[Joe Betagli interviewed Jaci well before her performance at 9:23 PM]
“And joining us now in the Crosswalk booth is none other than Jaci Velasquez. You know, Jaci, we just interviewed Stacy Orrico, 13-year-old, who won the competition last year. You’re 18?”
“19.”
“19 now. This is teenager night here. Well, welcome aboard.”
“Well, thank-you, thank-you for having me.”
“Tell us a little bit about Christian Artists’ Seminar -- you’ve been here how many years now?”
“I have sang here, this is my third year to sing here, and uh, I was a part of the competition when I was 13. And I lost, like by the semi-finals or something, and uh, you know, you just realize that, you know, God has a plan for, you know, everybody, and uh, and you don’t have to win to...for Him to, for you to do something. It’s not about that. It’s...you know, sometimes about just getting in front of the right people, and um, I didn’t get in front of the right people here, but a lot of people have, and uh, some people have gotten their start from here.”
“Do you have any funny story of your first year here, or your second year? Anything you’d like to share with the audience?”
“Well, the second year that I was here performing, I had this nifty idea to put my hair up in a ball for my, my Latin song [***missing piece due to network congestion, if you have this piece, please e-mail me!***] and then in the middle of the song when I salsaed across the stage [***missing piece due to network congestion, if you have this piece, please e-mail me!***]”
“[***missing piece due to network congestion, if you have this piece, please e-mail me!***] ultimately God gets the credit, but tell us how you feel about your gift [***missing piece due to network congestion, if you have this piece, please e-mail me!***]and what has transpired so far to bring you to where you are today.”
“Um, I think, you know what, I know above all it’s God, and everyone knows that, but um, you know I have been very blessed to have a lot of great people involved in everything I’ve done. Uh, the, from my management to my record company to, um, to my band, everybody has been so great to work with and they really have helped me They really have put me in the place that I have been, and the place that I am, and I thank them for it all the time.”
“Heavenly Place is the latest album, right, are you working on anything new?”
“Actually, uh, Jaci Velasquez, the self-titled record is the latest.”
“I’m sorry, that’s right, Heavenly Places [sic] was the first one, and uh, on that one, the world got to know you. Your new, your new one -- self titled one -- people get to know a little bit about you, a little deeper. What’s the biggest difference between that first album and this one?”
“Um, the difference between the first album and the new album, uh, is I’m -- it’s a little more mature in-between each record, and the depth -- spiritually, lyrically -- that it takes. Um, the music is a little edgier, it was what I was listening to at that moment, and what I was passionate about -- the kind of music I was passionate about more than anything. Um, and then, uh, I have a new record coming out right now, a Spanish record on Sony Discos that um, is being released August 31st. And it’s my first Latin record. Um, it’s completely in Spanish, and it’s, it’s amazing, and I -- I’m just so -- it’s going to be such a blast to do. I’m doing a song from that record tonight, so we’ll see how it goes.”
“The um, the ethnic edge here in Spanish, is that as big on your heart as the English side?”
“You know what, they’re both, they both take, they both take up the same amount of space because um, I really, I really feel passionate about the Spanish language, um, record. But yet I still feel the same passion for the English, I couldn’t -- that was my first dream, and it was another dream of mine to do the Latin record. So, it’s just, I mean it’s really, everything, it’s like a new baby. You have all these babies and, and none of them are ugly, none of them are, are your favorites, they’re all amazing.”
“What can we look forward to in the future with Jaci Velasquez musically, and are there other things that you would like to do other than just, you know, perform music?”
“Um, I’d like to get more into the production side and the writing side -- more than I have been. Um, and then I want to possibly get into, uh, into theater more, so we’ll see how that goes.”
“Well, okay, um”
[Jaci laughs]
“The uh, you know what’s also refreshing is you’re kind of a real family girl.”
“Uh huh.”
“I mean, your mom travels with you and makes sure you know, that, I guess, you’re doing what you should be doing. Um, tell me how that translates into your, um, your private life, or personal life as an artist, getting more well-known and recognized. Uh, the family is still very tight. Um, how do you do that, how, how do you balance all that?”
“The thing about it -- it really keeps you sane. Having your family around you, and -- and having that grounding uh, feeling is I mean, that is really what keeps you um, alive. I mean that’s what keeps me alive. I don’t understand the artists that go and have, you know, they’re alone on the road, I mean that’s just nuts to me. I couldn’t imagine...I mean my family keeps me grounded, and they keep me um, mentally and physically, you know capable, able, to uh, to continue doing what I’m doing. Go ahead.”
“Uh, you know, what uh, what can we look forward to, um, from your, uh, your music, um, you’ve got Spanish album coming out. You’ll be working on a new album maybe next year. Um, is there a, a place you want to take your music on the contemporary Christian side, um, more than you have now?”
“Um, actually, I, I, my music’s probably going to get a little more grown up. Probably more, more kind of like the music I listen to, and I listen to a more of a very, very straight-forward pop-type music, and, and that’s really what I want my music to be, uh, straight-forward pop. I love pop music, and I love the uh, the, you know, the music from pop artists, ha-ha.”
“Okay, one last question, then we’ll let you go. Um, you’re 19 years old, you probably have a lot of friends the same age, and you’re at this level, you know, and they’re just about welcoming uh, people um, around the world now. How do you feel, how do you get to do that?”
“Um, you know, I -- my friends are really amazing, but the thing about it is, I, I just got an early start. I just got a -- I started singing when I was nine years old, and I haven’t ever stopped. So for 10 years, almost 11 years, I’ve been singing, and you know, I, it’s just one of those things that uh, people, it’s all, everybody’s lives go different ways, and, and um, and take different paths, and you know, that’s what mine has done. It’s just kind of happened a little earlier than normal.”
