Kristin Chenoweth: Upbringing & Music. Hallmark Christmas Movies. Giving Back. Gratitude & Adoption.
October 17, 2019 • 41 mins
FIRST THING: We couldn’t contain our excitement when award winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth stopped in to talk with Amy! I mean how can you not love Kristin’s amazing and unique voice whether on a Broadway stage, the screen or in her latest album, we just cannot get enough of her. Amy & Kristen talk about how her upbringing in rural Oklahoma shaped who she is now and her latest album "For The Girls". SECOND THING: With Hallmark Christmas movie watching season just around the corner, we had to get the scoop on Chenoweth’s first ever Hallmark movie (YAY)! After hearing about the movie and that Kristin co-wrote one of the songs she performs, we have to say that we are already planning on having the movie on repeat after it airs in November. THIRD THING: As if we didn’t already love her enough, we can’t help but be just a little obsessed after hearing about her heart for giving back! The Kristin Chenoweth Arts & Education Fund was set up in her hometown in Oklahoma to help cultivate young artistic expression through education, entertainment and experience. FOURTH THING: With such a full career and life, we couldn’t wait to hear what Kristin was most grateful for! Warning, things may get just a little emotional while Amy & her talk about family and adoption.
(Episode 82)
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Okay, little food for yourself life. Oh it's pretty Bay,
it's pretty beautiful. Laughs, A little mouth, you're kicking four brown. Okay,
(00:33):
so this is exciting. Today's episode is Kristin Chenowith, which
is kind of just crazy and enough said in itself,
like she's just crazy talented. She has new music out
because she sings. I mean, obviously she was on Broadway.
If you don't know much about her, well, I think
you're still going to enjoy it. I know I I
(00:53):
personally didn't know some of the stuff that she shared,
and it was just really special to have her on
And she's just such a lie eight and I think
you'll hear that in her voice as soon as the
episode starts. So it was really really fun um to
chat with her about music, about a new Hallmark movie
that she has coming out, about just growing up in
(01:14):
like Oklahoma, and how you know she made it to
Broadway and now has this crazy life, and we talk
about gratitude and things that she's thankful for. So with
that said, I'm just gonna get you right into the
episode so that you can enjoy it. But I will
give one quick reminder that since today's Thursday, and if
(01:34):
you're listening to this when this podcast comes out every Thursday. UM,
Pimp and Joy tyed eye goes on sale tomorrow, and
we are so excited about this, and as you know, like,
well maybe if if you don't, but if you're excited
about a new Pimp and Joy tied eye item, then
maybe you do know how Pim and Joy has been
able to help so many different uh people, UM listeners,
(02:00):
people that we don't even know, different organizations, like all
kinds of various causes. And right when I was sitting
down to record this, I got a note from Morgan
number two on The Bobby Bone Show. And it was
a friend of of one of our listeners who happened
to be wearing something Pimp and Joy and she when
something happened to her. So I'm gonna read this quick
note before we get into the episode. But the d
(02:23):
M on the Bobby Bone Show um Instagram said Hey,
I hope this reaches someone and actually gets read. I'm
sending this to everyone on the show. My friend Heidi
is an avid listener and has been for years. She
probably owns all of the apparel you have out. She
was recently in a bad car accident she was hit
head on on the way to work. She's very lucky
(02:43):
to be alive right now. She had a broken arm,
shoulder out of place, um, all kinds of stuff happening
on her face, like a fractured spine, like she said,
like I said, so lucky to be alive. Anyway, she
was wearing her Camo Pimp and Joy shirt and it
had to be cut off of her I'm more than
willing to order her another shirt as a surprise, but
was wondering if when it's sent that if there could
(03:05):
be a card signed by everyone. She raves about the
show and she's the one that got me listening every
morning too, so like stuff like that is just so
I'm messaging with more number two, And yes, we're gonna
get her more than just that Cambo and Enjoy shirt,
Like we're just send her a little care package and yeah,
(03:26):
get the show to sign a card. And I just
love when like watching this friend wanting to take care
of her friend that was in a car accident and
reaching out and I know that sometimes not everything gets
seen or taken care of. And I don't want to
pay this picture like we're perfect and we see it
all and we want to, but this is the kind
(03:47):
of stuff that we love and we love to get
to do. So always reach out if there's a way
that we can be a blessing to some of your friends,
because that's what Pimp and Joy is all about, and
started with my mom's cancer journey and is more into
something crazier. And you know, I just love that we're
able to brighten people's day in some way, shape or form.
(04:08):
So a little care package will be going out and
I hope, I'm just glad, yes, that that your friend
is alive. I don't even know if this person listens
to my podcast because this has to do with the
Bobby Bones Show and the note the text just came
in for Morgan number two. So anyway, Pimp and Joy tied.
I like the fact that we have the merch to
be able to bless people, and then from the merch,
(04:29):
we have the money to be able to bless people
in different ways. I mean, because of you guys, we've
done over two million to various organizations and causes and
people and built homes for heroes and you know, helped
people with all like like tragedies that strike our country
or maybe not even in our country, different things. We've
(04:50):
done things in Haiti and other places, so and it's
because of you. So now that that is said and done,
I just wanted y'all to know. Um. Oh, well, one
more thing since the Pimp and Joy is up, the
four Things, speaking of Haiti, four Things Christmas pull over.
It's going to be customizable tomorrow too. So y'all asked
(05:11):
for that, We listened, and we're trying to make it happen.
So um, that will officially go up and you'll have
a little bit of time to order it so that
way you can get it, you know, before Thanksgiving, because
after Thanksgiving everyone starts to wear their Christmas stuff. Duh, Okay,
I'm done with all the housekeeping things. Here is christin
Chennaman first. Okay. So for the first time in Four
(05:34):
Things podcast history, we have a live audience. Let's hear
from the crowd. Kristen Chenuit is here and I'm super
excited to have you on. I mean, I have you know,
and even on the Bobby Bones Show, we have a
bunch of country artists that come in. We've got guests
on the podcast and different things. And my friends always
know that I work with different people that They're kind
(05:55):
of like, oh, that's cool. And then I mentioned that
I'm having you on and suddenly it's like when is
a daring? What? How did you get her? Yeah? I
mean you're makes me feel so good, very iconic, big deal.
So I'm honored to have you on here for sure.
And when you were walking in, I guess did you
walk past some Chick fil a something? I was on
(06:16):
empty bag. I was like, dang, I wish that was
full of chicken. I'd eat it. Yes, so um, yeah,
you just kind of said I love Chick fil A
more than life itself. That's what I heard you say
walking in. It was like, oh, I love Chick fil A.
What's your go to order? Number One? Of course, I've
got at the pickles that comes with it, but I
also like to add cheese. I love the waffle fries
dipped in the Chick fil A sauce, and the lemonade. Yes,
(06:39):
that sounds pretty good, except I'm a no pickle. No, yeah,
no pickle. That's okay, I'm not judging. Really it was
I was in pep squad in sixth grade and I
threw up a pickle. You know, at the football games
they had those pickles, and I don't know, I cheered
too much or something. And then on the drive home,
I told my mom you gotta pull over, and I
(07:00):
threw up the pickle. And now it's ruined me because
I feel like I'm the one at Chick fil a
that's like, no pickle. I get it. I have the
same situation with trout. But trout, yes, you threw threw
that up. My dad get me fishing the pond. I
caught a trout. He made me. He's like, now you're
gonna learn how to do it. I was like, and
(07:20):
he said, I'm just get mine with the fins and
head and the head on it, you know. And I said,
if you eat that, if you can into that, I
must have been eight, I will barth. He did, and
I did, and I just ever since, like taste, smell, texture,
I can't do it. So did you grow up like
with your dad? Did you grow up doing did he
take you out to do lots of that stuff? I
don't know. Did you grow up fishing and hunting? And well, yeah,
(07:42):
because I grew up in Oklahoma and my grandparents, um,
my granddad was a farmer, and my all my aunts
and uncles on that side of family are so in
the summers. Guess what I did. We did this thing.
They don't have to do it now they have a
machinery that does it. We called moving pipe. So I
would help move pipe for irrigation. Oh my god, I remember,
(08:04):
I don't know why I'm talking about this. Well, I asked,
what did you when your upbringing life? I have this.
I had these Holly Hobby socks. And for those of
you who are in my age range, you remember the
dolls that were Holly Hobby and I had socks that
had I was very proud of him and my own
boys like you need a gap to help move pop?
I was like, what, I've got my Holly Hobby socks on.
He goes, get out dare and moved a pipe. And
(08:26):
I remember I ruined my Holly Hobby socks, and so
moving pipe has really never been the same for me.
So I got moved to milk and cows. Lots of
people think in New York in l A that you
just go squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt and it comes out.
