CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Julianne Hough is having an amazing run. There’s no doubt about that.
The pretty, 19-year-old dance sensation has already won back-to-back titles on CBS’ “Dancing with the Stars” (as Apolo Ohno and Helio Castroneves’ partner) and is considered by some to be one of the best dancers on the planet.
She’s parlayed her television success into a country album and a hit single. This summer, she’s on tour and opening for Brad Paisley.
Calling from Nashville, a week before her July 17 appearance at Jamboree in the Hills, Hough talked about where she’s been over the last couple of years and where she’s going.
“My summer has been amazing,” she said. “It’s been such a blast. Brad is awesome — a great talent. It’s wonderful to watch him perform.”
Making the switch
Country crowds and Paisley fans, Hough says, have really welcomed her. Not all reality stars have been embraced once they step away from the cameras. One of the most frequent criticisms of “American Idol” and “Nashville Star” is television audiences are willing to support individual singers with votes but not with sales. Winners of these contests often get their record contract then are dropped when television fans don’t follow them to the radio.
Hough seems to be doing just fine, though. Her self-titled debut album opened at No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart and No. 3 on the Top 200 chart when it was released May 20.
“I had no idea that would happen. For a new artist to come right out of the box and debut at number one is pretty insane.”
She says she’s grateful so many of her fans from “Dancing with the Stars” decided to follow her over to music. It’s a little bit of a leap of faith. Some of them, she thinks, are very much longtime country fans, but some of them probably aren’t.
“It’s funny,” she said. “The people who watch ‘Dancing with the Stars’ really come from everywhere. It’s one of the only shows you can watch with the whole family. You have people who watch who listen to rap or rock. It’s pretty cool to bring some folks over who haven’t given country a chance.”
Hough has a kind of schoolgirl giddiness over how people have been warming up to her music. Crowds are starting to sing along with her. She couldn’t be happier.
“I’m really the luckiest girl in the world.”
First love
Country music, she says, has always been her first love. More than a year ago, when she first started looking into a career in music, Hough hired a big-time manager who’d overseen the careers of artists like The Eagles, Stevie Nicks and Christina Aguilera. There was the inevitable discussion about what she wanted to do.
“Just so you know,” she said to him, “I only want to sing country.” She said her manager told her, “Well, that’s weird. You dance. You could be a pop star.”
Hough didn’t want that.
“That’s not who I am,” she said.
The record company agreed to give her a try. She fit the process of assembling musicians, finding songs and recording in between seasons five and six of “Dancing with the Stars,” as well as a dance tour for the show.
“Everything had to be done by February 17th,” she said.
“I remember because I had to go back to ‘Dancing with the Stars.’”
Hough didn’t write the songs on the album, but she did handpick her own material. She says it was important to her to find songs she could relate to or related to people she knew. She’s already thinking about another album later on and wants to write a lot of the material to make it a little more personal.
Another album could be a few years off. Her debut has only been out for a little more than a month and she’s planning on touring with it as much as she can before heading back for another season of “Dancing with the Stars.”
She’s proud of what she’s done on the show, but she’s hoping this will be her last season. Country, she says, is for keeps. “I just want to go where my heart is. And that’s music.”
Want to go?
Jamboree in the Hills
WHEN: July 17-20
WHERE: Morristown, Ohio (approximately 20 miles west of Wheeling)
TICKETS: Start at $95, with packages available for multiple days and camping
INFO: www.jamboreeinthehills.com
Lineup:
July 17: Brad Paisley, Jewel, Julianne Hough, Chuck Wicks, Joe Zelek, Tristan “T-Bone” Smith
July 18: Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Gary Allan, Crossin Dixon
July 19: Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire, Neal McCoy, Rodney Atkins, The Hitmen of Music Row, Christian Simmons, The Chris Higbee Project, The Fabulous Bender Boys
July 20: Sugarland, Loretta Lynn, Paul Thorn, Keith Anderson
Reach Bill Lynch at lynch@wvgazette.com or 348-5195.