Nicole C. Mullen: Award-Winning Gospel Recording Artist

Nicole C. Mullen is an award-winning Gospel Recording Artist, songwriter, and dancer/choreographer. She's won 8 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards including 2 Female Vocalist of the Year honors, and received 2 Grammy nominations as well. Mullen is the only African American artist to win the Dove Award for Song of the Year ("Redeemer"), and in 2011 was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame.

In addition to her solo career, Nicole has also toured as a backup singer for Christian artists like Michael W. Smith, the Newsboys, CeCe Winans, and Amy Grant. Nicole has established an international mentor group for girls called "The Baby Girls Club," where she mentors girls worldwide through the arts.

Episode Highlights

Join us for an uplifting and inspiring journey with the exceptional Nicole C Mullen on this episode of the Live2Create Podcast. Nicole, a two-time Grammy-nominated and eight-time Dove Award-winning artist, shares her path from dance and choreography, including her pivotal role in Amy Grant's Heart in Motion tour, to her solo career. We explore her collaborations with renowned Christian artists like Michael W Smith, the Newsboys, and CeCe Winans and discover how she has remained grounded through prayerful learning.

Nicole mesmerizes us with stories from her musical journey, reflecting on the rigorous rehearsal schedules, her influential idols such as Andre Crouch and Amy Grant, and the surreal experience of performing with her heroes. Overcoming shyness and stage fright, she reveals how a deep sense of love and support empowered her to handle the unexpected and embrace her early singing experiences in church and with family. As a listener, you'll gain insight into her passion for songwriting, which she discovered in her teenage years, and her recognition as a two-time female vocalist of the year.

In a heartfelt and introspective discussion, Nicole delves into her songwriting process, balancing solo writing with collaboration, and shares the pride she feels in her diverse body of work. She also gives us a sneak peek into her upcoming album, celebrating life and joy after overcoming storms, and engages in a fun rapid-fire round of questions. Concluding the episode, Nicole expresses her gratitude to her supporters and leaves us eagerly anticipating her new music, which promises to blend familiar elements with fresh inspiration to enrich our spiritual journeys.

We cover a lot of great topics in this episode including:

• Singing back up for Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, CeCe Winans, The Newsboys, and many more

• Doing dance choreography for Amy Grant

• Learning the daily habits it takes to be a professional singer

• The role her personal faith plays in the creative process

• The importance of learning the basics before improvising in the studio or on stage

• The ultimate advice for aspiring singers and songwriters

• The importance of taking your time in the songwriting process (don't be afraid to spend a year if that's what it takes!), and so much more!

Listen

Read the Complete Transcript

Shane

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Hello, everyone! Welcome to the official Live2cre8 podcast, coming to you from Nashville, Tennessee. I am your host, Shane Almgren, and I am joined today from Dallas, Texas, by two-time Grammy-nominated, seven-time Dove Award-winning songwriter, recording artist, and dance choreographer, Nicole C. Mullen. Aside from her solo career, Nicole has also toured as a backup singer for Christian artists like Michael W. Smith, the Newsboys, and Amy Grant. Mullen is the only African-American artist to win the Dove Award for Song of the Year and, in 2011, was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame.

Hey, Nicole! How's it going in Dallas? That's where you are now, right?

Nicole C. Mullen

Oh, it’s going. Yes, I am, it's going well, very, very well. We were here with the Gateway Church and with the Pink Impact Conference and the Joni Lamb Table Talk show, so all three of them were wonderful, superb, and I've loved every second of it.

Shane

What are the big plans for the summer?

Nicole C. Mullen

This summer we’ll be doing some dates singing and, like I said, traveling, which is the same. I'm working on a couple of new books—is what I'm doing as well. Finishing up the album. Loving on baby girls. We have Baby Girls Club that we've just relaunched, and we're doing a summer program with the dance, and so I'm looking forward to that. So just staying busy and loving on folks.

Shane

Nicole, we'll get to the singing and the songwriting shortly, but I wanted to start off talking about the dancing and the choreography because that's something else that you're very prolific at. So how did you get into that in the first place?

