WEBVTT - NATALIE GRANT: "Step By Step" 0:00:05.280 --> 0:00:09.159 Spring is buzzing right along, and I can't think of 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:12.240 a year when I've enjoyed it more. We've had several 0:00:12.280 --> 0:00:16.799 warm days, warmer than our last several springs, which means 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:20.079 I've been outside a lot. That always makes my heart 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:25.960 very happy. When all my senses are attuned to the sights, 0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:30.880 the smells, the sounds, the songs of nature, I can 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:34.440 much more easily shrug off the troubles of the day 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:36.760 when I go outside, when I go for a walk, 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:41.400 when I sit on a park bench, when I take 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:45.879 my son down to the little beach near our house 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:52.160 and let him feed the pigeons, all that stress kind 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:56.760 of melts away. And if you pay attention to the 0:00:56.880 --> 0:01:01.320 tiny beetle who is on an impossible mission, or notice 0:01:01.360 --> 0:01:05.280 the little wrin. I have a little wren that's building 0:01:05.280 --> 0:01:08.360 a nest somewhere, And every day she comes to my 0:01:08.480 --> 0:01:14.560 back door, my back porch and gathers pieces of hair 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:18.120 from my dog. And she comes and she grabs it 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:21.240 and flies away. I know she's putting it in her nest. 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:25.759 Maybe you see the busy squirrels dashing about, You feel 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:29.640 more refreshed. You can go back to your task, and 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:33.039 your heart is at peace. If you don't have a 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:36.959 patch of grass or a bit of shade to escape to, well, 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:42.120 there's always music. Put your earbuds in let music carry 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:45.800 you away. My guest today is happy to help, providing 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:50.919 uplifting songs that will brighten your mood. And she cares 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:55.840 about the world deeply. Nine time Grammy nominee, five time 0:01:56.040 --> 0:02:01.200 GMA Dove Award winning Female Vocalist of the Natalie Grant, 0:02:01.840 --> 0:02:05.960 She is an icon in Christian and gospel music. Natalie, 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:08.440 who many of you know from her numerous hits on 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:12.840 Christian radio, has toured with such greats as Bob Norman, 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:17.800 Jeremy Camp who is adorable, as well as multi platinum 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:22.840 selling Mercy Me. Last year she released an album, Seasons, 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:27.400 and the single you Will Be Found from the Broadway 0:02:27.440 --> 0:02:31.519 play Dear Evan Hansen has crossed over from Christian music 0:02:31.639 --> 0:02:35.040 to mainstream music, where it landed on the Top twenty chart. 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:40.480 And now get this, she has a collaboration with Dolly 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:45.280 Pardon covering Whitney Houston's Step by Step. It is receiving 0:02:45.360 --> 0:02:49.560 lots of buzz and it is beautiful. In addition to 0:02:49.600 --> 0:02:54.160 garnering more than five hundred million streams, and multiple number 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:58.280 one albums and singles on Billboard charts. She's also a 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:03.400 respected author and a philanthropist. She's the co founder of 0:03:03.520 --> 0:03:08.160 Hope for Justice, a nonprofit organization in the fight against 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:14.440 human trafficking. Hope for Justice has thirty two offices across 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:19.600 nine countries and five continents and has helped over one 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:25.880 hundred thousand children in the past year. Before we chat 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:28.440 with the talented and the beautiful Natalie Grant, let me 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:32.160 tell you about one of my podcast sponsors that really 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:36.120 makes my heart sing. Have you been looking for a 0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:41.760 milk replacement because you have dairy allergies or sensitivities. Well, 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:48.400 I found one that's absolutely amazing. It's Sherry's hazel Cream, 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:53.480 made from Oregon hazelnuts. 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Add 0:04:35.320 --> 0:04:39.159 varying amounts of water to make milk cream or even 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:44.040 condensed milk for pies and other mouth watering desserts. It's 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:49.240 delicious and mashed potatoes and cakes, in creamy soups and 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:56.240 even casserole dishes. Visit Sherry'shazelcream dot com to learn more 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:59.840 about this product, to read Sherry's story and a place 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:05.280 order It's at Sherry's Hazel Cream dot com. C h 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:10.599 E ri s hazel Cream dot com. Use code Love 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:14.920 twenty four for ten percent off your order that Sherry's 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:21.120 Hazel Cream and Love twenty four. Hi Natalie, Hi, thank 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:25.880 you for having me here. We throw out all the rules, 0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:30.200 We don't follow scripts, but I just want to catch up. 