ONE LAST WHIRL


Dancing Queen

Julianne Hough bucks ballroom to belt out country tunes.

By Victoria Bradley

July 25 brings Julianne Hough to Post-Gazette Pavilion as the opening act for George Strait. And though we’ve been pretty obsessed with Dancing With the Stars for a while now — thanks to one blonde-haired, blue-eyed, abs-of-steel reason — she’s now hanging up her dancing shoes to pursue a country music career. Her self-titled album debuted on Billboard’s Country Music chart at No. 1., and this year, she won the Annual Academy of Country Music Awards’ Top New Artist. Hough confesses she’s still a little nervous about her shift in day jobs and has adopted a fake-it-‘til-you-make-it approach.

“Trust me: I’ve never read The Secret, but I could have written that,” Hough says on a call from Los Angeles. “You just have to tell yourself that you’re talented. And then, even if you’re so nervous, you can to go out there and think, ‘I am awesome.’ That’s how you get to learn and grow.”

For tickets, visit livenation.com.

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