She’s always been confident in her abilities, although Barbra Streisand’s confidence has been questioned at times, such as during a Mike Wallace interview early in her career. “He made me cry,” Barbra confessed on March 16 during the PaleyFest Icon Tribute in Hollywood. “I was 19. “Why are you so self-centered?” he asked. “I asked myself, ‘Who else should I be fascinated with?'”

Despite her confidence in herself, Barbra has suffered from crippling stage fright throughout her whole career. The 80-year-old singer said she never performed for 27 years unless it was for a political event or a fundraiser, recalling a time when she “just simply went blank.” “I forgot the words in the middle of one of my songs,” she adds. “I still have that fear.” But she has heroically learnt how to overcome it.

She says, “I worked a lot on myself,” adding that a motivational video (“it was extremely comforting to me”) and the use of teleprompters helped soothe her anxiety. She still gets unsteady before shows, but she takes medicine to keep them under control. “I got a 10 milligram tablet called Inderal,” she explains. “It takes away the hammering because you can’t sing while your heart is thumping.” It interferes with your vocals.”

After all, the show must go on, a lesson she learnt while performing alongside Judy Garland in 1963. “That was fascinating. “I know how she felt today because it gets harder as you get older,” adds Barbra, explaining how detractors sometimes expect, even want, an aging artist to fail. That’s why she’s committed to staying on top of her game and not letting her fans down — as long as they don’t expect her to film a music video. “I’m a slacker.” “I really am,” she jokes, “and I’d have to wear high heels!”