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:32.719 I just want to hear what you've been doing. And 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:35.880 you know, the world wants to know what have you 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:37.799 been doing the last couple of years. 0:05:38.040 --> 0:05:42.600 We all survived, thank God, right, so we're here still 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:48.880 and we're making music. And you know, honestly, twenty twenty 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:50.720 seems like it so hard for me to believe that. 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:51.960 Was for you three years ago. 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:55.839 What I can't really wrap my head around that because 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:57.760 I feel like there's maybe just a stretch of time 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:03.279 that just evaporated into the whatever. But it's hard to 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:08.320 believe it's been four years. But you know, sometimes it's 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:11.320 hard to talk about how that that period of time 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:13.960 was a gift because it was. It was hell for 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:18.320 so many people, so many people who lost people they loved, 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:22.680 or lost their job, or lost their houses or you know, 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:26.479 so it's hard for a lot of people. But for us, 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:29.640 it was a bit of a gift because it forced 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:33.880 us to slow down. It forced us to look my 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:36.280 husband and I look at each other's eyes and just 0:06:36.520 --> 0:06:40.640 talk and be with one another and our children. And honestly, 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:43.159 it was a gift to have that time together. But 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:48.240 my twin daughters are seventeen years old. They're juniors in 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:51.760 high school, in that grade of trying to figure out 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:55.400 what comes next. And you hear from the time if 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:59.640 you're a young parent listening, you hear from everybody. Don't 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:03.040 blame it goes so fast, don't blink and when you're 0:07:03.040 --> 0:07:04.719 in the thick of it, you're like, oh, that sounds 0:07:04.720 --> 0:07:08.880 so sweet whatever, but you can't actually digest that. It's 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:13.920 not a cliche. Cliches become cliches because they're true. It 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:17.960 goes so fast. I cannot believe that we are looking 0:07:18.000 --> 0:07:22.920 at colleges and talking about futures and it just seems impossible. 0:07:23.360 --> 0:07:27.520 My youngest daughter is thirteen, so I've got three teenage daughters, 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:31.440 and I always say, yes, it's our favorite stage of life, 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:35.440 even though it's very emotional and somebody is crying at 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:38.280 some point every day, and it's usually my husband. 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:44.440 At one point, I had five girls that were between 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:50.400 like eighteen and eight, and while you know, I was 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:53.440 dealing with the all, you know, five girls going through 0:07:53.480 --> 0:08:00.480 their emotions, I was going through menopause. Oh yeah, yeah, 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:00.880 you know. 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:03.480 It's so funny if people don't like, not enough people 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:07.440 talk about menopause, and I'm just right there. I'm fifty 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:12.440 two and I welcome to the Night Sweat right. I've 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:15.360 never really heard people talk about it, and I just 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:20.680 listened to this podcast that literally changed my life. I 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:23.640 was like, I need to share this with every woman 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:26.320 I know, even women who aren't close to menopause, so 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:31.000 that they hear this conversation about what is normal, about 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:34.880 what to expect, about what is okay. 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:36.280 And nobody talks about it. 0:08:36.760 --> 0:08:40.120 Oh and yet then you feel like you're losing your mind, 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:44.319 Like is this how I'm feeling is a real feeling, 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:47.160 even if the way I'm feeling about it is not 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:51.240 necessarily real, But my feelings are real. And you know, 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:54.120 the weight gain and all of the things that nobody 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:58.400 wants to talk about it. Just I feel like, as women, 0:08:58.520 --> 0:09:01.880 we have done each other a day service. It's true 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:03.360 not talk enough about it. 