Over the years, you've written a lot of incredible songs, but you're also an incredible interpreter of songs. You've covered a lot of songs, including "Distant Lover" and "Send One Your Love." When you cover a song, what qualities do you look for in another artist's song?
Well, if you're dealing with Stevie Wonder or Marvin Gaye, you're dealing with royalty. So you have to pay homage and you have to do it respectfully. All the songs that we loved when we were kids are the ones that stood the test of time. You cover a song because you love it that much. And a lot of times what happens these days is record labels want you to cover a song just because they think it's going to be a hit. That's not always the case. So you try to look for songs and you try to affix yourself to things that have that traditional intrinsic value. And you try your best to do the best job. You're never going to be as good as the original but you can come as close as possible.
When you look back at your career, is there a particular album that represents a special era of your life?
You know, it's interesting. I write songs about moments in time, so each record is indicative of that moment because everything is so personal to me. From Anytime on, everything was personal.
Of all of your albums, U-Turn is perhaps the most personal. And in my opinion, I think it's one of the most underrated in your catalog. One of my favorite tracks on the album is "Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda." Has there ever been a moment in your career where you look back on and say, "I should've done something different stylistically on a song?"
Not necessarily. I think all the decisions that you make, everything that happens, happen for a reason. Your career has to be somewhat reactive because you don't know by making these events happen what's actually going to happen, you know? So you just have to do your best with what you're given and hope you make the right decisions because you can't go back.
Recently, you have ventured into other forms of performance art. Currently, you are the host of The Brian McKnight Morning Show on KTWV The Wave Smooth Jazz radio station, and you have also garnered critical acclaim on the Broadway stage as Billie Flynn in Chicago. What do you appreciate most from these alternative art mediums?
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