Pickin' Pickler's brain

In case you missed it, you can click here to read my story in today's Poughkeepsie Journal about Kellie Pickler and her appearance at this weekend’s Hudson Valley Country Fest at Fishkill's Dutchess Stadium.

As I’ve mentioned earlier here, Kellie was a joy to speak with, and really gave me a lot of great stuff to work with. We chatted about everything from her new CD (seen here) and touring with Trace Adkins, to her philanthropic efforts and life after “American Idol.” We really touched on pretty much every base we could in 15 minutes or so.

In fact, there was so much good stuff, I couldn't fit it all in today's story. So I figured I'd use this space (the aptly named "Sean's Space") to share them with her fans.

Whenever I interview for a profile story — be they athlete, entertainer or whatever — I love wrapping up the interview with this question: Everyone knows you excel in (sports or singing, etc.), but is there something you're really proud of that not too many people know of?

I like that question because it gives my readers a fuller picture of the person as a person — not simply an athlete or entertainer — and it's a question I'm sure they rarely, if ever, get asked.

You'd be amazed the answers I get. I once asked a former Hudson Valley Renegades pitcher that question when we talked in the New York Mets' locker room, and he pulled a deck of cards out of his locker and showed me a magic trick!

So, I posed that same question to Kellie — Everyone knows you're a great singer, but is there something you're really proud of that not too many people know of? — and here's the adorable answer she gave...

"I'm really a boring person. I'm really not that talented. I can throw a football, but not a Frisbee hardly," she said, before thinking about it a little more. "I used to do gymnastics, and could do splits and backflips and all kinds of crazy stuff on the gym floor. I probably still could if I tried. ... Oh! And I also bring my cats on tour, and I just adopted a dog!"

See? Kellie's not just a singer. But she's a real person, too! If you bump into her Sunday at the Country Fest, tell her Sean says, "Hi!"