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:06.440 We don't talk about it, we don't explain it. We 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:07.960 leave women guessing. 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:10.840 For me, I just kind of made a decision just 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:14.920 this year of like actually from about fifty and a 0:09:14.960 --> 0:09:16.880 half fifty i turned fifty. I was like, it's going 0:09:16.920 --> 0:09:19.079 to be amazing, real, live my best life. And then 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:21.680 menopause hit and I was like, I'm living the worst 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:24.720 days of my life. This is actually the worst stage 0:09:24.720 --> 0:09:26.440 of my life. And then I just kind of went, 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:30.320 I'm not going to suffer for the rest of my life. 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:35.080 I'm going to figure out things and ways to to 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:38.480 get through this, to not ruin every relationship I have 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:42.319 and live my best life to the best of my ability, 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:46.440 you know. So I'm still figuring that out, but loving 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:47.240 the conversation. 0:09:48.440 --> 0:09:51.840 My bestie and I used to laugh and she would say, actually, 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:54.040 I think this is the first time we've been in 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:57.480 our right mind in a long time. And I'm like, 0:09:57.520 --> 0:09:59.840 what do you mean by that? And she said, because 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:03.280 you know, you put up, especially Delilah, with a whole 0:10:03.360 --> 0:10:07.000 lot of crap, and now you're just like saying no. 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:10.680 I said, now I'm not saying no, I'm taking dynamite 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:13.600 and blowing everything up. 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:16.079 Oh, ed it up and saying this is what I 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:19.800 should have said years years ago. I was scared. Why 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:22.680 was I so timid? And now it's like, actually, I 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:25.040 tell them all the time. I think fifties are amazing 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:29.240 because you actually begin to tell the truth and you 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:33.600 care less. It's not that you don't care, but you 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:37.040 care less about what people think about you, and you 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:39.360 care more about saying it's so much more important to 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:43.520 actually say how I feel and to speak it out 0:10:43.679 --> 0:10:44.600 and to tell the truth. 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:48.240 Yeah woo. So you raise girls. 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:52.960 They are so different. But that teenage thing that we're 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:56.280 in at the moment, and the dynamic because obviously I 0:10:56.320 --> 0:10:58.800 have twin daughters and then a younger daughter, and so 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:02.440 there's always this dynamic make of a third wheel and 0:11:02.559 --> 0:11:06.200 a third I think that exists in any odd number 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:09.760 of kid families, but especially in a family of three kids. 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:11.480 Like I mean, I was the youngest of five, so 0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:15.200 I didn't feel that as much, but it's definitely this, 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:18.400 and it's sometimes two against one because the twins have 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:21.920 this like bond and our youngest daughters like here I am, 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:22.839 and who do I have? 0:11:23.000 --> 0:11:27.240 And so you're the youngest of five? Yes, And how 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:29.520 many great grands do your folks have? 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:35.200 They have nine great grands and my kids are the 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:38.520 youngest grandkids. And then it's kind of funny because my 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:43.880 kids are closer in age to the great grandkids than 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:46.120 they are to their cousins. Their cousins are more like 0:11:46.160 --> 0:11:47.240 aunt and uncles to them. 0:11:47.440 --> 0:11:50.800 Yeah, so you're the five that preceded you. You were 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:51.800 the baby baby. 0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:52.640 Yes. 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:59.640 So my baby baby Natalie is eight and I just 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:04.440 took five of my granddaughters on a little work trip. 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:07.240 I had to work, and the oldest one is about 0:12:07.240 --> 0:12:11.240 to turn seventeen, So trying to explain to people know 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:19.560 he's he's her uncle. That's like your kids. Your kids 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:25.280 are our aunts and uncles to the great grand babies 0:12:26.000 --> 0:12:27.080 that they're closer. 