Julienne Irwin: Ready for Nashville

More than four years after she was a finalist on America’s Got Talent, country singer Julienne Irwin is finally moving to Nashville—for college.

The 18-year-old will balance her full-time education at Belmont University with the pursuit of a record deal. But she’s not taking anything for granted.

“Obviously I want singing to work out, but if it were not in the cards for me I want to be a broadcaster,” said Irwin, who plans to major in mass communications.

The 2011 graduate has turned down Disney and other Hollywood offers since her time on the NBC show ended in 2007. She did this, she said, to keep her life normal and her dreams intact.

Her parents, Phil and Marcia, are ready to let her go.

“[After the show] I said, 'Look, Jules, you’re not moving to California, in my opinion ever. As long as you’re under 18 I’m in control,' and she didn’t fight me,” Phil said. “A lot of people were trying to get her to move to Hollywood.”

Julienne said she didn’t resist for a reason.

“I’m not one of those people that wants to be famous to be famous,” she said. “Obviously I’d love to get signed. But again, it also has to be the right thing.”

Phil said his daughter’s crush on an athlete drove her to succeed on America’s Got Talent.

“She loves Brian Roberts,” he said. “Her motivation for going on television was that the Orioles would have to call her up and have her sing the national anthem. And they did.”

Julienne has sung at Camden Yards twice now. And though the Baltimore sports fan still has an eye for Roberts, she’s been dating an Ocean City lifeguard named Billy for about six months.

She also likes to go to the movies and shop at Forever 21 with her friends—activities she said make her a regular Harford County girl.

“All her friends are up here in Maryland,” said Phil, who is glad her first home away from Bel Air will be amongst peers. “Here’s a girl that’s never really boiled water on her own.”

After a duet with Taylor Swift, a tour with Kenny Rogers (he wrote her a college recommendation letter), and a NASCAR national anthem performance, moving to Tennessee does not concern Julienne. She’s already been talking with her two roommates on Facebook.

“They’re really sweet girls and I’m excited to get to know them better,” said Julienne, who isn’t sure if they are aware of her fame. “I won’t be the first one to bring it up. If they ask me about it or somehow they find out then I’m sure we will talk about it. I don’t really know how to say it. … I don’t want to be like, ‘Hey guys, just so you know, I was on TV.’”

The freshman-to-be doesn’t mind being out of the spotlight for now.

“I still think of myself as a high school student, a college student. The whole music career side of my life is very surreal to me. … For senior superlatives I wasn’t even voted best voice because people don’t think of me that way,” Julienne said. “At Bel Air and really anywhere around people my age they don’t think of me as the girl who was on TV. I try not to let that define me.”

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