Jaci Velasquez: a 16 year old progidy? I think so. A normal American teenager? I know so. At the Bellingham show put on by The Rock Promotions I got to interview Jaci in her dressing room while she put on make-up. So in this quiet moment before the packed-out September 7th concert, we got to go one on one.
Jaci grew up with music. At the age of 10, Jaci's pastoral parents became her back-up singers. "I also always had a dream -- I have always wanted to sing at the White House and I wanted to do it before I was 13 because you know you're just old after 13." reflects Jaci about her extraordinary past. "Then one day I was doing a benefit concert and someone asked if I wanted to do the anthem at the White House. But you know God will give you the desires of your heart if you believe in Him."
When asked what she plans to do in the future, she looks up and says "I do not know." Jaci looks a little worried before she breaks into a smile and a giggle and says "I just want to be where God puts me. When I was little I wanted to be a pilot. Could you just imagine, now I love what I do. Do you think this eye matches the other one?" Jaci asked in-between questions as she puts on her eye shadow.
"What do you hope people will get out of your album?"
"I hope they get a call on their lives from God. The song "On My Knees" means so much to me where I'm at as a person right now." says Jaci. One song that is a presonal favorite to her is "I Promise," a song about purity until marriage. "Sometimes people say I don't know all the temptions. I do, I just choose not to act on those thoughts." The favorite game Jaci likes to play with us Canadians is on our accents. "Say 'out and about' or 'sorry'," she is constantly asking us with a mischevious twinkle in her eye. For some reason our accents are all wrong.
Also on a lesser note her favorite film is Lassie Come Home, and her favorite ice cream is Bubble Gum.
I asked a fellow writer what he thought of the show and his words were "Wow I just came to see if she could really sing. Boy can she!" Jaci also did a concert for Northview Comunity Church's Homecoming on September 8th at Rotary Stadium and with the border hassel, the only place to get Jaci's CD was at the House of James, which sold out -- with lengthy backorders -- before noon Monday.