They don't understand how much work it takes to get
the one tiniest little drip of milk out. Of a
cow's teat. Now you probably didn't know that this is
(08:48):
where this interview was going to go today. And I
have never really milked a cow, so I would like
to know. Now you know, I grew up in but Austin,
so I was in the city. I love Austin. But
my dad grew with cows and chickens, and so he's
going to listen to this. Sosce. Please please, if you
know that you're gonna be milking cows, get the bucket
(09:09):
and sit on it like you see, because you're going
to be sitting there for a long time. Um. Shoveling
manure not my favorite. My uncle Wayne used to say,
stick your foot in there and see if it's old
or new. Well, when you have new nikes, Nikes, you
don't want to stick your foot in there. I'm ruined
so many of my city girl clothes out on the farm,
but I had some of the best times ever. I
(09:31):
learned how to catch firefly. Um. I was never big
on hunting, It's just not my thing. But I did
learn how to shoot a be begun. And maybe there
was a propane tank on his land, and maybe we
lined up coke cans on a propane tanke think about
that for a second and the dangerousness of it, And
my brother's like, yeah, I just aim for that, and
he walked My uncle Wayne walked out and was like,
(09:52):
are you really going to try to shoot Coca Cola
cans off of plane propane tank? Get away from there.
But you know, these are memories that I have as
a child. So was it somewhere between lang pipe and wait?
Is that what you said? That moving pipe? Lane pipe
is sent thing different that happens in the morning or
an't I after you drink coffee? And by the way, Amy,
(10:14):
I could talk about this subject all day. I love
you more than I ever could love anyone in this
Laying pipe and moving path ladies and gentlemen are two
very very different things. I prefer moving pipe. So was
it somewhere between moving pipe and milk and cows that
you decided I'm I'm I'm gonna do Broadway. I'm made
(10:39):
for more, like I'm I don't need to be out
here doing this. I want to perform Or so what
was the origin of you? And you know you're the
career path that you're on because my daughter is twelve
and then two, I know you're also adopted, and my
kids are adopted. So yeah, and we have that a bond.
(11:00):
And you know, how how did your parents nurture your
gift and your talents and and let you spread your
wings to go find what you wanted to do? Now
she's she arrived in America at ten from Haiti and
then now she's twelve and um for her twelfth birthday,
I took her to New York and took her her
(11:20):
first Broadway show What Yes, Yes? Did she love it?
She was obsessed? She loved it. So now she wants
to sing and act and be a doctor all of
the things I say she can in this day and age,
there are normal rules. You go for it and so yeah,
but it's like I don't know where to I mean,
(11:42):
obviously she's just feeling out what she wants to do,
but so what what did that path look like for you?
Because she's definitely gonna listen back to this. If I
tell her I had the original Glinda good Witch, then
will you tell her? And this is this is advice
to you both because I had great parents who helped
guide me a lot, and their engineers. My dad is
(12:03):
a chemical engineer, my mom as a homemaker and they
don't sing and they shouldn't ever sing whatever. Um, right,
So I didn't have that kind of brain, but they
saw in me. I sang. I started singing in a church,
gospel and country. That's how it started for me. And
(12:23):
they knew that that I had something special. But they
weren't pushy. They're not stage moms and dad's you know.
They just weren't that. They wanted me to develop things
on my own and find it. So they didn't know
what to do with me. And I grew up in
a tiny town in Oklahoma call Broken Arrow and next
door is Tulsa, and that's where I took piano lessons
at Tulsa University. And they took me to my piano
(12:45):
teacher and then she heard me sing because I had
it pretty high range color to arrange when I was young.
It was almost like where did that voice come from? Right?
So they took me to the vocal department and I
sang for them, and they said, okay, first of all,
when you when you come to decide to come to college,
you're coming here, um, but we want to start teaching
(13:09):
you your prodigy. That's what they said. My parents were
like it's up to you, Kristen, what do you want
to do? And I thought about it, and I was like,
really want to go to church camp. I really wanted
to be in the school place. I really wanted to
do church choir. I want to be a cheerleader. I
want to have a normal kid life too. So I
went that route instead of and I sort of just
(13:29):
developed on my own. I took piano, I listened to
my teachers, I did choir, and then I got my
degree in music when I went to see you, so
you see what I mean. My path wasn't I'm a
child star. It wasn't that because I was a normal
kid who in my town. I was like the kid
that could sing, you know, and dance. But I say,
(13:52):
let them develop on their own, because there's plenty of
time to be professional, and if she wants to do it,
she might come tomorrown day. I think, I want to
take piano lessons, and that's what she's currently in piano
right now. So she's in piano and gymnastics. Perfect. I say,
let her be a kid and do these things and
fine continue to find what her passion is. I specifics
(14:12):
I can give to a kid and to a parent.
I love that. Well, thank you, And you know, speaking
of music, one of the reasons that you're here is
and I got handed this when I walked in, but
I will tell you on my drive to the station,
I was listening to you and Dolly saying I will
always love you, And yeah, you do have is that
(14:33):
higher like you know it's you right when you come on,
Like you have that that special sound in that voice,
and what is it? So is Dolly like your friends? Well,
I mean I met her several meant like twenty five
years ago. Don't remind me a lot of each other.
Now she's coming before And I'm just sorry I'm interrupting
now because I just want to say, y'all both have
that sweet spirit about you that's just like could they
(14:57):
ever harm a fly? Like? Ever? So the biggest compliment
you can get you. By the way I've searched the
world over, I can't find a soul and doesn't love her.
But I grew up watching her and feeling like her.
Does that make sense? Like recognizing that music and spirit
was compared to her a lot when I was younger singing,
(15:18):
and I thought I would never be ever get a
chance to meet her. So when I did all those
years ago, she said, and I was, you know, a
lot younger than and she goes, you're me and I'm you.
I said, I know what you've just sounded like her.
I said, I know what you mean. And then over
the years seeing each other at different things, but also
(15:40):
just having she knows I love her. And when I
reached out and said what do you possibly do this?
I thought we would do something like here you come
looking that song that love right, And she goes, well,
if I'm gonna sing with you, I'm I'm in a
song I wrote. And I thought, she's not gonna do
She's not gonna no way. She canna get We're not
(16:01):
going to do that, can't I'll have a heart attack
right here. And she said, let's do I will always
love you. And I thought, okay, how do you do?
How do you record that with Dolly without because I
can sound just like her, like I know her. I
can do that, but I wanted to paid tribute to her,
(16:22):
but I wanted to do my own version. And I
laid my track down and send it to her and
she goes, oh my gosh, I like that one, like
you do that like this. I never heard it like that.
I thought, oh my gosh, she she approves, you know,
and it it made me feel so happy that she
(16:42):
was inspired by that. And then she did outside herself
of course on it, and I just still can't believe
she said, yes, yeah, well that's special. So Dolly's on it,
and the album is called for the Girls, and you've
got Reba yeah, Ariana Grande Jennifer Hudson. I mean, oh,
(17:05):
Desperado like Desperado. Yes, Um, I can't sing. I keep
that song on the inside. Girl, I'm just gidding you
sing at Louise anyway, that's a jail. That's good. You
know what I did. I wanted to do something that
a man wrote that I knew from a woman singing it,
(17:26):
So I fully orchestrated more in my style with a
full orchestra. Oh I love that because I know two
artists that are originally seeing at men. Who is it? Well,
it's it's Glenn Fry, It's the Eagles, Eagles, Hanley Donley.
But then there's somebody else that did it. Was it Garth?
Or it might have been Clint Black. Clint Black. Clint
Black was Clint Black because in high school I was
(17:47):
on drill team. I should not have been. Um, I
was two girls. I don't know how. I was always
in the back row and like nobody told me, like
just stop, it's time. But we did a kick routine,
death grotto, slow what it was beautiful? How did you do?
Very a lot of things. I can. I still remember
(18:08):
some of my kick stuff me too. Yeah, I could
show you. But um with Us is on podcast. I
love it so much, and you know, Desperado, That's what
I think. And I think maybe we did the Clem
Black version or whoever it was, but anyway, yeah, so
now we've got the girl. I've got the version. So
I always thought, man, I've related to that song. Women
can feel lonely and alone and kind of m I A,
(18:31):
we can have all those same feelings men can. Yeah,
why can't I sing it? So true? Um? And so
like when it comes to asking someone like, I don't
know Ariana Grande, how do you? I mean, I know
how you asked Dolly, but she seems pretty like a get.
She seems pretty busy and hip and a pretty busy.
But I mean, how could you say no to you? Well,
(18:52):
I've known her since she was about eight what. She
came backstage to see Wicked with her grandma, and her
grandma said, he loves you and she wants to be
a singer. And I thought, oh, that's sweet, pat Path.
I gave her wand you know, I said, keep this
wand and always have it. And then she kind of
sang a little something and I thought, how are you.
