Dancing - and singing - with the stars Julianne Hough

By Janis Fontaine

Cox News Service

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.

Julianne Hough danced into our hearts when she won back-to-back titles on "Dancing With the Stars." Now she's trying to sing her way in.

Hough released her self-titled, debut country album in May and it debuted at No. 1 on the country chart and hit No. 3 on the pop chart. The first hit single, "That Song in My Head," was a catchy tune about young love.

"People may be a little bit skeptical about this dancer girl going over to singing," she said, "but what they don't know is I've been singing longer than I've been dancing - and singing, that's where my heart is."

It's hard enough to break into mainstream country, and with a half-dozen young, cute blondes on the horizon, it may be difficult for Hough to stand out.

"The other blondes each have their little thing that sets them apart: Taylor (Swift) is young, and she plays the guitar and writes her songs; and Carrie (Underwood) is known from 'American Idol' and has amazing vocal chops. But not a lot of other country artists dance. I feel like that can be something that sets me apart, but at the same time I want people to know singing has always been my first love."

Getting the album made at all took persistence. Hough balanced the rigors of two victorious seasons on "Dancing With the Stars," in which she paired with race-car driver Helio Castroneves and speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, with recording in Nashville.

"Before I was on the show, I was planning to move to Nashville, but then I was asked to be on 'Dancing With the Stars.' I thought, I can't turn down this much exposure. This could be a very big platform in helping me get my foot in the door. So we put (the music) on hold, and after the season we went straight to Nashville and started meeting with producers and songwriters and record labels. It was going really well, and then the next season of ('Stars') started, and I had to put the music on hold again. But even if I wasn't going to get signed, we were going to go ahead and do it ourselves."

That didn't happen.

"Luke Lewis (head of Mercury Records) had never seen the show, but he'd heard about me. When I met him, it felt like I connected with him really well. It just felt right. The minute I got finished with ('Stars'), I went to Nashville, and we started rocking and rolling."

Overall, the album's a solid offering that Hough can be proud of.

"I had a say in every single song," she says. "The label said, 'At the end of the day, you're the boss, and don't sing anything you don't want to sing.' I handpicked every single song, songs that best suited me and who I was. That's why we picked my single, 'That Song in My Head,' because it's a very uplifting, positive song that shows my personality. I think my fans who've seen me on the show know my personality, and the people who don't will get to see my personality. That's my biggest thing, to show people who I am."

She's had an enviable opportunity to stretch herself by appearing on Brad Paisley's tour this summer. The tour stops Sunday at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater. But could Hough be too sweet, too innocent for a country music career?

"A lot of people might know me as the goody-goody Mormon girl, and I am that way now, but I haven't always been. I've been through experiences at such a young age that most people my age don't go through, or they go through and can't get out of. And so I feel like I can relate to those people, and they can relate to me."

"I've been through some experiences with friends and family that have been alcoholics, and I've tried to help them. So I'm not singing anything on this album that I can't truly relate to."

When "Dancing With the Stars" opens its seventh season at 8 p.m. Sept. 22, Hough will be dancing again. ABC said this week that she'll be paired with Cody Linley, 18, from TV's "Hannah Montana."

What's more, various sources say that her summer concert tour has resulted in a another winning combination. She and Chuck Wicks, who's also on the tour with Paisley, are dating. She, no doubt, danced and sang her way into his heart.