Nicole C. Mullen

Well, dancing I kind of fell into because growing up, we were not allowed to dance in church. We could only do the Pentecostal two-step and the Jewish dance—is what we're allowed to do. Other than that, you're sinning, and as a kid, I would always point out that in Psalm 150, if I'm not mistaken, we were commanded to dance, and it didn't say exactly what kind, but I'm sure it was—just as long as it was pure, I'm sure it was allowed. Anyway, that was my defense, and so I just kind of grew up seeing people do different moves, and I would try and adopt it.

And the first time I was really, really taken seriously was when Amy hired me to be her choreographer for her Heart in Motion tour, where we did “Baby, Baby” and all that, which is kind of a fluke in itself. It was kind of a tongue-in-cheek thing, but I rose to the occasion, and we had a lot of fun, and the moves are really cute. And so, from there, I started doing a little bit here and there, but really these days, I don't choreograph as much. I lean on other people who are better at it than myself, and I have them teach me. And the most that I do, I will teach the kids from there. I'll teach some other members how to do it so that they can instruct others a little bit better than myself. So I've done it for many years—enjoyed doing it. We still dance occasionally on stage, but probably even more so off stage, and probably mostly with the younger people is where I dance.

Shane

How does Amy Grant even know to ask you if you can choreograph for her?

Nicole C. Mullen

Well, it was through Chris Rodriguez, who would see me in another event. We were just playing around, and he was like, “Show me that move.” And so I showed him, and before I knew it, he asked me if I was interested in going on tour with Amy. And of course, I was like, “Yes,” but I was thinking in the back of my head, “Yeah, right, like, that's far-fetched.” And before I knew it, he had told them about me. He told Blanton & Harrell, which were her management back then. Um, and I was—you know, before I knew it, I was sitting on their couch having an interview with them, and they not only hired me to be a background singer but to choreograph as well. So I guess he had told them of me dancing around, and I guess he thought I was bigger than I was, and they believed it. From there I started, you know, choreographing for other people and for myself too.

Shane

Don't ever tell them any differently. Let them think what they want.

Nicole C. Mullen

Nope. [Laughs]. So it's fun.

Shane

You were singing backup for a number of other people. Who else have you worked with?

Nicole C. Mullen

I sang background for Michael W. Smith, who is still one of my big brothers. I love him and Amy. They're still just good people—family. For CeCe Winans on her television show that she had. I sang background for the Newsboys. I was a Newsgirl for a while. I enjoyed that. We lost about 20 pounds a night jumping around and singing. I've done background for a lot of different people in the studio, some on the road, here and there, you know. So yeah, I've just—different people, and I've enjoyed them all.

And I'd asked God honestly, back in the day before I was even doing my own solo, or in between the solo careers, you know, I'd had a small one on Frontline for a second, which is now Flatline, and then I came back on Word Records. But in between, I'd asked the Lord—I said if it's ever your desire for me to get back out in front again, then my prayer is that you would put me around good people who are doing a great job at it so that I can learn from them.

That was my desire—was to learn so that if He decided to open up the curtains and say, “Now, Nicole, you take center stage.” I would know what to do and how to do it right, and He really granted me that request. He put me around some wonderful people. People who were, you know, just the A-list, cream of the crop, and I was able to observe how they treated their crowd, their fans, how they approached the stage, how they worked hard, how they got up early and did things that we didn't have to do, but because they were carrying it, they did it, and they did it with graciousness, and how they treated us even as a band. I was able to learn those things. My prayer is that they would be proud in the way that I aim to imitate them these days, but they have set the bar high. They have walked up right before me, and I'm forever grateful as I do it for other people now.

Shane

What kind of specific music performance lessons do you call learning from these different acts?

Nicole C. Mullen

Ooh, hard work. They're really particular about it. On the CD or the album, if the backgrounds are a certain way, that's the way you do it. You don't come in revamping what they've already established. They're not asking you to be the producer, and they never said it in a harsh way, but it was already always known that if this is the oohs and aahs here, do not improvise. And you know, make it aahs and oohs, you know, and so that's something that I've, you know, imitated as well.