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:29.680 Yeah, but they're closer in age to them. So it's 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:34.000 so it's so confusing, but wonderful. I wouldn't change a 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:37.839 second of it. I love big families, love when we're 0:12:37.880 --> 0:12:40.960 all together. So it's kind of nice because when we 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:43.440 come out to the Northwest, we just get to see 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:47.160 them all in one foul swoop and it's awesome. 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:50.079 Well, and if you're here during the summer only, you're 0:12:50.080 --> 0:12:52.920 probably going to be working a lot this summer. I 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:55.400 would guess you're going to be on stage a lot 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:56.600 the next couple of months. 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:03.679 I started taking my summer off when my kids entered 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:07.520 middle school, and too much to the chagrin of managers 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:10.280 and agents and everybody else, because summer is such a 0:13:10.280 --> 0:13:11.280 heavy work time. 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:14.920 You know, Yeah, that's a Christmas especially in the Christian 0:13:15.000 --> 0:13:19.480 community of music industry. You got two months in December 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:21.920 and then you got the summer conceptary. 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:26.360 But I just said, I for me, I'm so grateful 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:29.000 that I've gotten to do music. I'm grateful that what 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:31.440 would be a hobby I get to call my job, 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:36.559 but my calling, my first ministry is my family. And 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:40.720 so I wanted to spend those days that they weren't 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:43.640 in school. I wanted to be with them. So I 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:46.439 said no to working. I don't work in the summer. 0:13:47.000 --> 0:13:48.200 I spend it with my kids. 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:50.920 And will that be the case this summer? Are you 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:53.840 sticking to your guns even though you're you and Dolly Pardoner? 0:13:54.600 --> 0:13:56.480 I tearing things up? 0:13:57.240 --> 0:14:00.760 Sticking to my guns. We're going to Europe as a family. 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:03.840 It's always been the kid's dream to go to Paris, 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:05.240 and we were going to wait and give it as 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.120 a graduation present. And then, you know, one of the 0:14:08.160 --> 0:14:11.320 things I think COVID also did was just live life 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:16.520 while you can. You can do what you can, you know, 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:19.920 don't put it off. And so we said, no, we're 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:21.200 not going to put it off. We're going to go 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:24.720 to Paris and Italy and we're gonna eat our way 0:14:24.800 --> 0:14:28.240 through Europe. 0:14:28.920 --> 0:14:34.080 That sounds delightful. That sounds delightful for our best lives. 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:35.120 We're very excited. 0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:39.680 Well, you're doing Peris and eating the bogettes. My husband 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:43.240 and I my husband who's seventy, we are taking our 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:46.960 two youngest and maybe a couple of my grandkids. Their 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:52.080 mom hasn't decided yet across country in a thirty year 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:52.960 old motor home. 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:57.960 Okay, so that could make me tear up. So one 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:01.840 of the reasons that I do like i'm a touring 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:05.600 artist because when I was a kid and summers would hit, 0:15:05.600 --> 0:15:08.960 my dad was a traveling salesman and we had an 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:11.960 old motor home and every summer, the day after we 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:14.880 got out of school, all five of us kids and 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:17.280 my mom and dad would get in the motorhome. So 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:20.680 before I started touring for a living, I had seen 0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:24.080 every state in America except for the exception. I'd never 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:27.400 been to Alaska, and I hadn't been to one other 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:29.680 that was far far far east, and I can't remember 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:32.240 now because I've been to them all. But that was 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:35.600 such a gift as a family to do that to 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:39.640 I love a road trip like I love a road trip. 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:41.960 So I hope your daughter lets your cred kids go 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:44.640 because that is the stuff life is made of. It's 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:46.920 the good stuff. It's the good stuff. 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:50.680 I stink in love a road trip. You got to 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:54.320 have the road trip snacks and the games. You know, 0:15:54.840 --> 0:15:58.120 you figure out how many license playeds you can spot 0:15:58.200 --> 0:16:00.840 from all the different states and we write them down, 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:04.080 and it's so much fun, so much fun. 