Thank you everybody for joining us on this par Kapper episode of Magical Rewind.

We've got kind of a special one today.

I don't think I've ever referred to one of our guests as special and looking forward to it have.

I think so we should probably give them a little bit more here and there.

Yeah, I love it, but so yes, it's interesting because not only is this person a star in their own right and right now a part of the biggest show in the country.

But.

She's got kind of an interesting story going on because she's kind of the ultimate stage mom now in a good way.

Of one of the biggest.

Biggest Disneys stars in the world right now in the world, and only about to get bigger.

We will get into all of that, so please help us.

Welcome Felicia Barton.

Hey, hello, heying, fine, how are you?

Thank you for joining us?

Poor, thanks for having me.

I'm having trouble.

I'm having trouble seeing you because you're in camouflage.

You just made her panic.

I was like, well, we're just getting started.

Match on Green too, so we shouldn't go out hiking right now during deer season, is what I'm saying.

That wouldn't be a good thing.

You're absolutely right for our guests out there that are just joining us.

What exactly, because you have a very important job for Dancing with Stars, which has become I mean, was always a popular show, but there's something about this season that everybody said has just kind of it's taken over the zeitgeist.

And and so you've had some great contestants and then some crappy ones.

Daniel Fishelon.

We don't like to talk about her, but mean mean, she's awful.

She couldn't dance.

I don't care.

So what exactly what do you do for and with Dancing with the Stars.

Yeah, so I'm one of the singers in Dancing with the Stars.

I've this is my eleventh year on the show.

Wow for eleven years, which you all know in entertainment is like I feel like it's a gift if I get like a few seasons on some right, and to be working on this for eleven years is actually crazy.

And it's still always like a pinch me, like how do I get to do you know what I love to do for a living.

It's really really it's huge.

It's a big blessing for sure, But yeah, we recreate, like I would say maybe ninety five to ninety eight percent of the music that you hear on that show, we're recreating it.

And it's so much fun because it's not just I also work on American Idol and that show is really special in its own way as well.

This show is cool because we're recreating these records.

Right, We're not just singing background vocals.

We're like singing the leads and creating this sound.

So it's like one day I'm giving Katie Perry vibes, the next day it's like Whitney Houston or some like weird rendition of something else, like you just know.

So we get to really play with our vocals and like the shaping that it takes and like what we're gonna do.

It's really cool.

Yeah, So do you get like a list?

Do they just come to you and they say, like, all right, here are the songs that the dancers have and the pros have picked for this week.

Now we have to pick which one of you is going to sing the lead on it?

Or I mean, how does that work?

Yeah?

Pretty much, that's kind of how it goes.

Our our music director, Ray chu He and his and Janelle his assistant teammate, however you want to put it.

They basically come up with they go, you know, there's a whole music team though that's there at Dancing with the Stars, and they're connecting the dots between the dancers and the and the music department, which includes the band, and so they're kind of going like, this is the song that the dancers are dancing to, and Ray's going, well, this, out of the four singers that we have, this person would be best suited for this.

Or sometimes it's something else and we bring in an extra singer because maybe we just want to switch things up a little bit cool, But usually I would say the majority of it is between the four singers.

Cj em AND's, Kelly Say, Travis Garland and myself.

Wow, yeah, that's incredible.

I mean, and you're saying like it's not even just day to day, it's one routine and then maybe a couple in between that you are switching styles, switching just the full vibe of every song that you bring, and that's.

Blessing and curse.

As an artist, I would say, yeah, it's not like you get to do that whole kind of you know, Whitney Houston, the whole time whole time, right.

Or I mean I guess occasionally, Like last week was Prince week, so it's like you just get to do all the Prince's songs.

Who I didn't have any songs last week of Prince Well, I mean as far as I could tell.

Again, this is the first time I've ever watched Dancing with the Stars.

My father podcast that my partner and I writer and I do.

We do a podcast about the fact that we don't know anything about Dancing with the Star and so we're.

Following the journey.

But if I'm right, then next week there's five couples left.

They all dance three times.

So you've got fifteen songs you have to.

Do we have more than that because we've also got opening numbers and check numbers.

Yeah, so I would have to look and see.

I feel like this week's list is like pushing twenty songs.

Maybe.

Yeah, this is insane.

It's gonna be a really long day on Saturday.

Yeah, thinking I was like, okay, so do I need to pack snacks?

Do I need to like what are we doing?

Are we gonna just like re up the coffee at five o'clock?