When I bring in singers or band members, it's, “Let's learn it exactly how it's been done first, and then from there, we will improvise and we will create, but there's no creation if you haven't, you know, learned the basics,” and so that was one of those things. Also, just the graciousness from the stage. I've just—even with them, I've never seen them be two-faced when it came to their fans and the way that they were backstage. If they were kind to you in front of you, they were kind about you outside of you, and so that was something that I took note of. It was just integrity and those types of things and just their hard work ethics. I mean, they practiced and practiced and practiced, and if we got it wrong, we practiced again, or we were reminded of what the parts were. And so, you know, those are things that I've tried to imitate, and I'm still trying to live up to.

Shane

When you guys were gearing up for a tour? What period of time and how long a day would you all rehearse getting ready?

Nicole C. Mullen

Oh, I don't remember all that honestly, because it was like 20 years ago, but it was a while. I mean, it would vary. I mean, sometimes you’d rehearse for a couple of hours, and sometimes you'd rehearse for a couple of days. You know, it just depends. It was just depending on the length of the tour and the amount of dates and the severity of what you were learning and if you were starting from scratch or if you were building upon what you should have already known.

Shane

Who were your big musical influences growing up?

Nicole C. Mullen

Andrae Crouch, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, The Clark Sisters, Black Gospel and Contemporary Christian, The Imperials, Russ Taff, Sandi Patty, Evie Tornquist. These are people that were part of my musical bank, and they're part of who I draw from when I'm being creative or when I am approaching the stage or thinking of an audience and how to connect with them. It's these people that I draw from.

Shane

So what was that like for you? These are the people that you're growing up listening to, and now you're backing them on stage. Is that a little surreal?

Nicole C. Mullen

Oh, very surreal, very surreal. It was humbling at the same time because I know that I'm just—I'm still the little girl from Cincinnati, Ohio, with the long arms and, you know, the bony frame, and the one who, you know, just didn't really fit in, and the one who would sing her songs to Jesus at the lamppost across the street from her home. I'm still that same girl. You know, the one that was a little bit shy here and there, the one who was, you know, the stutterer at times, the thumb-sucker. I'm still her on the inside. So for her to be granted access into such greatness, it's humbling, and at the same time, it's exhilarating. It was exhilarating.

Shane

I don't know. We met very briefly when we were at the Africa House, and you were going to do “Redeemer,” and the music would not queue up. You ended up doing it a cappella. I don't think anybody saw any of the bits about you that you said—the little shy girl on the inside. I think a lot of people would have gotten really flustered there, and you owned it and you controlled it, and by the end, you had what? 200 people singing harmonies along with you. How did you get over those fears?

Nicole C. Mullen

I think, like the Bible says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” When you know you’re in love, it takes away the shyness, you know what I'm saying. It takes away the insecurity, even if you start feeling like, oh, this is really weird, this is really awkward. You know you're still standing before somebody who not only created you but who adores you and who's going to work through you, and so it becomes less about you and more about him. And when that happens, it just allows you to just move forward in delivering the message that you've been called to deliver.

And so, for me, I felt like the mailman. You know, whether it rains, whether it snows, whether the track plays, whether it doesn't, whether people like me, whether they don't, you know, if he gives me something to give, then my job is to be faithful to present that and to deliver that. And so that was one of those days. And you know, one of those things you can expect is that things will not always go the way you expect. You know, that's one of those things I learned on the road with great artists—is that you roll with it. You know, if it doesn't work, you still sing. If your voice doesn't work, you ask them to sing with you, sing for you. It just—you know, by all means, you know, that you might communicate and that you might save some. And so, again, at that moment, it wasn't about me. It was about what I was delivering.

Shane

You are a two-time female vocalist of the year. Where did that voice come from? Did you—how early did you start singing? Did you have vocal instructors? Did you sing in the choir? How'd you end up with that?

