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She was a total sweetheart when we spoke, often referring to me as \u201chon.\u201d I loved her down-home attitude and friendliness and quickly discovered who she was, renting \u201cThe Music Man,\u201d watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (one character was modeled after her), and seeing \u201cR.V.\u201d and \u201cBewitched.\u201d Since then, she\u2019s become more and more popular and this interview has continued to be one of my favorites. In 2012, my wife and I attended her concert in Marietta, Georgia, and out of all her songs, she brought entire house down with a rousing version of Sandi Patty\u2019s \u201cUpon This Rock.\u201d (see the video below).<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
So I\u2019ve been told you\u2019ve been sick. Are you getting better?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on around \u201cThe West Wing\u201d cast. Everybody on the set is sick. I don\u2019t get to rest. On Wednesday I was feeling so poor, but I worked about 17 hours that day. Today, I\u2019m about half a day in.<\/p>\n I\u2019m very lucky in that I get to do a lot of stuff. My album is a priority, \u201cWest Wing\u201d is a priority, I\u2019ve just done a couple movies and I\u2019m getting ready to do a couple more. Whatever is important that day is what I focus on. I just have to constantly be adaptable. Two weeks ago, I was singing at Carnegie Hall. You just have to switch modes.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n How do you manage it all?<\/strong><\/p>\n My manager helps me out a lot with my schedule. Coming from Broadway, it\u2019s not for wimps, I\u2019m pretty hard on myself and I keep myself on schedule. I have an assistant who helps. I pray a lot. I do a lot of praying that I\u2019m not missing something.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Are you still doing musicals?<\/strong><\/p>\n I left \u201cWicked\u201d in July. It was a great experience. I loved it. There are a couple of things in development. I have ample opportunity. I will always go back to Broadway.<\/p>\n I just finished \u201cBewitched\u201d and \u201cPink Panther.\u201d They were amazing experiences. I got to play opposite Steve Martin and Nicole Kidman. It doesn\u2019t get better than that. As an actor or singer, you want to keep it changing and not be pigeon-holed. Both parts are very different and it\u2019s different from West Wing. That\u2019s rewarding as an artist.<\/p>\n I think Sally Field has had a good career. I think she\u2019s been smart in what she\u2019s chosen to do. I really respect Patricia Heaton, just an example of someone who\u2019s worked really hard and hit it at the right time. Julie Andrews, she does it all. She\u2019s a singer. She\u2019s done Broadway. She\u2019s my favorite performer. I do really enjoy her music.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n What are your highlights from \u201cAs I Am\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n Growing up in Oklahoma, country music was an important part of my life. It wasn\u2019t til college and my voice teacher opened up my voice and help me train it. For me, \u201cIt Will Be Me\u201d is a song that, even though Faith Hill did it, it\u2019s something that I hope I can be for my friends and family. It has a country flair, and that\u2019s how I grew up singing. Definitely \u201cThe Song Remembers When.\u201d Of course, Sandy Patti was an influence on my life. It shows the more operatic, gospel-y type. It\u2019s fun, because (the album) shows a variety of what I can do. I just got lucky because I got an Amy Grant song on there. I grew up singing. I remember my aunt singing \u201cPoor Wayfaring Stranger.\u201d \u201cAbide In Me\u201d and \u201cBorrowed Angels\u201d are new. Those are songs that touched me when I first heard them. The rest are songs that have been in my past.<\/p>\n My first album was definitely Broadway and this album is totally different for most of my fans. I wanted to do it after 9\/11 because I wanted to have a spiritual record out there. Integrity asked if I wanted to do this, and I said heck yes, I wanted to do it two years ago. This is more a blessing for me than anyone. I grew up wanting to be a Christian singer. My path ended up changing but this is still who I am.<\/p>\n I was in New York when (September 11) happened. I saw first hand how it affected me, and even people who weren\u2019t believers. I felt at that point, people wanted hope. They wanted something to grab onto, they wanted something to believe. That\u2019s what struck me. I want to do this. Sony Classical, this wouldn\u2019t normally be their thing. I\u2019m lucky because I have people who believe in me. When Integrity came on board, it just was a God thing. Now is the right time for this to happen.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And you\u2019re appearing at Women of Faith?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m really excited about that because it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve always heard about. It was great because when I talked to ladies on the phone, I told them \u201cI have a lot of Jewish friends, I have a lot of gay friends, I have a lot of friends who don\u2019t believe in my life. But I certainly would like to do this.\u201d I just wanted to go to the Women of Faith, to go and be blessed myself. I have a certain fan base, but this has also given me an opportunity but this is giving me a new audience. This is something that\u2019s like a lifelong dream for me. It\u2019s kind of going to feel like a homecoming. Now I do concert work. I\u2019ll be doing LA opera, Paris opera, I\u2019ll be doing the met. This is yet another aspect of my life.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Would you do another gospel album?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019d love to do another project like this. I have a bunch of songs that I wrote when I was little. I\u2019d like to take those out and polish them up and do some original stuff. Certainly I\u2019d like to see how this goes over. It does matter but it doesn\u2019t matter. It\u2019s out of my hands. I know it\u2019s what God wants me to do.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s an animated movie for Disney and that\u2019s huge for me. I\u2019m going to get to sing in that. I recently got a movie with Emma Thompson and Annette Benning. Then I have concerts. Then I go on tour with Domingo. I really wanted to stay away from the classical sound.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The GRAMMYS are coming up. Have you been?<\/strong><\/p>\n I have. Joshua Bell, my ex-boyfriend was nominated. I love it, because there\u2019s so many singers, spiritual and gospel and Christian singers. These are amazing voices. I was singing at the White House. Yolanda Adams was there. She was unbelievable.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As we ended the interview, we spoke about equity and non-equity traveling Broadway shows, her hometown of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and even the Christian singer, Carman, who filmed a movie there. She said she\u2019d like to see it, gave me her agent\u2019s address and I sent her the movie. She also mentioned she\u2019d be coming soon to Atlanta and asked what spots she needed to see.<\/p>\n View Kristin\u2019s dynamic version of \u201cUpon This Rock\u201d below.<\/p>\n