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 – although my grandparents thought it was a bit too secular, even though it was gospel.

The song I inexplicably know every lyric to For some reason, out of all his songs, Adore by Prince always speaks to me.

The first single I bought
Funkin’ for Jamaica (NY) by Tom Browne from Red Records in Brixton, although I was so young I could hardly reach the counter.

The best song to play at a party
Sex Machine by James Brown gets everybody up, and sends everybody nuts. It’s one of those songs that cuts through everyone’s musical taste.

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’s funny, I don’t feel that way about Prince’s music. But anything by Whitney just destroys me.

The best song to have sex to
Distant Lover by Marvin Gaye.

The song I do at karaoke
If there’s one song that gets people moving, it’s Gimme Some More by Busta Rhymes. It’s such a wicked tune, and you don’t have to be a great singer. I go for the funky stuff and Busta’s my boy.

The song I secretly like, but tell everybody I hate
I’m always pretending to people I’m a bit too past it to like Shake It Off by Taylor Swift. I’m a grandmother, babe. And a soul singer. They’re like: “What the hell? Whatcha doing here?”

The song that makes me cry
Every time I hear I’m Still Here by Dorinda Clark-Cole from the Clark Sisters – who are like the female Jacksons of the gospel world – I’m in tears. That song always hits me.

The song that changed my life
What’s 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: “I don’t want to do gospel music for much longer, Dad. I want to do this kind of music.”

The song that gets me up in the morning
I always tell my band to practise Yatra-Ta by Tania Maria. I’m very much into my Brazilian jazz and Latino. I love all that stuff, because my grandfather’s Portuguese, so even though I’m Jamaican, I have a big Latino influence. It’s in the blood.

The song I’d like played at my funeral
Heaven, which Gary Barlow wrote for me for my new album. I’d like Gary to sing it at my funeral, please.

Mica Paris is working with Genaura Levagen+ Smart Face Serum. She plays Watford Colosseum on 28 November