Julianne Hough
I’ve always wanted to sing country music. I’ve grown up with country music. I love how real everybody is, not just the artists, but the fans. I was scared that people would say, “Just because she got a little bit of recognition on the TV show, she thinks she can make a record.” But I’ve been wanting to do this a long, long time and I hope the music speaks for itself. (“Help Me Help You” is) a message song and it’s pretty intense. It’s about a girl who is trying to help her friend who is an alcoholic. It says what I’d want to say to a friend in trouble.” “Jimmy Ray McGee” is a really great song. It talks about peer pressure and tells young girls ‘If you don’t want to do something, if you don’t feel right about it, then don’t do it!’ “My Hallelujah Song” is a Craig Wiseman tune and I just feel like everybody needs a hallelujah song. No matter what you’re doing in life---whether you are working at your dad’s company, playing soccer or being a little ballerina---that’s your hallelujah song. It’s when you feel like you’re right where you’re supposed to be and I’m happy right where I am.
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Brad Angelo
I went through a point in time where I achieved a lot of success as an amateur bowler. But I took it for granted and fell away from my faith, not even realizing how it was affecting my life. Over last couple of years I’ve been diving back into my faith and I think my life from a principles point of view is back on track. This most recent season is evidence that being involved with God as the center of my life has really allowed me to perform. It is interesting that this year I’ve won my first title and many members of the media have asked how my life has changed. I respond that long before winning this title, my life changed. I haven’t changed since I won, I’ve just continued in the direction I shouldn’t have gotten away from. Long before lifting the trophy, I had already won. All I can say to young people today is that everyone has challenges, but the ability to respond to those challenges in a positive way is what ultimately will help you to live through these and be molded. Society tries to tell kids how they should act, rather than helping them understand that they have a choice. Bad choices lead to bad things. A series of good choices, however hard it is to make them, will lead to good things. Delayed gratification isn’t taught any more, but it’s taken me awhile to grasp that. I would highly recommend the book that changed my life, the first I read since high school, “The Shack.” It helped me to see I had already won. That’s what everyone at every level of life is looking for.
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Melinda Doolittle
I was tone deaf all the way up until 7th grade. The chorus teacher would invite me to sing because I looked like I knew what I was doing. They'd tell me to stand in the middle and just mouth the words. 'Don't you dare sing out loud!' I loved music so much; I would pray that I got better. (On being a back-up artist for stars like Michael McDonald.) I watched these artists and they instilled in me what to do in front of a live audience and taught me so much about what it takes to be a singer. I look back on all of this as preparation for where I'm at now. (On her new release, “Coming Back To You.”) The songs are so powerful because they bring you back to a time when a singer wasn't afraid to inhabit the song emotionally. One of the things I love about the retro-soul movement is the then-and-now relationship between the eras. The songs create these universal moods that are layered with this very present kind of signature feel. I'm thrilled to be singing songs backed by live instruments that paint a picture for the listener. I have always loved The Gladys Knights, the Tina Turners, the Sara Vaughns - singers who knew how to find the emotional heart of a song and tell a story. Singers who knew how to lay it in the pocket and bring it home. (Melinda is active in several charitable endeavors, including Malaria No More, The Boys & Girls Club of America and a community driven children's organization called The League. Melinda says about The League--) I love working with that organization because we go directly into the schools and try to inspire kids to learn about character building and what they can do to help nurture their own communities.
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Program 1: Stacy Dragila, Matt Hasselbeck, Dave Downing view »Program 2: Kevin Windham, Amanda Borden, John Smoltz view »
Program 3: Dale Jarrett, Mary Joe Fernandez, Darren Henry view »
Program 4: Gail Devers, Mike Jackson, Ruthie Bolton-Holifield view »
Program 5: Kirk Franklin, Ericka Dunlap, Mercy Me view »
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Program 7: Red Cloud, Jenny Johnson Jordan, Rulon Gardner view »
Program 8: Patty Wagstaff, Barb Linquist, Mrs. Kathy Keating view »
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Program 10: Evander Holyfield, Norm Miller, Bonnie Blair view »
Program 11: General John Shalikashvili, Dr. Shannon Lucid, Jeff Gordon view »
Program 12: Mike Clark, Shaun Murray, Laura Wilkinson view »
Program 13: Jennie Finch, Tim Curran, Michael Weiss view »
Program 14: David Tyree, Ashley Bauer, David Reutimann view »
Program 15: Lindsay Tarpley, Chris Lieto, Martina McBride view »
Program 16: Kelly Clark, Ruth Riley, Chris Garrity view »
Program 17: Tucker Hibbert, Juan Pierre, John Velazquez view »
Program 18: Albert Pujols, Emily Copeland, Tao Berman view »
Program 19: Jarome Iginla, Bryan Clay, K.J Choi view »
Program 20: CJ & Damien Hobgood, Misty May-Treanor, Dwight Howard view »
Program 21: Blaine Wilson, Allison Shreeve, Diego Gutierrez view »
Program 22: Phil Pfister, Ross Anderson, Sheila Taormina view »
Program 23: Josh Davis, Paige McPherson, David Ragan view »
Program 24: Muhsin Muhammad, Apolo Ohno, Donny Robinson view »
Program 25: Bobby Mote, Allyson Felix, Matt Hughes view »
Program 26: Julianne Hough, Brad Angelo, Melinda Doolittle view »