Nicole C. Mullen

Well, I started singing at the age of two with my sisters, and yeah, we sang in the church. My dad, you know, worked with us on harmonies and the whole nine, and I sang with the family as well. And before I knew it, I was singing in youth choirs and small ensembles. It came through hard work, but it also came from a family of singers. My dad sings, like I said, like Nat King Cole. My mom sings as well. My grandmother sang. My great aunt was Bessie Coleman, and she sang. You know, she was one of the first African Americans to cross over into a Caucasian genre. So it was kind of in the family. At the same time, you can pass on a voice, but not necessarily an anointing. That has to come from the Lord. That can't be manipulated out of Him. It can't be worked up, and so that, too, is a gift that I believe that He has given me. That's where I’d say that it stemmed from.

Shane

As far as songwriting, how early on in life did you start realizing that that was something you wanted to do?

Nicole C. Mullen

From the time I was younger. When I was about 12, I think I knew around then that this is what I wanted to do. I always loved singing. It was like a comfort to me. But I remember when I was around 16 as well, at school, they were assigning us to a profession, and they asked us, “What do you want to do? What do you want to be?” And I said, “You know, I want to be a singer.” And they said, “Well, you know that most people don’t make it at singing.” And I was like, “Okay. So I want to be a lawyer.” So they put me with a lawyer, and after about a week, he was like, “Kid, what do you really want to do?” And I said, “You know, I really want to sing.” And he said, “Then go home and do that.”

And I knew at that moment, there's no turning back for me, even though there were other things I could do. I also knew that God was calling me to sing because He had told me when I was 12. He had had it prophesied over me at the age of 12 that He was going to take me around the world singing for Him, and He was going to give me songs in the night.

So He had already had this word spoken over me. He had my dad, you know, lay his hands on me at a New Year's Eve service at around the same age, and he prayed and he blessed me and said, “Lord, I pray that you use my daughter in singing, that you would take her around the world.” And so I knew in the back of my mind that's what God had for me, but at that time, when I was 16, I kind of felt afraid to even declare it, to say it, because what if they think I'm crazy? What if they, you know, don't see the same thing in me? And it took a lawyer, who was not a believer that I knew of, to reaffirm the fact that no, go home, and do just that. I guess he thought I'd stink as a lawyer. I don't know. But after that moment, I never really doubted again what I wanted to do, and I thought, “Well then, I guess I'll have to be among the 3%.” That became my new attitude.

Shane

You've won a bunch of awards. You've been a very accomplished songwriter. You've got to tour around with the people that you grew up idolizing and listening to, so you've got to have a wealth of information and knowledge to pass on to other people. So what would you say to somebody else who wanted to do what you're doing now?

Nicole C. Mullen

One thing I would say is to stick with it. Some things are cyclical. They come around in cycles, and sometimes what you do may not be in fashion this season, but it might be in fashion next season. But if you give up this season, you'll never know for next season.

So the best thing you can do is to be true to yourself, stick with it, work hard at it, and when an opportunity presents itself for you to showcase that, be found faithful, whether it's in front of two people or 200,000 people, treat them the same. You know, give it the same energy, give it the same hard work, give it the same just fortitude, like, treat them the same. And as God sees that you are faithful with the small, then he will be able to trust you, and he will increase your platform to entrust you with the much. And so that's really the only formula that I know that I've really seen that works—is being found faithful where you're at and doing those things that are in front of you.

Shane

When you go into the studio to record an album, how much of the time do you have the songs already complete? You go in there knowing exactly what you're going to record, and how much of the writing and discovery aspect is part of that whole studio process?

Nicole C. Mullen

I know a lot of people do it differently, but for me, for the most part, unless I'm doing a demo, I don't go into the studio to do a final vocal unless I've already written it, because for me, the lyrics are the most important, and they're also the part that takes the longest and the most crafting, in my opinion. So before I approach that mic, I make sure that I know what I'm going to say. Now there are times when I get to the mic that I still might tweak a lyric. I might still do just a bit of a rewrite, but it won't be anything drastic. It might be a rewrite because something flows a little more naturally than what I've written on paper, so that kind of a tweak. But other than that, for me personally, I wait until I have that solidified before I stand behind that mic, unless I'm doing a rough vocal for a producer to produce the track, and then I'll write the lyric on top of that. But when it's time to do it for me, that portion is already complete.