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:08.720 Discover that I even was so musical. Was like my siblings. 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:11.000 We would all sing together in the car and my 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:13.920 parents would sing, and it's just those are some of 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:16.360 my fondest memories of my life. Are those trips. 0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:21.640 We do that too, Only here's the difference. I can't sing, 0:16:23.960 --> 0:16:24.480 but you're. 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:25.520 Making a joyful noise. 0:16:25.680 --> 0:16:40.760 I'm so glad God said make a joyful noise. Are 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:43.040 you going to be doing stuff with Dolly Pardon now 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:45.040 that you've got this song with her? 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:49.240 I don't know. Even the way that that happened was 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:53.720 just such an incredible I don't know if anybody's ever 0:16:53.720 --> 0:16:55.480 shared with this knew the story about how we even 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:57.040 ended up recording together, But. 0:16:57.200 --> 0:16:59.960 All right, tell me how step by step came up. 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:07.440 So first, it was last March, or it might have 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:09.360 been the March before month. Times the older you get 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:12.760 time runs together, right. I was asked to come and 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:16.200 do the season opener for Dollywood, which is in East 0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:19.320 Tennessee here, and so I was so excited to do 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:21.359 the opening concert. I was like, the kids are going 0:17:21.440 --> 0:17:25.440 to come. We love Dollywood it's an incredible amusement park. 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.359 And it was a couple of days before the show 0:17:28.680 --> 0:17:31.160 and my manager called and said, hey, I just heard 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:34.760 from Dolly's manager and she's going to be at Dollywood. 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:38.399 And she was wondering if only Dolly would say, if 0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:40.840 it wouldn't trouble you too greatly, could she come and 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:43.639 join you on a song? And I was like, she 0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:46.880 can trouble anybody. It's named after her. 0:17:47.280 --> 0:17:51.680 It's Dollywood. I'm going to open Dolly. 0:17:52.480 --> 0:17:54.840 We can do whatever you'd like, Dolly. So she came 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:57.159 in and sang with me, and it was such a 0:17:57.200 --> 0:17:59.439 magical moment for me, in a moment I'll never forget. 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:02.879 She's so good. And there was so many takeaways for me, 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:06.000 like for when she came to rehearse, and she came 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:09.720 in and she knew everybody's name that worked at Dollywood. 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:11.880 She knew the guy that was driving the golf cart. 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:13.760 She knew the guy I mean she There were so 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:17.159 many life lessons to me just about how she interacted. 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:20.159 She knew their families, she knew what was happening with 0:18:20.240 --> 0:18:23.040 their families. She was asking about this person's child, and 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:25.800 I just went, Dolly, you are this is why you're Dolly. 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:30.240 And then so that was kind of it. I thought, 0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:33.800 I had my Dolly moment. I'm going to tell my 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:36.920 grandkids about it. It's going to be wonderful. I knew 0:18:36.920 --> 0:18:39.399 that I wanted to. I was doing a remake record 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:41.840 of all these songs that I've loved throughout the years, 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:48.680 and I knew that I was going to do stuff 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:51.560 by step because I've always loved Preacher's Wife and blah 0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:53.560 blah blah. So I was thinking, like, who do I 0:18:53.600 --> 0:18:55.399 want to do the song with me? Well, I didn't 0:18:55.400 --> 0:19:02.159 know that. My manager ended up asking Dolly. I had 0:19:02.240 --> 0:19:05.280 no clue. I'd never even said Dolly. And he said, hey, Dolly, 0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:08.920 would you ever be interested in, you know, doing this song? 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:10.479 And so she listened to it and she said, oh, 0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:13.439 I love it so much, but I'm so sorry. My 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:15.960 schedule isn't going to allow for it, and you know, 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:17.560 blah blah blah. So he came and said, hey, I 0:19:17.560 --> 0:19:19.840 want to let you know Dolly passed. And I said, 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:21.480 I don't even know what you're talking about. I didn't 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:23.840 know Dolly was I didn't even know Dolly was an option, 0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:26.800 so I didn't know to be disappointed and it was 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:32.359 about three weeks later and I got a letter on 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:36.920 Dolly letterhead hot Pink Dolly as you would imagine it. 0:19:36.880 --> 0:19:40.120 To be, and it's probably framed. You framed it, Doniel. 