(19:13):
I knew she was good, I knew she was special,
and we stayed close, and then we did Hairsprayed Live
for NBC a couple of years back, and I thought,
I think, if I on my next Worcord, I'm gonna
ask her to do something with me. And I knew
Leslie Gore, Uh, you don't know me was kind of
I wanted to tip my hat to her. And I
thought that Ariana Grande would be great for that track.
And it's old school, news school, it's fully orchestrated, Amy,
(19:36):
but I've got electric guitar and I've got Ariana Grande
and me paying homage to Leslie. I love it. So
if people want to check this out, it's Kristin chenwith
for the Girls and you're looking smoking hot on the cover.
Thank you. And my dad was like, you forgot your pants,
and so what do you say? No? I said, no, Dad,
(19:57):
I'm just trying to do this trip down and goes, well, look,
thank a lot. Now I can't go to church. I'm embarrassed.
I'm like, no, no, no, it's all right. It's just
me in a white T shirt. Uh. You know, no spanks, no,
not a lot of makeup, just me. Yes. And then
you've got necklaces that are very representative of like girls. Yeah,
just yeah. You got warrior and bad bad ass. Yeah
(20:22):
I have I say bad. I started to say bad,
and I was like, I'm a grown up, but you're allowed.
I'm allowed. You know. It's it's funny because I always
paused when I say that word. But I think women
are having a round. Are you wearing them right now?
I am. They're so pretty and I'm wearing my Okahoma
Sooner's necklace. So don't get mad at me, but I am. Okay,
So I've got to represent, yes, but I do want
people to you know, women are having our moment. And
(20:44):
I didn't set out to make a women power record.
It's just kind of evolved. But it's okay that we're warriors,
we're warrior princesses. That's right. And so you're doing something
cool on Broadway. Yeah, it's going to be for the
Girls performance like November eight through the Seven Teeth or something.
So oh man, I might have to grab stuff here
and come to that. Thank you. It's only to our flat, babe.
(21:06):
It's so easy. The daughter loved New York. Whenever we
go time we were driving down Times Square and it
was loud and kind of stinky and thesh it's the
urine and you know, and she we were just writing
along and she rolled down the window and taking it
all in and she looked at me and she goes,
this is kind of like, Katie, well, because it's so
(21:30):
it's all these people in one tiny island and it's
so diverse, which I love. And you know, listen, you
get a waft of urine, I get a waft of
bo you get a waft of taco bell. It's what
it is. Some of that was just really resonated. I'm
sure it did. And I was like, what I had
never thought of that, that's an observation. But she loved
(21:50):
all the other things were in Central Park and did everything.
So I thought, you know, I've got to make this
our little Girl's Trip. Every once in a while'm gonna
have some very special guests show up on different nights. Okay,
but if you all want to come bring a backstage
so I can meet her, well, that's that would be awesome. Okay.
So something else I want to get into that is
equally as cool as your album in Broadway, at least
(22:13):
to me, is that, Um, you have a Hallmark Christmas
movie coming up? Like, who does it? I'm already on
the countdown to Christmas? Are Yeah? Yes, me too, So
I'm ready for it. I think my husband's like, oh great,
here's bracing himself for like the TV constantly being on
the Hallmark channel. My friend Mary that I make the
(22:36):
Four Things Tots with. She created this shirt that she
sells in it benefits like the military that says this
is my Hallmark Christmas movie watching sweatshirt and yeah, people
from Hallmark like, um, Candice Beret has one and she
wears it like um, and then uh, oh well we'll
send you what how will Yeah, I'll tell me Mary,
She'll get it to you for sure. And so it's
(22:57):
kind of fun when people we just know we'll get
so excited about, like what happened I don't remember always
being that way, but something like the last few years
where it's just been like, oh, like in October, we
just start and we're like ready and we get excited,
and it's like it's it's like now on my bucket list, Like, well,
how could I be like the coffee girl in a
Hallmark Christmas movie? Like a barrista? I could just try
(23:19):
to do I'm sure that could be arranged. Well, I mean,
if you ever need. I mean, I can't be like
a double or sing for you or anything, but I
could do whatever. And you're starring along Scott alongside Scott Wolf,
which is amazing. It's called the Christmas Song. Yes, And
I mean, what do you do? You have anything you
can tell us? Ab I want to tell you one
thing from Scott Wolf's eyes are as loue as you think, Okay,
(23:41):
And so I daily jumped in his eyes and went
swimming and I told him, um. But he's such an
awesome person and fun to work with. The story is
the subject matter. I wish I could talk about it,
but I can't give it away is very close to
my and yours hearts. It's a subject that Hallmark has
not I called before h It was my producer Jennifer
(24:04):
Aspen and I sort of creative idea that we brought
to them and they said, yeah, then, Um, I play
a choir teacher who gave up being a Broadway star
to go teach. Okay, there's a kid that comes across
town that, um, you find out what their relationship is. Okay.
But what the coolest thing for me is I've never
(24:25):
gotten to do this is I wrote a song. I
do write songs. I wrote a song for the movie
that's the the title song. It's called One Angels Land,
and I wrote it with my one of my best friends,
Shelley Right. And that's a first for me. So not
only is the subject matter very special, a song that
(24:46):
I was a part of writing is in the film.
And I I'm proud of this movie. Um, it delves
into it's it is a love story, of course, but
there's two different kinds of love stories going on at
this in this juncture. It became their Hall of Fame
choice this year, and I'm really proud of that because
(25:07):
I didn't set out to do that. It just yeah,
I can't wait for you to see it. Oh that's
gonna feel special and now I'm even more like I
kind of got okay you sold. I mean I was
already gonna watch it anyways, but now kind of you
say there's a connection or an aspect that I'm going
to really connect with. You definitely excited about that. When
it comes to all this success that you have, where
(25:30):
where's your heart in? In? I know you think of
others you want to give back, like where's your where's
your heart? And then how how do you find how
you're going to do that? Because you are so busy
and so a lot of times you can be full
steam ahead on all these different projects. But then it's like, Okay,
I know that I've been blessed with so much, how
am I going to spread it back? So? What where's
(26:02):
your heart on that? Here's what happened. This is what happened.
And I'm a god person, so I believe it was
a divine thing. About ten years ago, my tiny town
of Broken Arrow, we had like sonic and Friday night lights,
Like that's what I grew up with. That's what we had.
We don't have a lot to do. We dragged, mate,
that's what we did. There was no performing arts center. Um,
(26:23):
I couldn't go see a show. So somebody died and
left us a lot of money. So thank you person,
whoever you, whoever that was that anonymously left us money.
We built a state of the art performing arts center,
and they told me that they were going to name
the theater the Christian Channel Theater. So when you see
your name on the side of the building, At first,
I said, oh, I'm not old near old enough to
(26:44):
have anything named after me, and they said, yeah, you are.
You are. Actually I was like, oh crap. But I
saw my name, my dad's name, my grandpa's name on
the side of the building. I thought, we are you
gonna do with that? Are you just gonna come and
play here once a year, you know, and just performer?
And what are you gonna do with it? So of
years ago we just had our fifth year. I developed
what I call the Christian Channel with Broadway boot Camp,
(27:06):
and every year at in February we have auditions and
last year we had over a thousand kids audition. I
can only pick fifty and I bring in Tony Award week.
On the to the night of the Tony Awards on
a Sunday night, we all come to the theater. We
watch it, we have a pizza party, we bond, and
then the next day starts Broadway boot Camp. It's not
participation award camp. It's singing, acting, and dancing intensive study
(27:30):
for a week, and at the end of the week
we put on a show and I bring in all
my famous, much more talented Broadway friends than me to teach.
And it is going to be. It is my legacy.
It is growing faster than I can count, and I'm
developing it more so into UM. I'm building another building
next door that will be called the Creative Arts Center,
(27:53):
which will UM. I'm most proud of this because it
will be for my home state of a Lahoma, kids
that might not have the opportunity to be able to
afford singing, acting, and dancing, graphic design, art writing, directing,
UM opening that I'll probably break ground in that in
(28:13):
the next two years and then it'll be a school,
and then they will also get dinner, so we'll feed
them too. So I'm really proud of what I'm doing.
But I'm having a lot of a lot of help
with that. UM. It's the thing that I I love
that when people say, oh, I know you from this,
or I know you from that, or I didn't know
you were a singer, And I'm like, what, I know
(28:34):
me from a movie or a TV show or something,
But this, if they know you from this, this is
what I want when I pass away, when I move
on to heaven. This is what I want people to
know me. For your legacy. And this year we've had
three of our kids graduate from it and are there
in college in music school. I love that so much.