Shane

How much of that are you writing yourself, and how much do you co-write?

Nicole C. Mullen

I don't co-write a whole, whole lot. On this new album, though, I've been co-writing a little bit more, but when it comes to the lyrics, I'm pretty picky about what I say and how I say it. So even on this album, probably still, you know, 90% of it is still from me as far as lyrically. I've done most of my collaboration on the musical aspect of it this time, which has been great. It's been a lot of fun. So for me, that's how I do it.

A lot of people are good at, you know, writing with other people. That's never really been my forte. I'm growing in that aspect. I haven't mastered it, but most of the things that you've heard, like “Call On Jesus,” I wrote by myself. “Redeemer,” I wrote by myself. “One Touch,” I wrote by myself. “On My Knees,” I did write as a collaboration. That's kind of how I am and how I've been. Will it be the same way tomorrow and on the next album? I don't know. Probably not, but at this point, that's kind of how I do it. And some of my songs, you know, I can write in a day, and some of them take me a year to finish, you know, because I'm rewriting and I'm scratching out and I'm trying to clarify the idea. By the time I'm done, it may not be a perfect song, but for me it perfectly conveys what I was trying to get across.

Shane

What's the last song that you sat down—and you know those ones that you can write the whole thing in 20 minutes? It just comes out, and it's done. Do you remember having one like that?

Nicole C. Mullen

I have, but I'm trying to remember which one it would have been because most of my songs don't do that. I will receive the choruses of the songs fairly easily, and those I can write in probably two seconds flat. When it comes to the verses, that's where the work comes in for me, and very few of them have I written just that quickly. But yeah, well, I'll say, well, there's one that I kind of wrote the lyrics kind of quickly to, and it hasn't come out yet. It's called “I Still Know.” That is one that my cousin—he started the track and some of the melody ideas, and he sent me to write the lyrics, and I did come back, I will say within probably an hour or two, with it pretty much completed, the thought completed. But that's rare for me. That's not a common occurrence.

Shane

Which one of your songs are you most proud of?

Nicole C. Mullen

Oh, that varies per day. It's like saying which of my children—you know, that can get you in trouble. Now, of course, “Redeemer” is probably one of my most known songs. “Calling Jesus” is one of my most well-known songs, but I don't know. You know, I'm equally as proud of the very first song that I wrote at the age of 12, called “I'll Praise Your Holy Name.” Now it's grammatically incorrect, but the sentiment and the heart is just as strong, if not stronger, as the heart that I wrote with on “Redeemer,” you know, and I recorded it finally on my Holy Captivated album that Ed Cash produced. But it was my very first song at the age of 12.

So it varies. On different days, different songs that I've written speak to me in a different kind of a way, and so, you know, one day it might be, you know, “Hey Girl” that I just wrote. Another day, it might be that I'm most proud of a song that's called “Greater Still” that hasn't come out yet. Another time, it might be a new song that hasn't come out yet, called “He Reached Down and Took Hold of Me.” You know, another time, it might be “On My Knees.” It just kind of varies, and so I guess, for me, Shane, I kind of leave that to other people to decide for themselves which of my songs are their favorites, which ones really minister to them the most, which ones they like the most, because for me, they're all a part of my story. They're all a page out of my musical journal, and no one song, for me, really represents the whole.

Shane

When you know you're going into the studio to do an album—say you're going to go do 12 tracks or whatever—do you write 12 songs and take those in, or do you write 40 and try to whittle it down and figure out which ones are going to make the cut?

