Watching artists like Fergie and Rihanna fill her void was hard: “I’d hear a song on the radio and wish mine was next. But I respect a lot of the artists who’ve come along since I was out, especially Rihanna. She’s smart and she’s worked the business instead of having the business work her.”

With the 2005 indictment of the CEO of her record label, Ashanti’s career ground to a halt. “That was the worst part—not having a say as to what’s happening in my own life,” she says. “To a singer, that’s like telling them they’re dying. It was tragic.”

On her ideal wedding: “I’ve been planning my wedding in my head since I was a little girl, and it just keeps getting more elaborate. I’m a huge fan of the Caribbean, so if I don’t get married in New York, it would have to be on the beach.”

Labels: Ashanti, Newsstand Snapshots