(28:55):
You're just so special and I'm inspired by you. And
how am I too old to sign up for Broadway
boot Camp? Um? I would actually let you come and
be an observer. I actually I would love for you
to talk about your job, because I think the show
business now there are no more rules in there. The
lanes are widening, which makes me happy because I'm a
(29:16):
wide lane artist. I don't just do one thing, and
my voice does more than one thing, and I've it's
always sometimes looked at as a curse, like where does
she lie? And I want these younger kids to know, like,
you can do whatever you want. You can sing a
country song, you can also sing puccini if you'd like,
But work hard and train hard so that you can
do it and have a long career if that's what
(29:38):
you choose, But um, I would love love to have
your so you can audition at thirteen eighteen and we
get them ready, We get them ready. All right, one
guess I've aged out. Yeah, let's get your daughter in there.
We'll see how she continues on with piano. Right, she
has a little keyboard in her room and she practices,
(30:01):
and you know, but she's still also learning English at
the same time. So there's a lot that we're tackling.
It's not just extracurricular fun stuff. It's the we gotta
tackle some of the hard things, just stuff where most
twelve year are olds are right now, She's not there yet,
So I'm gonna get there fast because when you're young,
you learned quick. M Yeah. Yeah, I'm excited for her
(30:24):
to see kind of where she's she's going to go.
She had me download an app on her tablet. She
has a little fire tablet, and I said, what is
this new app? She goes, it's a karaoke app, so
I can practice my singing. I love her already, and
she is a she I'm a part of some thing
that's happening here here in Nashville tonight. And I told
(30:44):
her I wasn't going to be home tonight because I
have an event. It's this magazine. I'm Vinandetta And she said, oh, well,
I know. She it's not that she thought I should
be a part of this list and what was going
on tonight. She goes, I know who should be on
that list? And I said who? And she said Ariana
Grande And then she turned and she goes and then me,
(31:05):
of course I'm already And I was like, and then love, well, okay,
but not mom. She's like, sorry, Mom. I'm like, hey,
it's fine. We even got cut. I got cut from
something I've already it's already sign steel delivered, Like I can't,
I can't, but I'm feeling with this girl. She's going
to run the world, so I want to meet her. Yeah,
she's amazing. So gratitude is something that we focus on
(31:30):
a lot on this podcast because that's what brings true joy,
and you know, just recognizing what you're thankful for, whether
it's something big or something totally small, because I think
we should be recognized little things because on those hard
days where it's just life is just not and we're
broken and it's heavy, sometimes it's the little things that
(31:53):
make that's all that can kind of, I mean, so
I would like to hear from you, um, four things
that you're grateful for in life right now? Oh well, um,
(32:13):
it's kind of I have to say. I am looking
at this bag that y'all did for me. So on
my bag it says Thunder. That's my dog, named after
the NBA team, So Tennessee, AND's don't get mad at
me New York because that's where I first sort of
made my mark. Um, and then Broadway I love because
again it's a big part of my DNA in my history.
(32:35):
And I'm from Oklahoma, so that's my home. But I
want to tell you something that really makes me happy
that's happening in my life currently. Um, I think I'm
grateful right now. Mostly there's a lot of healing going
on in my family. You know, families are families. We are.
(32:59):
That's why it's you know, you're it's dysfunctional and functional.
It doesn't matter where you're from, you know, but it's
your family. And there's so much healing going on and
and it's slow and I am but it's happening. And
there's a broken relationships relationship I had in the past
(33:20):
that is healing, and I feel like God is like
giving me these like things where things are healing. It's
nothing bad like not erreforically broken or anything. Just healing
is happening. And I think it's important for us to
be grateful for when that happens, because we can spend
so much time complaining about why am why is this bad?
And why are men that person not getting along? Or
(33:42):
why is their tension here? But when there's healing, we don't.
We don't. We sometimes breathe this ivor relief, but we
don't go thank you. And that's what I'm grateful for
right now, And that's what I want to say. I
love that. Yeah, I'm sure that's something that somebody else
needs to hear right now too, because um or maybe
(34:03):
to keep in their back pocket for later. It's coming.
If it's not happening for you yet, it's coming. Yeah.
What how old were you when you were adopted? I
was two weeks old, but I will say that I
was actually supposed to go to another family, but they
found out they were pregnant like days before I was born.
(34:25):
So here's this baby girl and where is she going
to go? And my mom my mom Junie channel With
who raised me, also, was it having surgery, I'm gonna cry?
Was having having to have has directed me at twenty
four and she the doctor who was my birth mom's
doctor and my mom who had raised me. He remembered
(34:48):
that Junie channel With had said, and I'm not going
to be able to have another baby, and I wanted
to try. And what happened is the way I was
born in the same hospital that she had her surgery
and we went home to get m hmm okay. So
I would like to say thank you to my birth
mother who gave me life. I would like to say
(35:10):
thank you to God for the couple that was able
to get pregnant when they didn't think they could, so
that I could be in Junie and Jerry Channel it's home. Yeah,
that's your precious, and the fact that you recognize that
did you have you had um, the thankfulness for your
(35:30):
birth mom and your your mom that raised you. I
consider myself to be my kid's second mom because they
have their first mom. I call it their hating mom,
and we pray for their hating moms. Well they've got
My son and daughter have different hating moms and dad's.
We don't know the dads, but we know who the
moms are and I we pray for them and I
(35:51):
one day when I take them back, when they're ready,
I want them to to meet their moms and so
for their moms to know that their okay and that.
But look what, look at the opportunities and the chances
that I'm so emotional today that you've given them, and
that you're also willing to be a mom who's raising them.
(36:13):
To pray for their mom. They're the woman that brought
them into this world. God has a he has his way.
You know, we think we we got it all down,
but actually it's all supposed to work out the way
it's worked out. And all I'm gonna say is God
bless you, and God bless you any channel with God.
Bless Mamaline, who gave me life. And I now know
(36:37):
a little bit more about my history. I don't talk
about it very much, but I know where the petiteness
comes from. I know where the music comes from, and
it is like a big puzzle that kind of fit.
But I never felt lacking for love in my life. Never.
I always knew that my mother, who gave me up
loved me, and I know that because my mother who
(36:59):
raised me told me every day. I love that, and
that's affirmation for me to do the same so that
they never you're doing it forget and they never because
I know there's always going to be that something inside
of them that just feels different. And and you know,
I don't want to call it a void because it
(37:19):
can be filled with the love and not I'm in
the right kind of love. But um, I know that
there's that there's abandonment and it comes with it. Yeah,
it's just part of it. It is no matter if
the story or a baby when we're brought into the
world's like someone had, for whatever reason, had to relinquish you.
(37:41):
But boy, I just want to I really want to
speak this to any child he's been adopted. It is
a gift because someone chose you. Yeah, okay, well thanks
a loting Sorry, it's like tears from me. Now come
on girl, Um well still look beautiful, thank you and
(38:02):
we'll we'll just in there now that probably anybody listening
is a lot of times people listen on their way
to work. We're putting on their makeup. Sorry, um, we
have our our live studio audience. Did I ever address
how many people are live studio audience was in the beginning?
You know, it's two two people. We have the best
(38:22):
two people on the planet watching us. Yes, thank you,
Thank you Christens, and I ever got Okay, So that
is a rap with the Kristin Chenowith interview. I hope
you'll enjoyed it. Didn't I tell y'all, she's just like
the sweetest seriously she is. She is so kind and
(38:44):
so cute and so talented, and I love that I
got to have her on. I mean, just kind of
outside the box for us. So we're going to start
getting some different people that maybe you wouldn't expect. So
thank you Kristen for coming on. And now it's time
for the email out shout out. Uh. This one is
from More m O O R E. Moore. Hi Amy.
(39:06):
My name is More. I'm a twenty seven year old
girl from Israel. Ever since the shot Forward launched the
four Things laptop decal, I really wanted to have one
for myself. I love everything that you do when it
comes to spreading joy and helping others. The thing is,
when I went to buy it, turned out you don't
ship to my country. Since I really loved the idea,
I made my own four things decal for my mac,
(39:27):
and the money that I would have spent on it,
I donated to a charity in my country. I'm writing
this to you because I wanted you to know, even
though I'm pretty sure you already know that you inspire
us to do good, be better and spread joy. Thank
you for all that you do. Um and then she
even put in parentheses. Sorry if my English isn't perfect,
It's not my first language. So I just thought that
(39:47):
this was so sweet, and I had no idea I
had somebody listening in Israel. I mean, that's cool, and
I know the shot forward. I'll have to talk to
Mary about shipping there, but it's it's more difficult than
you would think. It's not that easy to just like
ship certain places. But I know that she can do
Canada and certain places in Europe, like well, the UK
(40:10):
at least maybe Australia. I don't know. I don't want
to speak out here. I wish Mary was here to
answer this question, but I will definitely share this UM
with Mary and maybe more. We'll see if there's a
way we can get you something in Israel. I don't know,
just like something special, but I have no idea. I
don't want anybody else listening in Israel to think that
(40:31):
now we're gonna start shipping there. Just kidding. That was
a joke, because I'm sure there's probably nobody else listening more.