Nicole C. Mullen

No, I normally write 12 and do the 12. I don't really have a whole lot of leftover songs that I've completed that are just sitting around. Now, I do have a whole lot of songs that I've not completed, but when it comes to the album, for the most part, I record what I have finished for that particular body of work, and then when I get another 12 to 15, then it's like it's time for a new album. So for me, I don't have a lot of layovers, except I have a lot of incomplete.

Shane

Do you write every day?

Nicole C. Mullen

No, I do not. I should, but I do not.

Shane

Do you write every week?

Nicole C. Mullen

I do not.

Shane

So just whenever the mood strikes you?

Nicole C. Mullen

Yeah, I have times where I write more than others. Now there are weeks when I write every single day. There are weeks when I'm writing, or there are months when I may write for every week in that month, but as a whole, no, I don't.

Sometimes I'm writing in my devotion. I write in my journal. Sometimes I'm writing toward this book or one of these books that I'm working on. I'm working on three books simultaneously. Sometimes I'm not writing at all because I'm burnt out, you know, to be honest. Sometimes I'm humming other people's songs, you know, and it's their music that's getting me through. And then there are seasons, like the season now, where I find myself writing, you know, a lot more, but it comes in cycles. It's not an everyday occurrence. It's like being under that spout, and when the spout is turned on, you want to be there, but sometimes the spout is turned off, you know, for a while, until it's time to be turned back on.

Shane

Do you have any say over how and when the spout gets turned on?

Nicole C. Mullen

Well, sometimes it gets turned on when I get still, you know, to be honest. Sometimes it's, you know, in the busyness that I don't—I'm not sitting underneath it, and sometimes it's in the busyness that I write. Sometimes it's out of my control, and it comes on in the midst of pain. You know, sometimes the spout is turned on in the midst of joy. Rarely, though, am I able to manipulate it, though sometimes I find myself able to be available to it. You know, I can make myself available for it to happen, but I can't always clench my fist and make it happen. You understand?

Shane

I certainly do.

Nicole C. Mullen

Yeah.

Shane

You said you're writing three books simultaneously.

Nicole C. Mullen

Yes, always.

Shane

What are you writing about?

Nicole C. Mullen

One is a book on sisterhood, authentic sisterhood from sister to sister, just kind of conversations had and things, you know, said and known behind closed doors that I think that it's good for us, across cultural lines, to know and to love each other through. And it's kind of a tongue-in-cheek. It's a lot—it's funny. At the same time, it's vulnerable. It's very inviting. There's no finger in the air and neck shaking back and forth. It's none of that. It's just—it's an invitation. And then, another book I'm writing is on—the book of forgiveness, which I have had a lot of practice in, and I've been studying that for just many years now. And then there's another book I'm writing about my—it's pretty much my own story. So those are my three for right now.

Shane

What's something serious you had to forgive that you learned enough about for this book?

Nicole C. Mullen

Oh, there's plenty I have. Oh, we could go on for days. I have been in an abusive relationship where I was physically beaten. I've been in another relationship where it was wrought with unfaithfulness, and so I've had to forgive there. Just there's been plenty of life—if anyone lives long enough, they won't leave this world unscathed. They, too, will have to forgive someone, and they, too, will have to be forgiven. And so, for me, I have, you know, had to give out copious amounts of forgiveness, and though my story may not have been the same as my offenders, I have, on the other side, had to be forgiven by God for other things, and so it's a two-way street.

Shane

Can you tell us a little bit about the Baby Girls Club?

Nicole C. Mullen

Baby Girls Club is the club I started years ago. I started it probably 22 years ago unofficially, and then I started it 13 years officially. So 13 years ago we pretty much got our 501(c)(3). It's a club for young girls where we sew, we dance, we do Bible study. It's a mentorship program, a discipleship program, where me and some other women pour into younger women's lives, younger girls' lives, and we call them up.

And we have seen them, you know, go from nonbelievers to believers in Christ. We've seen them go from ain'ts to saints. We've seen them go from, you know, those who were about to flunk out of school to those who are graduating and those who've gone on to higher education. We've seen them become, you know, just upstanding citizens in their communities and in their families and in their churches. And so we're doing it right now around the art of dance, and so we're doing it at a dance facility in Franklin, Tennessee. And we also have a model of Baby Girls Club and our guy segment of it called Champions in the country of Belize and another one in the country of Zambia.

