This month, Alicia is on the cover of Seventeen magazine, and she gives us the scoop on her relationships, her career, and her friends. Buy the July issue of Seventeen on newsstands this June and check out Seventeen.com for more, including behind-the-scenes videos from the cover photo shoot!

Here are some excerpts:

On her current friendships: “I don’t have a ton of friends. That’s too much work. So most of my friends are girls I’ve known for years. I mean we were 4 years old together, or we met each other in high school, or junior high school, so I’ve known them for a long time. Most of them are great people and don’t even look at me like ‘Alicia Keys’ – they are my great, wonderful sisters.”

On what she’s learned about love and dating: “I wouldn’t deal with a guy who didn’t know how to make me feel really loved. If you’re not totally head-over-heels adoring and loving me at every moment, I’m not even into you. I need that. I think we deserve people who really, really love us. Like whether you’re a thousand miles away or right there, you need to make the person feel special, and you have to feel special too.”

On being a perfectionist: “Yes, I definitely am. But I’m realizing it’s okay for things to not be perfect. Like even with relationships – I think we get into them, and we have these ideas of how it’s supposed to be. And when it starts not to feel right, we think we can make it right. But when it’s not right, I have to say, Something’s wrong and I have to figure out what it is so I can feel happier.”

On her biggest struggle with relationships: “I have definitely been overaccomodating. It gets to the point where I’m not taking a second to ask, How am I feeling today? We have to listen to our feelings. But a lot of times you ignore them. You’re busy, you’re in school, you’re working, trying to get into college, to make your mom happy, to be the best student you can be, to make your friends like you, to fit in. You don’t want to disappoint anyone. But at some point you have to say, Enough! I can’t be perfect.”

On her happiness now:“I think at one time I was so bent on being just one way that I didn’t allow myself to explore the many ways I can be or express myself. I’ve learned to embrace the many sides of myself. And there are so many sides to who I am. I have the more delicate side. I have the rougher, tougher tomboy side. I have the bohemian, ‘70s retro side. I have the more glamorous side. I have the more feminine side. There are so many sides to who you are. So now I’m just so much more open to trying new things. And it feels good.”