Likeah, is there like a moment at all where you guys because sometimes I feel like, what's the first thing is I don't think the viewers always quite I mean, you guys get your introduction throughout the episode, but I don't think until you're there.

Because I haven't been back to the ballroom in so long this season.

I went to watch Danielle, you know, I think it was week three, and then I went back for the twentieth anniversary and it's like I sat in there.

And looked over and went, man, I don't.

Think viewers really get a chance to see everything that you guys are doing throughout the show.

I mean, you guys are just you guys are on fire, and it's like, so the pace is so fast, but.

Then there's also moments where you guys are actually standing on the stage doing a little bit of like movement yourself the show.

I mean it's like you're a massive part of the show, huge.

Part of the show.

And until you're in the ballroom and you can feel it from the band, do you I think get the amount of appreciation you have to have for what you guys bring every single week.

It's just it's it.

It takes the energy to the roof and that's where I feel the performers end up getting and a lot of it is because of you guys right there singing your hearts out to the best music ever.

You get it.

I mean it's like when you're in the room with people and you're like if you go to a concert, that's kind of the way it feels, right.

Yes, Yeah, I always say I feel like the electricity in that ballroom is unmatched, Like it's anything you've ever experienced.

Even just watching the crew, it's a full machine.

The way that everyone is just like taking care of their piece of the puzzle is really incredible to watch.

And it would not go off the way it goes off without every single person on that team.

And yeah, I mean it's it is.

It's funny over the years because I started eleven years ago, and I feel like back then we were like in a pit that was kind of like you know, behind stage, and everyone's why we could come out, and then we were on the stage for a few years, and then now I love where we're at now.

It's kind of like a bandstand vibe and we're definitely out a little bit more than we used to be, but with like the resurgence of this show.

We've also felt that, like on all of our social media, on TikTok, Instagram, everything, we've really felt the love from a lot of the fans for the show.

Sure, God, there's actually people back there.

Yeah, these songs and I really like that.

Well.

I both times I was there, I sat in the same place, and the trumpet player who's like first chair on the on the right hand side, I'm here.

So every time I go there, he's like, hey, man, you're back.

Give me knocks, like, hey, what's going to be a great night?

Like there, you're so nice and welcoming and everybody is so amazing.

But I have a question.

You said you've been there eleven years, so a couple questions.

First of all, have you been handed.

A week where you're like, ugh, I don't want to do this music?

Sure, I got to think about it, but like I for sure know there have been moments where or it's mostly even just like a song, I think where you're right, really this was the I don't want to really?

Oh my yes, yeah totally.

Do you feel like with your experience now, are you somewhat able to kind of see with how the judges are reacting how the fans are reacting that you're kind of going, uh oh, this person's time might be coming to an end here.

Are you able to do a little bit of prediction?

Yeah?

Absolutely, I feel like we've gotten really good at it.

Unfortunately, but because you're there every.

Week, I mean you've got to see that.

You got to get the pulse every time.

I mean you're there.

The energy again, that energy in the ballroom says a lot to us because we're all on social media as well, like we're the poll on social media and the fan base and what they're saying.

But also I feel like you start to get a little bit of a vibe from the dancers too.

You know, like some weeks it's like a little more nervous and you're like, oh no, right in trouble this week.

You know, there's there's just different different things that really gauge.

I think that that needle like where everybody's gonna be.

But yeah, were among the singers, we kind of have this thing where we'll like, because you can't see us, you know, when we're sitting down our hands or anything, and we'll kind of look at each other at the very end and the cameras aren't on us at that point, are all on the dancers anyways, and so if it's down to like three people, we put our three fingers up like one, one, two or three.

Kind of know.

And usually I will say CJ is usually he gets it right majority of the time.

Really well.

Then that leads me to, in your entire time there, what was the biggest shock you had for somebody going home or somebody winning?

Good one, good one?

Okay, I would probably say somebody winning.

I thought Milo Manheim would have won.

Yes, I've only watched a couple of clips of him.

But how who won that year?

Because yeah, Bobby Bone.

That's the year that Bobby Bones won.

And everyone's like, what are you kidding?

Because the singing in the rain one I saw was freaking amazing.

It was unreal.

Yeah, so so so good.

It's funny.

Actually, my son, Malachi, he says that it was his fault that Milo didn't win because he came on and sung for Bobby Bones.

He played like a young Bobby Bones during the show and like sang a song from the Greatest Showman.

And so to this day he tells Miley, He's like the reason my bad.

Sorry, I did too well, my bad didn't mean to give him that much.

That much about what about elimination?

Then?