You might be my my only listener there, but I
am proud to have you, and I think it's super cool.
And I just love that even though you couldn't get it,
you're able to make your own and you decided to
(40:51):
donate the money to a cause near you. That is
what it's all about. I love it, so thank you
for sharing, and you'll can send your emails to four
Things with Amy Browne at gmail dot com. Try peace,
be kind to joy, never lie he can't. He can't
be kind to never lie, Cast up roath things, little
(41:16):
food for yourself. So life ain't always pretty, but hey,
it's pretty beautiful things beautiful, Laugh a little more famil
Tighten up because of course said he can't eat your
kicking with four with Amy brown
Okay, little food for yourself life. Oh it's pretty Bay,
it's pretty beautiful. Laughs, A little mouth, you're kicking four brown. Okay,
(00:33):
so this is exciting. Today's episode is Kristin Chenowith, which
is kind of just crazy and enough said in itself,
like she's just crazy talented. She has new music out
because she sings. I mean, obviously she was on Broadway.
If you don't know much about her, well, I think
you're still going to enjoy it. I know I I
(00:53):
personally didn't know some of the stuff that she shared,
and it was just really special to have her on
And she's just such a lie eight and I think
you'll hear that in her voice as soon as the
episode starts. So it was really really fun um to
chat with her about music, about a new Hallmark movie
that she has coming out, about just growing up in
(01:14):
like Oklahoma, and how you know she made it to
Broadway and now has this crazy life, and we talk
about gratitude and things that she's thankful for. So with
that said, I'm just gonna get you right into the
episode so that you can enjoy it. But I will
give one quick reminder that since today's Thursday, and if
(01:34):
you're listening to this when this podcast comes out every Thursday. UM,
Pimp and Joy tyed eye goes on sale tomorrow, and
we are so excited about this, and as you know, like,
well maybe if if you don't, but if you're excited
about a new Pimp and Joy tied eye item, then
maybe you do know how Pim and Joy has been
able to help so many different uh people, UM listeners,
(02:00):
people that we don't even know, different organizations, like all
kinds of various causes. And right when I was sitting
down to record this, I got a note from Morgan
number two on The Bobby Bone Show. And it was
a friend of of one of our listeners who happened
to be wearing something Pimp and Joy and she when
something happened to her. So I'm gonna read this quick
note before we get into the episode. But the d
(02:23):
M on the Bobby Bone Show um Instagram said Hey,
I hope this reaches someone and actually gets read. I'm
sending this to everyone on the show. My friend Heidi
is an avid listener and has been for years. She
probably owns all of the apparel you have out. She
was recently in a bad car accident she was hit
head on on the way to work. She's very lucky
(02:43):
to be alive right now. She had a broken arm,
shoulder out of place, um, all kinds of stuff happening
on her face, like a fractured spine, like she said,
like I said, so lucky to be alive. Anyway, she
was wearing her Camo Pimp and Joy shirt and it
had to be cut off of her I'm more than
willing to order her another shirt as a surprise, but
was wondering if when it's sent that if there could
(03:05):
be a card signed by everyone. She raves about the
show and she's the one that got me listening every
morning too, so like stuff like that is just so
I'm messaging with more number two, And yes, we're gonna
get her more than just that Cambo and Enjoy shirt,
Like we're just send her a little care package and yeah,
(03:26):
get the show to sign a card. And I just
love when like watching this friend wanting to take care
of her friend that was in a car accident and
reaching out and I know that sometimes not everything gets
seen or taken care of. And I don't want to
pay this picture like we're perfect and we see it
all and we want to, but this is the kind
(03:47):
of stuff that we love and we love to get
to do. So always reach out if there's a way
that we can be a blessing to some of your friends,
because that's what Pimp and Joy is all about, and
started with my mom's cancer journey and is more into
something crazier. And you know, I just love that we're
able to brighten people's day in some way, shape or form.
(04:08):
So a little care package will be going out and
I hope, I'm just glad, yes, that that your friend
is alive. I don't even know if this person listens
to my podcast because this has to do with the
Bobby Bones Show and the note the text just came
in for Morgan number two. So anyway, Pimp and Joy tied.
I like the fact that we have the merch to
be able to bless people, and then from the merch,
(04:29):
we have the money to be able to bless people
in different ways. I mean, because of you guys, we've
done over two million to various organizations and causes and
people and built homes for heroes and you know, helped
people with all like like tragedies that strike our country
or maybe not even in our country, different things. We've
(04:50):
done things in Haiti and other places, so and it's
because of you. So now that that is said and done,
I just wanted y'all to know. Um. Oh, well, one
more thing since the Pimp and Joy is up, the
four Things, speaking of Haiti, four Things Christmas pull over.
It's going to be customizable tomorrow too. So y'all asked
(05:11):
for that, We listened, and we're trying to make it happen.
So um, that will officially go up and you'll have
a little bit of time to order it so that
way you can get it, you know, before Thanksgiving, because
after Thanksgiving everyone starts to wear their Christmas stuff. Duh, Okay,
I'm done with all the housekeeping things. Here is christin
Chennaman first. Okay. So for the first time in Four
(05:34):
Things podcast history, we have a live audience. Let's hear
from the crowd. Kristen Chenuit is here and I'm super
excited to have you on. I mean, I have you know,
and even on the Bobby Bones Show, we have a
bunch of country artists that come in. We've got guests
on the podcast and different things. And my friends always
know that I work with different people that They're kind
(05:55):
of like, oh, that's cool. And then I mentioned that
I'm having you on and suddenly it's like when is
a daring? What? How did you get her? Yeah? I
mean you're makes me feel so good, very iconic, big deal.
So I'm honored to have you on here for sure.
And when you were walking in, I guess did you
walk past some Chick fil a something? I was on
(06:16):
empty bag. I was like, dang, I wish that was
full of chicken. I'd eat it. Yes, so um, yeah,
you just kind of said I love Chick fil A
more than life itself. That's what I heard you say
walking in. It was like, oh, I love Chick fil A.
What's your go to order? Number One? Of course, I've
got at the pickles that comes with it, but I
also like to add cheese. I love the waffle fries
dipped in the Chick fil A sauce, and the lemonade. Yes,
(06:39):
that sounds pretty good, except I'm a no pickle. No, yeah,
no pickle. That's okay, I'm not judging. Really it was
I was in pep squad in sixth grade and I
threw up a pickle. You know, at the football games
they had those pickles, and I don't know, I cheered
too much or something. And then on the drive home,
I told my mom you gotta pull over, and I
(07:00):
threw up the pickle. And now it's ruined me because
I feel like I'm the one at Chick fil a
that's like, no pickle. I get it. I have the
same situation with trout. But trout, yes, you threw threw
that up. My dad get me fishing the pond. I
caught a trout. He made me. He's like, now you're
gonna learn how to do it. I was like, and
(07:20):
he said, I'm just get mine with the fins and
head and the head on it, you know. And I said,
if you eat that, if you can into that, I
must have been eight, I will barth. He did, and
I did, and I just ever since, like taste, smell, texture,
I can't do it. So did you grow up like
with your dad? Did you grow up doing did he
take you out to do lots of that stuff? I
don't know. Did you grow up fishing and hunting? And well, yeah,
(07:42):
because I grew up in Oklahoma and my grandparents, um,
my granddad was a farmer, and my all my aunts
and uncles on that side of family are so in
the summers. Guess what I did. We did this thing.
They don't have to do it now they have a
machinery that does it. We called moving pipe. So I
would help move pipe for irrigation. Oh my god, I remember,
(08:04):
I don't know why I'm talking about this. Well, I asked,
what did you when your upbringing life? I have this.
I had these Holly Hobby socks. And for those of
you who are in my age range, you remember the
dolls that were Holly Hobby and I had socks that
had I was very proud of him and my own
boys like you need a gap to help move pop?
I was like, what, I've got my Holly Hobby socks on.
He goes, get out dare and moved a pipe. And
(08:26):
I remember I ruined my Holly Hobby socks, and so
moving pipe has really never been the same for me.
So I got moved to milk and cows. Lots of
people think in New York in l A that you
just go squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt and it comes out.
They don't understand how much work it takes to get
the one tiniest little drip of milk out. Of a
cow's teat. Now you probably didn't know that this is
(08:48):
where this interview was going to go today. And I
have never really milked a cow, so I would like
to know. Now you know, I grew up in but Austin,
so I was in the city. I love Austin. But
my dad grew with cows and chickens, and so he's
going to listen to this. Sosce. Please please, if you
know that you're gonna be milking cows, get the bucket
(09:09):
and sit on it like you see, because you're going
to be sitting there for a long time. Um. Shoveling
manure not my favorite. My uncle Wayne used to say,
stick your foot in there and see if it's old
or new. Well, when you have new nikes, Nikes, you
don't want to stick your foot in there. I'm ruined
so many of my city girl clothes out on the farm,
but I had some of the best times ever. I
(09:31):
learned how to catch firefly. Um. I was never big
on hunting, It's just not my thing. But I did
learn how to shoot a be begun. And maybe there
was a propane tank on his land, and maybe we
lined up coke cans on a propane tanke think about
that for a second and the dangerousness of it, And
my brother's like, yeah, I just aim for that, and
he walked My uncle Wayne walked out and was like,
(09:52):
are you really going to try to shoot Coca Cola
cans off of plane propane tank? Get away from there.
