Fans have been calling in radio in droves the past few months to request “I Didn’t,” the latest single from Karli Whetstone. She admits that music and the arts might have been in the cards before she even knew it, as it’s something that just comes natural.
“I really didn’t have a choice but to love music,” the Ohio native says. “My parents were obsessed with the arts and music. My dad was into rock and my mother liked pop, but there was always Country Music in the house.”
Karli’s affinity for making music didn’t blossom as quickly as other artistic endeavors. “I started dancing at three and continued through high school,” she explains. “I was good, but more importantly it was great experience for putting together my performance as a singer.”
And, that performance is paying off quite well these days. “I Didn’t” has climbed into the top-50 of the Music Row COUNTRY BREAKOUT chart, and the career outlook continues to beam as brightly as the summer sun for the singer.
Don’t look for any slowdown in sight for the singer. “I’m the type of person that I just want to keep working hard at it. I believe the harder you work, the luckier you get,” she offers.
Though no official decision has been made on the new single, one song that has been inspiring many of her fans—-and herself is “I Like Me.”
“That’s what attracted me to the song so much,” she says of the heartfelt ballad about accepting yourself. “Especially for women, and teenage girls, it’s hard to grow up now. The song talks about feeling awkward in your skin. You’re too fat, you’re too thin. You’re not this, you’re not that. But, it’s ok, because at some point you have to look at yourself, and say ‘It’s ok. I accept me for who I am, and I think it took me back to my teenage years and being in middle school—-not feeling cool in your own skin, wishing you were taller, or this or that. It’s like what you have is never what you want. At one point, I did come to the place that maybe I’m not perfect, but I still have things to offer, and I can be ok in this space. That’s what really connected me to this song. When I hear people have the same reaction, it really means a lot to me. I had a very specific way that I wanted to record it, and really had a vision for the song because I thought it touched such a raw and exposed place that if we could paint the picture, audiences could connect with it. I’m absolutely thrilled.”
She says each line of the song affected her in a unique manner. “Different lines of the song had different meaning for me. It starts off ‘Ever stick out like a sore thumb, feel awkward in your own skin? Yes, I’ve experienced that, but there were other lines that made me think about life….It was probably the most emotional song that I recorded because it touched so many real events in my life, and the people I love. The first time I ever played that song live, I wondered what people’s reactions would be, because while it spoke to me, I didn’t know what people would think of it.”
2011 has been a memorable one for the Ohio native, as she attended the Super Bowl this past February in Arlington to cheer an old friend on. “It was amazing,” she exclaimed of the experience. “A.J. Hawk of the Packers, and his wife Laura are the best friends of my husband and I. I met him when I was seventeen when he and my husband went to play at Ohio State together, so it’s been a lot of fun watching him in the pros, and his wife is my best friend. When you care about somebody and they reach the pinnacle of their career, it’s an amazing moment. A month prior to the Super Bowl, my husband Doug and I were in Green Bay for one of the games at Lambeau, and we got to be there for the birth of their first child. We didn’t time it like that, it just worked out like that. Being at the game was just an unbelievable feeling, obviously. The only way the day could have been any better is if my husband had been playing in it. I was thrilled because he had a great game and played well.”
She even donned the Packers trademark jersey during the game—something she admits she’s never done for her other half! “Doug was laughing at me at the game because I never even wore his jerseys back then. It just wasn’t my thing. But, Lauren calls me, and said ‘Karli, if you’re ever going to wear a jersey to the game, this is going to be one to wear a jersey to. So I wore one of AJ’s jerseys at the Super Bowl,” she says with a smile.
As she gears up for the summer, she will be pushing a new single soon, and hopes to spend quite a bit of the next few months on stage. “I am really looking forward to it, because for me, performing live is what this is all about. That is above and beyond, my favorite thing to do. I love connecting with an audience and being on stage. Any time I get a chance to play live, I scoop it up and run with it.”
For more information on Karli, check out http://www.karliwhetstone.com/!
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