It’s a beautiful thing. I’ve always had so much respect and admiration for artists that have different chapters that represent stages of their life, and the growth that they have with their audiences and their fans. I couldn’t be more grateful to have that kind of career for myself, and to keep doing it and pushing and challenging myself in new ways. It’s a blessing. I am truly lucky to do something that I love and that I feel I am born to do, and it’s really great when you can look back at a body of work that you’re proud of.
You rang in the new year on stage during the second night of your show. Is there a word that represents 2024 for you?
So, after my show on New Year’s Eve, will.i.am comes backstage and my daughter’s there [Summer Rain, 9]. She’s so enraptured by the world behind the scenes and the production of everything, and she loves the band and the background singers. She wants to take drum lessons—she is about it. She gives me so much love and support. Before I go on stage, she knows I get nervous, and she’s like, “You’re going to do great, mama.” My manager will be like, “She’s coming for my job!” And on the way to school the other day with her dad, she said, “When I grow up, I want to either be mama’s photographer or mama’s manager.” It’s so funny. So we told will.i.am that, and he was like, “Oh my God, she’s your daught-ager.” So daught-ager is the word of the year. It’s just so cute. I’ve never felt so loved by probably anyone in my life as I do my little angel face. She’s just so supportive, such a light.
I love that term, daught-ager.
That’s 100% what she is. If I’m running late for something or have an appointment, she’s like, “You know they’re waiting, mama. We need to go.” It’s hilarious. I was working with someone who predicted her birth to me, a very intuitive person, and she said, “You’re going to have a daughter, and she’s going to be your protector. She’s going to be on this earth to watch over you and protect and support you.” And I’m like, Oh, really? And literally she’s embodying that, and it’s just the most beautiful…. I could cry thinking about it. I don’t want to cry today! [Laughs.] She marches to the beat of her own drum, and she’s just a little firecracker.