But you know, these are memories that I have as
a child. So was it somewhere between lang pipe and wait?
Is that what you said? That moving pipe? Lane pipe
is sent thing different that happens in the morning or
an't I after you drink coffee? And by the way, Amy,
(10:14):
I could talk about this subject all day. I love
you more than I ever could love anyone in this
Laying pipe and moving path ladies and gentlemen are two
very very different things. I prefer moving pipe. So was
it somewhere between moving pipe and milk and cows that
you decided I'm I'm I'm gonna do Broadway. I'm made
(10:39):
for more, like I'm I don't need to be out
here doing this. I want to perform Or so what
was the origin of you? And you know you're the
career path that you're on because my daughter is twelve
and then two, I know you're also adopted, and my
kids are adopted. So yeah, and we have that a bond.
(11:00):
And you know, how how did your parents nurture your
gift and your talents and and let you spread your
wings to go find what you wanted to do? Now
she's she arrived in America at ten from Haiti and
then now she's twelve and um for her twelfth birthday,
I took her to New York and took her her
(11:20):
first Broadway show What Yes, Yes? Did she love it?
She was obsessed? She loved it. So now she wants
to sing and act and be a doctor all of
the things I say she can in this day and age,
there are normal rules. You go for it and so yeah,
but it's like I don't know where to I mean,
(11:42):
obviously she's just feeling out what she wants to do,
but so what what did that path look like for you?
Because she's definitely gonna listen back to this. If I
tell her I had the original Glinda good Witch, then
will you tell her? And this is this is advice
to you both because I had great parents who helped
guide me a lot, and their engineers. My dad is
(12:03):
a chemical engineer, my mom as a homemaker and they
don't sing and they shouldn't ever sing whatever. Um, right,
So I didn't have that kind of brain, but they
saw in me. I sang. I started singing in a church,
gospel and country. That's how it started for me. And
(12:23):
they knew that that I had something special. But they
weren't pushy. They're not stage moms and dad's you know.
They just weren't that. They wanted me to develop things
on my own and find it. So they didn't know
what to do with me. And I grew up in
a tiny town in Oklahoma call Broken Arrow and next
door is Tulsa, and that's where I took piano lessons
at Tulsa University. And they took me to my piano
(12:45):
teacher and then she heard me sing because I had
it pretty high range color to arrange when I was young.
It was almost like where did that voice come from? Right?
So they took me to the vocal department and I
sang for them, and they said, okay, first of all,
when you when you come to decide to come to college,
you're coming here, um, but we want to start teaching
(13:09):
you your prodigy. That's what they said. My parents were
like it's up to you, Kristen, what do you want
to do? And I thought about it, and I was like,
really want to go to church camp. I really wanted
to be in the school place. I really wanted to
do church choir. I want to be a cheerleader. I
want to have a normal kid life too. So I
went that route instead of and I sort of just
(13:29):
developed on my own. I took piano, I listened to
my teachers, I did choir, and then I got my
degree in music when I went to see you, so
you see what I mean. My path wasn't I'm a
child star. It wasn't that because I was a normal
kid who in my town. I was like the kid
that could sing, you know, and dance. But I say,
(13:52):
let them develop on their own, because there's plenty of
time to be professional, and if she wants to do it,
she might come tomorrown day. I think, I want to
take piano lessons, and that's what she's currently in piano
right now. So she's in piano and gymnastics. Perfect. I say,
let her be a kid and do these things and
fine continue to find what her passion is. I specifics
(14:12):
I can give to a kid and to a parent.
I love that. Well, thank you, And you know, speaking
of music, one of the reasons that you're here is
and I got handed this when I walked in, but
I will tell you on my drive to the station,
I was listening to you and Dolly saying I will
always love you, And yeah, you do have is that
(14:33):
higher like you know it's you right when you come on,
Like you have that that special sound in that voice,
and what is it? So is Dolly like your friends? Well,
I mean I met her several meant like twenty five
years ago. Don't remind me a lot of each other.
Now she's coming before And I'm just sorry I'm interrupting
now because I just want to say, y'all both have
that sweet spirit about you that's just like could they
(14:57):
ever harm a fly? Like? Ever? So the biggest compliment
you can get you. By the way I've searched the
world over, I can't find a soul and doesn't love her.
But I grew up watching her and feeling like her.
Does that make sense? Like recognizing that music and spirit
was compared to her a lot when I was younger singing,
(15:18):
and I thought I would never be ever get a
chance to meet her. So when I did all those
years ago, she said, and I was, you know, a
lot younger than and she goes, you're me and I'm you.
I said, I know what you've just sounded like her.
I said, I know what you mean. And then over
the years seeing each other at different things, but also
(15:40):
just having she knows I love her. And when I
reached out and said what do you possibly do this?
I thought we would do something like here you come
looking that song that love right, And she goes, well,
if I'm gonna sing with you, I'm I'm in a
song I wrote. And I thought, she's not gonna do
She's not gonna no way. She canna get We're not
(16:01):
going to do that, can't I'll have a heart attack
right here. And she said, let's do I will always
love you. And I thought, okay, how do you do?
How do you record that with Dolly without because I
can sound just like her, like I know her. I
can do that, but I wanted to paid tribute to her,
(16:22):
but I wanted to do my own version. And I
laid my track down and send it to her and
she goes, oh my gosh, I like that one, like
you do that like this. I never heard it like that.
I thought, oh my gosh, she she approves, you know,
and it it made me feel so happy that she
(16:42):
was inspired by that. And then she did outside herself
of course on it, and I just still can't believe
she said, yes, yeah, well that's special. So Dolly's on it,
and the album is called for the Girls, and you've
got Reba yeah, Ariana Grande Jennifer Hudson. I mean, oh,
(17:05):
Desperado like Desperado. Yes, Um, I can't sing. I keep
that song on the inside. Girl, I'm just gidding you
sing at Louise anyway, that's a jail. That's good. You
know what I did. I wanted to do something that
a man wrote that I knew from a woman singing it,
(17:26):
So I fully orchestrated more in my style with a
full orchestra. Oh I love that because I know two
artists that are originally seeing at men. Who is it? Well,
it's it's Glenn Fry, It's the Eagles, Eagles, Hanley Donley.
But then there's somebody else that did it. Was it Garth?
Or it might have been Clint Black. Clint Black. Clint
Black was Clint Black because in high school I was
(17:47):
on drill team. I should not have been. Um, I
was two girls. I don't know how. I was always
in the back row and like nobody told me, like
just stop, it's time. But we did a kick routine,
death grotto, slow what it was beautiful? How did you do?
Very a lot of things. I can. I still remember
(18:08):
some of my kick stuff me too. Yeah, I could
show you. But um with Us is on podcast. I
love it so much, and you know, Desperado, That's what
I think. And I think maybe we did the Clem
Black version or whoever it was, but anyway, yeah, so
now we've got the girl. I've got the version. So
I always thought, man, I've related to that song. Women
can feel lonely and alone and kind of m I A,
(18:31):
we can have all those same feelings men can. Yeah,
why can't I sing it? So true? Um? And so
like when it comes to asking someone like, I don't
know Ariana Grande, how do you? I mean, I know
how you asked Dolly, but she seems pretty like a get.
She seems pretty busy and hip and a pretty busy.
But I mean, how could you say no to you? Well,
(18:52):
I've known her since she was about eight what. She
came backstage to see Wicked with her grandma, and her
grandma said, he loves you and she wants to be
a singer. And I thought, oh, that's sweet, pat Path.
I gave her wand you know, I said, keep this
wand and always have it. And then she kind of
sang a little something and I thought, how are you.
(19:13):
I knew she was good, I knew she was special,
and we stayed close, and then we did Hairsprayed Live
for NBC a couple of years back, and I thought,
I think, if I on my next Worcord, I'm gonna
ask her to do something with me. And I knew
Leslie Gore, Uh, you don't know me was kind of
I wanted to tip my hat to her. And I
thought that Ariana Grande would be great for that track.
And it's old school, news school, it's fully orchestrated, Amy,
(19:36):
but I've got electric guitar and I've got Ariana Grande
and me paying homage to Leslie. I love it. So
if people want to check this out, it's Kristin chenwith
for the Girls and you're looking smoking hot on the cover.
Thank you. And my dad was like, you forgot your pants,
and so what do you say? No? I said, no, Dad,
(19:57):
I'm just trying to do this trip down and goes, well, look,
thank a lot. Now I can't go to church. I'm embarrassed.
