Who needs critics?

NEO-SOUL singer-songwriter India.Arie emphasized the spiritually positive on her soul-searching sophomore album, “Voyage to India.” But the 27-year-old Grammy nominee admits that, when it comes to people criticizing her music, her first impulse isn’t always to rise above.

“I’ll have moments where I’m like, ‘I can’t believe it!’ ” says the Atlanta resident, who will perform on Friday at the Grove in Anaheim. She laughs. “I’ll actually be mad, with my heart beating fast and everything. But then I just let it go.”

It’s the kind of reaction you’d expect from an artist whose two Motown collections have emphasized resiliency and inner strength. Both “Voyage” and last year’s “Acoustic Soul” garnered multiple Grammy nominations and sold more than a million copies each, attracting listeners with their deftly organic blend of soul, jazz, folk, R&B;, hip-hop and reflections on her place in the world, what’s really important about life and the transcendent nature of love.

“I have to make sure that I protect my head and not let things get in,” says Arie. “My attitude toward what I’m doing creates everything else that surrounds it. If I decided to get upset because someone calls [one of my songs] preachy, when in my opinion it’s just being really honest, then somewhere in the back of my mind, I wouldn’t be able to do that again, just pour everything out.”

Although Arie is fearlessly honest in her work, “Voyage” stops short of painful sincerity. Indeed, it’s surprisingly artful for a collection that largely addresses what can be a tedious cliche, a young musician’s reaction to hitting the big time. It succeeds because she refines intimate observations with a keen universality and a social conscience, reflecting the best of such fellow Motowners as Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, as well as such heroes as Bill Withers and Donny Hathaway.

The Denver-born artist appeared intrinsically grounded from her first single, the “Acoustic Soul” song “Video,” which celebrates natural beauty while gently poking fun at the hip-hop culture’s materialistic majority. Such “Voyage” tunes as “Little Things” furthered this image but also chronicled her struggle to stay on the right path.

Last year, Arie was nearly undone by the pressures of success. “Acoustic Soul” earned seven Grammy nominations, but she went home empty-handed. She tried not to care, but expectations were so high she felt physically ill and took a trip to Jamaica to get her head together.

“I learned a good lesson,” Arie says about the experience. “Although I want to be the best I can be, I’m not really competitive, especially when it comes to my music,” she says. “But when the element of competition comes in, it’s kind of weird. Once you’re thrown into it, you wanna win.”

This year, Arie garnered three Grammy nods for best R&B; album (“Voyage to India”), best urban-alternative performance (“Little Things”) and best R&B; song (“Good Man”). Her duet with Wonder on “The Christmas Song” was also tapped for best pop collaboration with vocals.

“I’m not overly excited about being nominated, but it’s cool,” she says with a disarming giggle.

Arie understands that connecting with listeners is more important than connecting with award givers.

“If I keep coming from my heart, then people will respond,” she says. Also, fans are great for her self-esteem.

“At my shows, I can go, ‘This jerk wrote a bad review,’ ” she says with another giggle. “I can ask, ‘Do you guys think this song’s too preachy?’ and they’ll say, ‘Nooooo!’ ” She laughs. “And then I feel better.”

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India.Arie

When: Friday, 8:30 p.m.

Where: Grove of Anaheim, 2200 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim

Cost: $46

Info: (714) 712-2700