“Well, Jaci Velasquez, certainly thank-you for taking the time to be here with us tonight. You’ll hear her sing a little later on, so stay tuned to Crosswalk.com. Tell your friends, and keep looking for Jaci Velasquez there, and her stuff, and, uh, hey, we’ll just see what happens in the future. Thank-you Jaci. Well, that was just wonderful.”
[The interview ended at 9:31 PM. At 12:31 AM, exactly three hours later, we are taken on-stage to hear Jaci as she beings to sing the following songs in succession:]
12:30 AM “Show You Love”
12:34 AM “Made My World”
12:38 AM “Child of Mine (I Have Come)”
12:42 AM “On My Knees”
[After “On My Knees,” at 12:47 AM, Jaci spoke to her audience....]
“Oh, thank-you, it is so good to be back up here in Estes Park, um, I guess I didn’t, I didn’t come here last year, I came here the year before, and I’ve sung here twice, and every time, no matter how many times you’ve been here, it is so beautiful, and uh, thank-you to everyone for making us all feel so welcomed here today. Thank-you so much, and Kim, congratulations, and Terry, congratulations on 25 years, it’s, you’re doing such amazing things, and you’re really changing people’s lives, so thank-you for letting us be a part of it. [Applause.] I have been a part of a lot of different ministries um, in the short time I’ve been involved in music, and um, one of the ministries I’ve been involved with has been the ministry of sexual abstinence. Um, the “True Love Waits” program is an unbelievable program, and it’s becoming a lot more popular among single people of all ages. Um, it’s the promise to stay a virgin until the day you get married. I am one person who has made the commitment to keep myself pure, and with the help of [applause] my -- thank-you -- with um, with the help of the Lord, my family, my friends, I plan on keeping this commitment, because I believe, besides -- besides becoming a Christian -- this is one of the most important commitments you’ll ever make in your lifetime. And I do have to say one other thing, um, for those people that uh, you know, haven’t made that commitment to, you know, they made, they got, they kinda got lost in the moment, and uh, and you gave something away you wish you wouldn’t of, I want to say the reason our God is so unbelievable is because He’s forgiving, and He doesn’t remember anything. And, uh, I wrote this song, I guess about, um, four-and-a-half years ago with a friend out in San Antonio, Texas and uh, it’s a symbol of the promise I made. It’s entitled, ‘I Promise.’”
[At 12:48 AM, Jaci sings “I Promise.” At 12:53 AM, Jaci again addresses her audience:]
“Oh, thank-you guys. Um, about, I guess June 2nd, a project that I was involved with came out on uh, came out to the stores, and it’s a record that I listen to all the time, and it, the song has actually ministered to me, and uh, actually I have to read you something. This record was based on a, on a Scripture from the Bible, and it was in Isaiah [34:4-6, paraphrased]: “There will come a time when the broken-spirited will soar, when the fears of our lives will be banished, our God will come for us and He will save us. Those of us who have not been able to see will enjoy the splendid visions that God intended for us. Those of us who could not hear will witness even the smallest whispers of His voice. Bodies that have been worn down by this world will be restored to perfection, and the wonder of God’s intent. And those of us who had no voice will be able to sing like the angels, and there will be streams in the desert.” The song that I did on this project was entitled ‘I Will Rest in You.’ This is ‘I Will Rest in You.’”
[12:55 AM: During this song, Jaci goofed, twice! :) On the first and second verses, she sang, “constantly the eyes of God watched over me” twice, instead of “fall into the bed of faith prepared for me” the second time. On the third verse, she remembered, though! At 12:59 AM, Jaci sang “Un Lugar Celestial” followed by the now famous extended Latin ending.... At 1:07 AM, Jaci spoke again:]
“Whoo! Well, I just got done recording my first Spanish record that’s due out to release August 31st, and uh, I am so, so excited and so nervous and so scared about it, because it’s just something totally different than what I’ve always done, so it’s something that I’m very scared about, and I was hoping that I could ask you guys to promise to pray for me, ’cause I’m going to do something a little different and a little new, and I need as much prayer as I can possibly get, so would you guys mind? You would pray for me? Okay? [Applause.] Would you guys mind if I did a song off my Spanish record? You don’t mind? Okay well this is it!”
[At 1:08 AM, Jaci finished her mini-concert with “Con Tu Amor,” presumably the first single off her forthcoming Llegar a Ti Spanish album. What follows are the English lyrics she added (which are not going to be in the album version!), mixed with a few of the Spanish lyrics:]
“It’s only with Your love, only You can give me, You bring me hope, You bring me joy, You bring me peace yes, only with Your love, only You can give me, only with Your love, only with Your love, only You give me, You bring me hope, You bring me joy, it’s only with Your love, only with Your love, only with Your love, Solo con Tu amor, oh, solo con Tu amor, con Tu amor!”
[At 1:13 AM, Jaci thanks her audience, the stage announcer thanks Jaci, and Joe, our Internet broadcast host says some final words:]
“Thank you guys and God bless...”
“Thank-you, Jaci, thank-you, Burlap....”
“Jaci Velasquez ending our evening tonight, in a wonderful style, a new song off her Spanish album coming out this August. It’s been another great evening here, “Praise in the Rockies:” The 25th Anniversary of the Christian Artists’ Seminar in Estes Park, Colorado. Thank-you for being with us tonight....”
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