music.\u201d<\/p>\n
The song that gets me up in the morning
I always tell my band to practise Yatra-Ta by Tania Maria. I\u2019m very much into my Brazilian jazz and Latino. I love all that stuff, because my grandfather\u2019s Portuguese, so even though I\u2019m Jamaican, I have a big Latino influence. It\u2019s in the blood.<\/p>\n
The song I\u2019d like played at my funeral
Heaven, which Gary Barlow wrote for me for my new album. I\u2019d like Gary to sing it at my funeral, please.<\/p>\n