0:19:39.920 --> 0:19:44.639 Oh, oh, of course, And it just said, Natalie, I 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:47.280 have keep listening to that song step by step. I 0:19:47.359 --> 0:19:50.800 keep listening to your version. It just keeps ringing and 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:53.160 calling me back. I can't get it out of my head. 0:19:53.680 --> 0:19:55.560 And I just think it's such a good song for 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:57.760 you and such a good song for the world right now. 0:19:58.480 --> 0:20:00.600 If it's not too late for me, would it actually 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:02.399 be possible for me to sing that song with you? 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:07.359 And I was like, what earth am I living on? Like? 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:11.159 Dolly Parton wrote me a letter first of all, and 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:13.639 then she asked if it was too late, if she 0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:16.239 could be on the song, and I'm like, Dolly, of 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:17.280 course you can. 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:19.520 Again, You're yeah, you're Dolly. 0:20:21.000 --> 0:20:26.080 The answer is always yes if it's Dolly. And so 0:20:26.160 --> 0:20:28.359 she we didn't get to record together because I was 0:20:28.400 --> 0:20:30.800 on tour and she was actually in a studio in 0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:33.600 East Tennessee. But one of the things too for me 0:20:33.720 --> 0:20:36.160 that was, you know, you've been in this business for 0:20:36.200 --> 0:20:38.960 so long, and you've heard so many collaborations, and you know, 0:20:38.960 --> 0:20:40.959 the people are usually never in the same room, and 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:43.639 sometimes the person will just kind of send over what 0:20:43.720 --> 0:20:45.680 they send over, right, you know, they're like, this is 0:20:45.720 --> 0:20:47.960 the parts I'm singing, and they just especially if you're 0:20:48.000 --> 0:20:50.120 Dolly and you're you know whatever I'm going. 0:20:50.119 --> 0:20:50.840 To hear, Dolly. 0:20:51.080 --> 0:20:53.720 Yeah, I'm seeing it through a few times. I'm gonna 0:20:53.720 --> 0:20:55.000 give you what I give you, and this is what 0:20:55.080 --> 0:21:01.560 you get that was not Dolly. Dolly shed so much 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:05.439 about how she did it, and she arranged the vocals 0:21:05.480 --> 0:21:09.240 at the end, and she she gave her one hundred 0:21:09.240 --> 0:21:11.879 and ten percent to it, and I just thought, again, 0:21:12.760 --> 0:21:15.160 a woman that's been doing this for so long could 0:21:15.160 --> 0:21:18.880 have phoned that in all she wanted. But she really is. 0:21:19.200 --> 0:21:23.040 There's just nobody like Dolly Harton. She's one in a gazillion. 0:21:23.080 --> 0:21:26.920 One in a gazillion. I've had the joy of interviewing 0:21:26.960 --> 0:21:31.000 her a couple of times, and she is so kind 0:21:32.080 --> 0:21:37.440 and it feels like you're talking to an old friend. Yes, 0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:38.360 like she. 0:21:38.400 --> 0:21:40.520 Makes everybody feel like they're her best friend. 0:21:40.840 --> 0:21:45.920 It's a gift, Yeah, it's it truly is a gift. Now, 0:21:46.000 --> 0:21:50.480 and I also want to talk about Broadway's Dear Evan 0:21:50.560 --> 0:21:57.560 Hansen and how a Christian song ended up in a 0:21:58.160 --> 0:21:59.840 Broadway smash hit. 0:22:01.040 --> 0:22:03.800 Well, what's really funny is it started in the Broadway 0:22:03.960 --> 0:22:06.959 smash hit and it was always in Dear Evan Hanson, 0:22:08.040 --> 0:22:12.640 and that's really how the song became well known. Everybody 0:22:12.720 --> 0:22:16.720 knew it from the Dear even Evan Hanson musical and 0:22:17.080 --> 0:22:19.880 uh then Sam Smith, I think, did a cover of it, 0:22:21.320 --> 0:22:24.639 and it's funny. I'd never you know, I love Broadway, 0:22:24.720 --> 0:22:27.800 but I'm not like people. Some people are like musical junkies, 0:22:27.840 --> 0:22:30.480 you know what I mean. They like live for for Okay, yeah, 0:22:30.480 --> 0:22:31.479 they let they live for it. 0:22:32.240 --> 0:22:33.600 Do you see my hand going up? 0:22:33.920 --> 0:22:38.000 You're like, that's that one? You the guys that wrote 0:22:38.119 --> 0:22:41.920 the music for Dear Evan Hansen, And of course right 0:22:41.920 --> 0:22:44.919 now his name is slipping my mind and he's our friend, 0:22:45.080 --> 0:22:46.879 and it's one of the reasons I knew the song 0:22:47.040 --> 0:22:52.480 and it's uh. 0:22:49.600 --> 0:22:52.600 Oh, it's okay, it'll come to you and you're gonna 0:22:53.080 --> 0:22:53.480 And they. 0:22:53.400 --> 0:22:57.440 Also wrote all the music for the Greatest Showman and 0:22:58.160 --> 0:23:03.760 so many great Broadway musicals and movies. This song. I 0:23:03.800 --> 0:23:06.200 always loved the song, so it wasn't like I thought 0:23:06.240 --> 0:23:10.560 about recording it because I was like, I can't explain 0:23:11.920 --> 0:23:14.640 how it for me, what I would listen to it. 0:23:14.760 --> 0:23:17.480 I know it wasn't written as a Christian song, but 0:23:17.680 --> 0:23:21.640 I just felt faith when I listened to it. Every 0:23:21.680 --> 0:23:24.400 time I heard that, you know, just lift your head 0:23:24.400 --> 0:23:26.199 and look around, and you will be found if you 0:23:26.240 --> 0:23:29.240 feel the dark come crashing through when you need a friend. 0:23:29.359 --> 0:23:31.359 There's just so much about the lyric that I'm like, 0:23:31.400 --> 0:23:34.800 there's a hope in this lyric's a there's something that 0:23:34.840 --> 0:23:37.359 comes through this lyric that's more than just a song. 0:23:38.880 --> 0:23:42.480 And it was during twenty twenty A very dear friend's 0:23:42.480 --> 0:23:47.480 son was going through addiction and they didn't know where 0:23:47.480 --> 0:23:51.359