I'm like, no, no, no, it's all right. It's just
me in a white T shirt. Uh. You know, no spanks, no,
not a lot of makeup, just me. Yes. And then
you've got necklaces that are very representative of like girls. Yeah,
just yeah. You got warrior and bad bad ass. Yeah
(20:22):
I have I say bad. I started to say bad,
and I was like, I'm a grown up, but you're allowed.
I'm allowed. You know. It's it's funny because I always
paused when I say that word. But I think women
are having a round. Are you wearing them right now?
I am. They're so pretty and I'm wearing my Okahoma
Sooner's necklace. So don't get mad at me, but I am. Okay,
So I've got to represent, yes, but I do want
people to you know, women are having our moment. And
(20:44):
I didn't set out to make a women power record.
It's just kind of evolved. But it's okay that we're warriors,
we're warrior princesses. That's right. And so you're doing something
cool on Broadway. Yeah, it's going to be for the
Girls performance like November eight through the Seven Teeth or something.
So oh man, I might have to grab stuff here
and come to that. Thank you. It's only to our flat, babe.
(21:06):
It's so easy. The daughter loved New York. Whenever we
go time we were driving down Times Square and it
was loud and kind of stinky and thesh it's the
urine and you know, and she we were just writing
along and she rolled down the window and taking it
all in and she looked at me and she goes,
this is kind of like, Katie, well, because it's so
(21:30):
it's all these people in one tiny island and it's
so diverse, which I love. And you know, listen, you
get a waft of urine, I get a waft of
bo you get a waft of taco bell. It's what
it is. Some of that was just really resonated. I'm
sure it did. And I was like, what I had
never thought of that, that's an observation. But she loved
(21:50):
all the other things were in Central Park and did everything.
So I thought, you know, I've got to make this
our little Girl's Trip. Every once in a while'm gonna
have some very special guests show up on different nights. Okay,
but if you all want to come bring a backstage
so I can meet her, well, that's that would be awesome. Okay.
So something else I want to get into that is
equally as cool as your album in Broadway, at least
(22:13):
to me, is that, Um, you have a Hallmark Christmas
movie coming up? Like, who does it? I'm already on
the countdown to Christmas? Are Yeah? Yes, me too, So
I'm ready for it. I think my husband's like, oh great,
here's bracing himself for like the TV constantly being on
the Hallmark channel. My friend Mary that I make the
(22:36):
Four Things Tots with. She created this shirt that she
sells in it benefits like the military that says this
is my Hallmark Christmas movie watching sweatshirt and yeah, people
from Hallmark like, um, Candice Beret has one and she
wears it like um, and then uh, oh well we'll
send you what how will Yeah, I'll tell me Mary,
She'll get it to you for sure. And so it's
(22:57):
kind of fun when people we just know we'll get
so excited about, like what happened I don't remember always
being that way, but something like the last few years
where it's just been like, oh, like in October, we
just start and we're like ready and we get excited,
and it's like it's it's like now on my bucket list, Like, well,
how could I be like the coffee girl in a
Hallmark Christmas movie? Like a barrista? I could just try
(23:19):
to do I'm sure that could be arranged. Well, I mean,
if you ever need. I mean, I can't be like
a double or sing for you or anything, but I
could do whatever. And you're starring along Scott alongside Scott Wolf,
which is amazing. It's called the Christmas Song. Yes, And
I mean, what do you do? You have anything you
can tell us? Ab I want to tell you one
thing from Scott Wolf's eyes are as loue as you think, Okay,
(23:41):
And so I daily jumped in his eyes and went
swimming and I told him, um. But he's such an
awesome person and fun to work with. The story is
the subject matter. I wish I could talk about it,
but I can't give it away is very close to
my and yours hearts. It's a subject that Hallmark has
not I called before h It was my producer Jennifer
(24:04):
Aspen and I sort of creative idea that we brought
to them and they said, yeah, then, Um, I play
a choir teacher who gave up being a Broadway star
to go teach. Okay, there's a kid that comes across
town that, um, you find out what their relationship is. Okay.
But what the coolest thing for me is I've never
(24:25):
gotten to do this is I wrote a song. I
do write songs. I wrote a song for the movie
that's the the title song. It's called One Angels Land,
and I wrote it with my one of my best friends,
Shelley Right. And that's a first for me. So not
only is the subject matter very special, a song that
(24:46):
I was a part of writing is in the film.
And I I'm proud of this movie. Um, it delves
into it's it is a love story, of course, but
there's two different kinds of love stories going on at
this in this juncture. It became their Hall of Fame
choice this year, and I'm really proud of that because
(25:07):
I didn't set out to do that. It just yeah,
I can't wait for you to see it. Oh that's
gonna feel special and now I'm even more like I
kind of got okay you sold. I mean I was
already gonna watch it anyways, but now kind of you
say there's a connection or an aspect that I'm going
to really connect with. You definitely excited about that. When
it comes to all this success that you have, where
(25:30):
where's your heart in? In? I know you think of
others you want to give back, like where's your where's
your heart? And then how how do you find how
you're going to do that? Because you are so busy
and so a lot of times you can be full
steam ahead on all these different projects. But then it's like, Okay,
I know that I've been blessed with so much, how
am I going to spread it back? So? What where's
(26:02):
your heart on that? Here's what happened. This is what happened.
And I'm a god person, so I believe it was
a divine thing. About ten years ago, my tiny town
of Broken Arrow, we had like sonic and Friday night lights,
Like that's what I grew up with. That's what we had.
We don't have a lot to do. We dragged, mate,
that's what we did. There was no performing arts center. Um,
(26:23):
I couldn't go see a show. So somebody died and
left us a lot of money. So thank you person,
whoever you, whoever that was that anonymously left us money.
We built a state of the art performing arts center,
and they told me that they were going to name
the theater the Christian Channel Theater. So when you see
your name on the side of the building, At first,
I said, oh, I'm not old near old enough to
(26:44):
have anything named after me, and they said, yeah, you are.
You are. Actually I was like, oh crap. But I
saw my name, my dad's name, my grandpa's name on
the side of the building. I thought, we are you
gonna do with that? Are you just gonna come and
play here once a year, you know, and just performer?
And what are you gonna do with it? So of
years ago we just had our fifth year. I developed
what I call the Christian Channel with Broadway boot Camp,
(27:06):
and every year at in February we have auditions and
last year we had over a thousand kids audition. I
can only pick fifty and I bring in Tony Award week.
On the to the night of the Tony Awards on
a Sunday night, we all come to the theater. We
watch it, we have a pizza party, we bond, and
then the next day starts Broadway boot Camp. It's not
participation award camp. It's singing, acting, and dancing intensive study
(27:30):
for a week, and at the end of the week
we put on a show and I bring in all
my famous, much more talented Broadway friends than me to teach.
And it is going to be. It is my legacy.
It is growing faster than I can count, and I'm
developing it more so into UM. I'm building another building
next door that will be called the Creative Arts Center,
(27:53):
which will UM. I'm most proud of this because it
will be for my home state of a Lahoma, kids
that might not have the opportunity to be able to
afford singing, acting, and dancing, graphic design, art writing, directing,
UM opening that I'll probably break ground in that in
(28:13):
the next two years and then it'll be a school,
and then they will also get dinner, so we'll feed
them too. So I'm really proud of what I'm doing.
But I'm having a lot of a lot of help
with that. UM. It's the thing that I I love
that when people say, oh, I know you from this,
or I know you from that, or I didn't know
you were a singer, And I'm like, what, I know
(28:34):
me from a movie or a TV show or something,
But this, if they know you from this, this is
what I want when I pass away, when I move
on to heaven. This is what I want people to
know me. For your legacy. And this year we've had
three of our kids graduate from it and are there
in college in music school. I love that so much.
(28:55):
You're just so special and I'm inspired by you. And
how am I too old to sign up for Broadway
boot Camp? Um? I would actually let you come and
be an observer. I actually I would love for you
to talk about your job, because I think the show
business now there are no more rules in there. The
lanes are widening, which makes me happy because I'm a
(29:16):
wide lane artist. I don't just do one thing, and
my voice does more than one thing, and I've it's
always sometimes looked at as a curse, like where does
she lie? And I want these younger kids to know, like,
you can do whatever you want. You can sing a
country song, you can also sing puccini if you'd like,
But work hard and train hard so that you can
do it and have a long career if that's what
(29:38):
you choose, But um, I would love love to have
your so you can audition at thirteen eighteen and we
get them ready, We get them ready. All right, one
guess I've aged out. Yeah, let's get your daughter in there.
We'll see how she continues on with piano. Right, she
has a little keyboard in her room and she practices,
(30:01):
and you know, but she's still also learning English at
the same time. So there's a lot that we're tackling.