Shane

How did you pick those locations?

Nicole C. Mullen

They kind of picked us. Zambia—one of the girls had seen what we had done here in the States, and she asked if she could model it in her country, and so we sent her our little curriculum, and so she's doing that very well. And then in the country of Belize, the Lord just kind of led us there just to see what was going on there. And while we were there, we had a heart for the kids, and one of my sister girls, Karen Brockington, felt the call to go back and to live among them, and so for three years, she lived there and established Baby Girls Club. And recently, we just turned it over to the Belizeans, and so now they're running it, and we are encouraging them from here. And so it's been a beautiful thing.

Shane

Where do you want to be, ideally, five years from now?

Nicole C. Mullen

Wherever the Lord wants me to be. [Laughs].

Shane

Do you have a preference?

Nicole C. Mullen

I don't. I really don't. I want to be where He wants me to be and doing what He wants me to do, honestly.

Shane

Career-wise, do you have an idea or an inkling of what that looks like?

Nicole C. Mullen

No, I mean, whether it's singing or writing books, whether it's just loving on kids, I'm content where He wants me to be because my goals are not set by how many albums I can sell or how many Grammys I can win because that may take me out of the will of God. You know, wherever the will of God is for my life, really, and I'm not trying to be a smart mouth, I promise you. I really just want to be where He wants me to be, and so for me, that's, you know, following where He leads me on a daily basis. And then, five years from now, I'll look back and say I'm where He wants me to be.

Shane

Do you want to talk a little bit about the message of “Hey Girl” and what prompted that?

Nicole C. Mullen

Well, “Hey Girl” is a song that I wrote, and really, it's not just for the little girl, but it's for the big girl who has a little girl inside of her too. So it's for all of us, and it's a celebration of who God has made us to be. It's not a statement saying that we're trying to be beautiful, but it's that we are working from the platform of being beautiful already because the scripture says we are fearfully and wonderfully made, as in Psalm 139. And so the song pretty much declares this is. It says, “Hey girl, you're simply beautiful, and your frame is wonderful, whether 35 or size 2. From your hair down to your baby toe, God has made you valuable, and can't nobody rock it like you.” So it's a declaration of, like I said—it's a celebration, not just a declaration, and it's fun and it's uplifting, and it's for my baby girls as well as for my sister girls. It's who we are and what we can walk in.

Shane

The album that that's coming out on, are there similar messages, or is that sort of a unique standalone?

Nicole C. Mullen

There's similar messages, but it's its own standalone. It's not, like, just a female album, but there are other topics. On one, it's singing and dancing like never before. It's like coming through the storm, and after the storm, there's a celebration. There is sunshine, there's light, there's life, and so it's a celebration of that. So the album deals with different topics. However, this is one that fits in perfectly with the overall of what it deals with.

Shane

How much fun did you have dancing again for that music video?

Nicole C. Mullen

Oh, a lot of fun, a lot, a lot of fun, love it, love it. And I've been teaching it to the baby girls on Wednesdays, and we have had just a ball doing that—a ball.

Shane

I've seen the video, and it definitely looks like you guys are having a ball. And on that note, that does bring us to the very last segment of our show. So I've got 14 quick questions I'm going to fire at you. Here goes.

Question number one: If your job only paid the bills and not a penny more, would you still continue to do it?

Nicole C. Mullen

I would definitely do it still.

Shane

What talent or skill do you not have that you wish you did?

Nicole C. Mullen

Oh, which ones I do not have that I wish I did? Uh, probably organizational skills. [Laughs].

Shane

Fill in the blank. I am a success if I _____.

Nicole C. Mullen

If I'm in the will of God. If I'm pleasing God, for real.

Shane

And I am a failure if I _____.

Nicole C. Mullen

If I'm not.

Shane

What is the single best piece of advice that you've followed to get where you are today?

