Alicia Keys says her fame can make you ‘a ghost of yourself.’ The 27-year-old singer says her gruelling tour schedule and long years of musical training have taken their toll on her life.

Despite selling over 23 million albums and winning over 80 major awards – including 11 Grammys – Alicia says her fame has a huge downside.

She said: “Fame can bring a lot of emptiness. You are so driven that you work 20 hours a day, you get four hours of sleep, you do all that for 10 years straight. Then, all of a sudden, you think, I’m a singer and, yes, I’m a songwriter and, yes, I perform, but what else is in my life? Do I have a family? Am I growing inside? Am I always too busy to see my mother and the people I love? You have to numb yourself because you are away so long. It can change you and that is not the type of person I want to be. People always want something from you – you become like a ghost of yourself or of the person you could be.”

Alicia – who is to perform the theme tune to the next James Bond film ‘Quantum of Solace’ with White Stripes singer Jack White – says her soul searching began when she gave up work to look after her dying grandmother last year.

She added: “Losing her made me realise how close I came to the edge. It took a while before I could even say the word ‘grandmother’ because I was so upset.”

Despite vowing to cut back on her workload, Alicia will release her latest single ‘Superwoman’ on September 1.

Janet believes people often question the sexual orientation of Alicia and US TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey because they are such “strong” characters.

She explained: “They are strong women. Maybe they want to put something else behind it because of the strength. Like, you can’t be a woman and be strong, and there has to be something else to it.”

Although Janet is happy to speculate about lesbian flings, she insists she would be devastated if Jermaine revealed he was gay. She added: “I’d be upset because I want to be with him! It’s so funny because I joke with him, ‘It drives me crazy to be a girl sometimes, so in my next life I’m going to come back as a guy, and you’re going to be my b***h!’ ”

The 41-year-old star also revealed she wants gay marriage legalised and is worried she will “jinx” her relationship if she decides to tie the knot again. Janet said: “I think it’s about finding your soulmate. It’s finding that person you connect with, but most people don’t get it right. Look at me. The thing is I don’t know if I ever will or won’t get married again. I’m very happy where I am. I just think I jinx marriages, but that’s not going to stop me from loving.”

Janet was married to James DeBarge from 1984 to 1985 and to Rene Elizondo Jr. from 1986 to 1999.

Style queen Rihanna came at the InStyle and Grammy Salute to Fashion at nightclub Boulevard 3 on Thursday in Los Angeles wearing a black lace dress and ‘Fiona’ shoes by Jimmy Choo. Did I say style queen? Not this time. This dress was a miss. I think her stylist had a temporary case of insanity when this dress was picked.

Anyway, the 19-year old Barbados singer will be bringing together several decades for her Grammy performance. She will be joining 80s band The Time. Other performers include Feist, Beyonce, Foo Fighters, Alicia Keys, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige.

The fab ‘No-One’ artist has revealed that a tendency to bottle up her feelings leads to feelings of hurt and anger. She said: “I was feeling so sad all the time, and I couldn’t shake it. I started burying my feelings, and it got to a point where I couldn’t even tell my family or my friends, ‘I’m twisted,’ or ‘I’m exhausted,’ or ‘I’m so angry.’ I became a master of putting up the wall so that I was unreadable.”

Thankfully Keys has since pulled through that tough time and is enjoying life with current boyfriend Kerry Brothers. But it is a note to remember that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side; and no-one is above being human.