It's not just extracurricular fun stuff. It's the we gotta
tackle some of the hard things, just stuff where most
twelve year are olds are right now, She's not there yet,
So I'm gonna get there fast because when you're young,
you learned quick. M Yeah. Yeah, I'm excited for her
(30:24):
to see kind of where she's she's going to go.
She had me download an app on her tablet. She
has a little fire tablet, and I said, what is
this new app? She goes, it's a karaoke app, so
I can practice my singing. I love her already, and
she is a she I'm a part of some thing
that's happening here here in Nashville tonight. And I told
(30:44):
her I wasn't going to be home tonight because I
have an event. It's this magazine. I'm Vinandetta And she said, oh, well,
I know. She it's not that she thought I should
be a part of this list and what was going
on tonight. She goes, I know who should be on
that list? And I said who? And she said Ariana
Grande And then she turned and she goes and then me,
(31:05):
of course I'm already And I was like, and then love, well, okay,
but not mom. She's like, sorry, Mom. I'm like, hey,
it's fine. We even got cut. I got cut from
something I've already it's already sign steel delivered, Like I can't,
I can't, but I'm feeling with this girl. She's going
to run the world, so I want to meet her. Yeah,
she's amazing. So gratitude is something that we focus on
(31:30):
a lot on this podcast because that's what brings true joy,
and you know, just recognizing what you're thankful for, whether
it's something big or something totally small, because I think
we should be recognized little things because on those hard
days where it's just life is just not and we're
broken and it's heavy, sometimes it's the little things that
(31:53):
make that's all that can kind of, I mean, so
I would like to hear from you, um, four things
that you're grateful for in life right now? Oh well, um,
(32:13):
it's kind of I have to say. I am looking
at this bag that y'all did for me. So on
my bag it says Thunder. That's my dog, named after
the NBA team, So Tennessee, AND's don't get mad at
me New York because that's where I first sort of
made my mark. Um, and then Broadway I love because
again it's a big part of my DNA in my history.
(32:35):
And I'm from Oklahoma, so that's my home. But I
want to tell you something that really makes me happy
that's happening in my life currently. Um, I think I'm
grateful right now. Mostly there's a lot of healing going
on in my family. You know, families are families. We are.
(32:59):
That's why it's you know, you're it's dysfunctional and functional.
It doesn't matter where you're from, you know, but it's
your family. And there's so much healing going on and
and it's slow and I am but it's happening. And
there's a broken relationships relationship I had in the past
(33:20):
that is healing, and I feel like God is like
giving me these like things where things are healing. It's
nothing bad like not erreforically broken or anything. Just healing
is happening. And I think it's important for us to
be grateful for when that happens, because we can spend
so much time complaining about why am why is this bad?
And why are men that person not getting along? Or
(33:42):
why is their tension here? But when there's healing, we don't.
We don't. We sometimes breathe this ivor relief, but we
don't go thank you. And that's what I'm grateful for
right now, And that's what I want to say. I
love that. Yeah, I'm sure that's something that somebody else
needs to hear right now too, because um or maybe
(34:03):
to keep in their back pocket for later. It's coming.
If it's not happening for you yet, it's coming. Yeah.
What how old were you when you were adopted? I
was two weeks old, but I will say that I
was actually supposed to go to another family, but they
found out they were pregnant like days before I was born.
(34:25):
So here's this baby girl and where is she going
to go? And my mom my mom Junie channel With
who raised me, also, was it having surgery, I'm gonna cry?
Was having having to have has directed me at twenty
four and she the doctor who was my birth mom's
doctor and my mom who had raised me. He remembered
(34:48):
that Junie channel With had said, and I'm not going
to be able to have another baby, and I wanted
to try. And what happened is the way I was
born in the same hospital that she had her surgery
and we went home to get m hmm okay. So
I would like to say thank you to my birth
mother who gave me life. I would like to say
(35:10):
thank you to God for the couple that was able
to get pregnant when they didn't think they could, so
that I could be in Junie and Jerry Channel it's home. Yeah,
that's your precious, and the fact that you recognize that
did you have you had um, the thankfulness for your
(35:30):
birth mom and your your mom that raised you. I
consider myself to be my kid's second mom because they
have their first mom. I call it their hating mom,
and we pray for their hating moms. Well they've got
My son and daughter have different hating moms and dad's.
We don't know the dads, but we know who the
moms are and I we pray for them and I
(35:51):
one day when I take them back, when they're ready,
I want them to to meet their moms and so
for their moms to know that their okay and that.
But look what, look at the opportunities and the chances
that I'm so emotional today that you've given them, and
that you're also willing to be a mom who's raising them.
(36:13):
To pray for their mom. They're the woman that brought
them into this world. God has a he has his way.
You know, we think we we got it all down,
but actually it's all supposed to work out the way
it's worked out. And all I'm gonna say is God
bless you, and God bless you any channel with God.
Bless Mamaline, who gave me life. And I now know
(36:37):
a little bit more about my history. I don't talk
about it very much, but I know where the petiteness
comes from. I know where the music comes from, and
it is like a big puzzle that kind of fit.
But I never felt lacking for love in my life. Never.
I always knew that my mother, who gave me up
loved me, and I know that because my mother who
(36:59):
raised me told me every day. I love that, and
that's affirmation for me to do the same so that
they never you're doing it forget and they never because
I know there's always going to be that something inside
of them that just feels different. And and you know,
I don't want to call it a void because it
(37:19):
can be filled with the love and not I'm in
the right kind of love. But um, I know that
there's that there's abandonment and it comes with it. Yeah,
it's just part of it. It is no matter if
the story or a baby when we're brought into the
world's like someone had, for whatever reason, had to relinquish you.
(37:41):
But boy, I just want to I really want to
speak this to any child he's been adopted. It is
a gift because someone chose you. Yeah, okay, well thanks
a loting Sorry, it's like tears from me. Now come
on girl, Um well still look beautiful, thank you and
(38:02):
we'll we'll just in there now that probably anybody listening
is a lot of times people listen on their way
to work. We're putting on their makeup. Sorry, um, we
have our our live studio audience. Did I ever address
how many people are live studio audience was in the beginning?
You know, it's two two people. We have the best
(38:22):
two people on the planet watching us. Yes, thank you,
Thank you Christens, and I ever got Okay, So that
is a rap with the Kristin Chenowith interview. I hope
you'll enjoyed it. Didn't I tell y'all, she's just like
the sweetest seriously she is. She is so kind and
(38:44):
so cute and so talented, and I love that I
got to have her on. I mean, just kind of
outside the box for us. So we're going to start
getting some different people that maybe you wouldn't expect. So
thank you Kristen for coming on. And now it's time
for the email out shout out. Uh. This one is
from More m O O R E. Moore. Hi Amy.
(39:06):
My name is More. I'm a twenty seven year old
girl from Israel. Ever since the shot Forward launched the
four Things laptop decal, I really wanted to have one
for myself. I love everything that you do when it
comes to spreading joy and helping others. The thing is,
when I went to buy it, turned out you don't
ship to my country. Since I really loved the idea,
I made my own four things decal for my mac,
(39:27):
and the money that I would have spent on it,
I donated to a charity in my country. I'm writing
this to you because I wanted you to know, even
though I'm pretty sure you already know that you inspire
us to do good, be better and spread joy. Thank
you for all that you do. Um and then she
even put in parentheses. Sorry if my English isn't perfect,
It's not my first language. So I just thought that
(39:47):
this was so sweet, and I had no idea I
had somebody listening in Israel. I mean, that's cool, and
I know the shot forward. I'll have to talk to
Mary about shipping there, but it's it's more difficult than
you would think. It's not that easy to just like
ship certain places. But I know that she can do
Canada and certain places in Europe, like well, the UK
(40:10):
at least maybe Australia. I don't know. I don't want
to speak out here. I wish Mary was here to
answer this question, but I will definitely share this UM
with Mary and maybe more. We'll see if there's a
way we can get you something in Israel. I don't know,
just like something special, but I have no idea. I
don't want anybody else listening in Israel to think that
(40:31):
now we're gonna start shipping there. Just kidding. That was
a joke, because I'm sure there's probably nobody else listening more.
You might be my my only listener there, but I
am proud to have you, and I think it's super cool.
And I just love that even though you couldn't get it,
you're able to make your own and you decided to
(40:51):
donate the money to a cause near you. That is
what it's all about. I love it, so thank you
for sharing, and you'll can send your emails to four
Things with Amy Browne at gmail dot com. Try peace,
be kind to joy, never lie he can't. He can't
be kind to never lie, Cast up roath things, little
(41:16):
food for yourself. So life ain't always pretty, but hey,
it's pretty beautiful things beautiful, Laugh a little more famil
Tighten up because of course said he can't eat your
kicking with four with Amy brown
Feeling Things with Amy & Kat News
Host
Amy Brown
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com