Nicole C. Mullen

Just sing for an audience of one.

Shane

What's a piece of well-intentioned advice that you're glad you ignored to get where you are today?

Nicole C. Mullen

That only 3% make it, and you probably may not be among them. [Laughs].

Shane

What character trait do you like best about yourself?

Nicole C. Mullen

That I'm optimistic.

Shane

And what about the character trait you like least about yourself?

Nicole C. Mullen

That I'm optimistic sometimes. Sometimes I'm unrealistically optimistic.

Shane

Fill in the blank. I believe every child should have _____.

Nicole C. Mullen

The opportunity to be loved.

Shane

If you could suggest one piece of self-improvement that everyone on earth would adopt, what would it be?

Nicole C. Mullen

Kindness is one of the best adjectives for love.

Shane

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Nicole C. Mullen

To be translated into different places—transported, I should say.

Shane

If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be?

Nicole C. Mullen

Abigail in the Bible.

Shane

Another fun one for you here. A hospitable nearby planet has been discovered, and you have been recruited to help colonize it. You can take any three personal items with you that you wish.

Nicole C. Mullen

I will take my Bible, of course. I'll take water because I love water even more than food, and I would take my purse because it has everything in it. [Laughs].

Shane

All right, way to sneak in a bunch of extra items. We'll allow that. All right, finally, Nicole, you've just won a lifetime achievement award, and we want to hear your acceptance speech. So there's not going to be any music to cue you off, so you can say all the “thank yous” that you need or any personal cause that you want to champion. This is your opportunity.

Nicole C. Mullen

Okay, I would love to give—let's see. Thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ for making this all possible and for loving me before I was able to even love Him. I would love to thank my parents, who were the conduits of me being in this life. I’d love to thank my three children, who are my greatest joys and the reason that I sport the title “Mom.” I’d love to thank my sisters and my sister girls, my brothers, my family, my friends, my pastors, my managers, my booking agents, my band, my producers, my Baby Girls Club mentors, and all the kids there for just making it happen.

I would love to thank my fans and friends, who I call my frands—that’s a combination—and everyone who's encouraged me throughout the years and who's listened to what I had to say. I'd love to thank all the radio stations and the personalities, and the TV and other media outlets, who've allowed the public to hear my songs and to hear what was birthed inside of me. And I just wish to thank everybody who's been involved. I really do wish that the words “thank you” could adequately express what I really feel, but they're not adequate enough to express just the gratitude of what is in my heart, and so I'd say take that and multiply it by Google and just know, when it's all said and done, I still stand upon the words that I know that my Redeemer lives.

Shane

Well, Nicole, that is absolutely beautiful, and thank you for taking the time to do that.

Nicole C. Mullen

My pleasure.

Shane

Any last final parting thoughts?

Nicole C. Mullen

Let's see. Well, I'm really excited for people to hear the new music that's coming out. I really can't wait. I mean, I'm super, duper excited, and I think they'll find that there are common threads of what they have come to enjoy and like and expect from the music that I would deliver. At the same time, I think that there's such freshness in it that it will invite them to continue on the journey and to go even further, not just on the Nicole journey, but the journey of their walk with the Lord, and to celebrate that and to be hopeful in that. And so I'm excited for them to enjoy that with me.

Shane

All right, Nicole, you're officially off the hot seat for now.

Nicole C. Mullen

[Laughs]. Thank you so very much. I appreciate your time and your patience.

Shane

Not a problem. Good stuff. It was great to talk to you, and safe travels.

Nicole C. Mullen

Thank you. You as well. You have a good one.

Shane

All right. Bye-bye.

Nicole C. Mullen

Bye-bye.

Shane

Once again, that was award-winning recording artist, songwriter, and choreographer Nicole C. Mullen. For more information, music, press materials, bookings, and tour dates, please visit www.nicolecmullen.com.

I'd like to thank everyone for joining me today. You are listening to the Live2cre8 podcast, and this is Shane Almgren reminding you to dream big, be inspired, and live creatively.