What was the most shocking no way that person went home moment?

Well, I mean to be honest, I was pretty bummed about Mark and Whitney going home the other night too.

Okay, it was really just this season alone.

This that's that I feel like they should get to the finals.

Yes, I love the cast so much, but I'm not afraid to say it that I really thought Mark and Whitney, and then Whitney and Whitney, Carson and Robert Robert, that it was going to come down.

To the two of them.

You've got such great people out there.

I'm telling you it worked against her because I felt the same way though it worked against her that she danced her whole life and is essentially a professional TikTok dancer.

That's not Whitney.

Yes, I'm talking about Mark, where it's just that that played against her.

It's not the same journey, not to.

Mention with the audience.

Going against a male celebrity that has actually learned and looks great.

Dancing is so hard.

It's when you have women out there that are the big part of you know, their demo watching a male dance like the way that Robert Dylan, the way they are doing so well, it's hard.

It's it's a different it's a different yes, kind of in on the DTS fandom though, because it's so fun to hear, you'd be like, but.

Oh yeah, it's just in a way because it's awful.

I hate it.

By the way, Yes, Whitney is like an insane dancer.

She was a great dance to begin with.

But you know, Charlie Demilio also won and she grew up dancing.

Jordan Fisher he won and grew up dancing, and so I feel like there is room for that in our show.

Sure, But I think you're also like you're saying, you're you are competing against.

There, even with Milo with Milo and he didn't have the journey that people thought Bobby Bains did.

So if you take somebody who has no experience against somebody who has experienced, you're expecting the person with the experience to be great.

The person that doesn't.

When they turn out to be a great dancer, you want to root for them.

It's just it's just the nature of the beating.

And I think when celebrities sign up, if their management, if they haven't watched the show and don't know it on the themselves, if their management hasn't given them that clue into it, you aready to get on the show in the first place.

That's the other thing, though, is you just have to go in knowing.

And this is something that I've learned, and this is something that Ryder and I finally had to realize, is just if you're going in thinking you're going to watch a show where the best dancer wins, that's not the show.

It's just not the show.

Well that's not real TV, right, Like watch American Idol and the best singer is going to win rights.

It's the journey, it's dustreet, it's the story behind all of it that really creates, I mean, what I love.

I'm Kristin Davis, host of the podcast Are You a Charlotte?

The most anticipated guest from season three is here the Tray to My Charlotte.

Kyle McGlaughlin joins me to relive all of the magical Tray in Charlotte moments.

He reveals what he thinks of Trey giving Charlotte a cardboard baby.

Why would I bring her a cardboard Baby.

I was literally I was like, this doesn't track for me at all.

When he found out Trey's shortcomings, I'm kind.

Of excited to talk about.

You know.

I think he's a guy spends time in Central Park.

You know, he's probably only be some.

Surgery stuff, you know.

And I was like, all this kind of stuff going on, and they were like yeah, yeah, yeah, fine, and they said, but he's impotent.

And I was like, he's impotent and why he chose not to return to it?

Just like that, they came and presented an idea and I was like, I get I see it.

It's so kind of a one joke.

Ida you don't want to miss this.

Listen to Are You a Charlotte on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

For Dancing with the Stars, do you have to pre record all your music and then our people sinking on the night.

Are you guys singing live?

Yeah?

We do a lot live.

It's crazy, so we do.

There are some things that you know, like if you hear like a an ad lib or something that overlaps something, then maybe I may have pre recorded something like that to make sure all of it is fit in there right, because I never know what a dancer is going to be choreographing to, and so we have to make sure that absolutely every little piece of the same is the right same.

So we're getting that little background vocals, we have to make sure we work with our engineers and all the audio team to make sure the effects feel the same.

There's like a delay to the vocal.

They have to set that delay correctly, so when we're singing it, it's like, you know, they feel like an ech echo echo, you know, they kind of so that they're moved because who knows they will Some of the dancers choreographed to lyrics, some of them are choreographing to like a beat in the music, or it just never you never know, so we have to make sure all of those little pieces are covered.

So yeah, there's some things that we do, but yeah, it's crazy.

And that's like what we were saying earlier.

The switch up can be wild to go from like a princess voice to like, you know, a huge, big gospel something.

It's definitely a muscle that you have to wow figure out.

Do you guys get to see the routines?

Do you guys in order to find those little like things.

Do you guys see them at all before you see them on Do they come on Saturday or is it just so we only see the first time we do it with the dancers is on Tuesday, on the live show day, So we do we we really remember the princess.

Yeah, we record references on Saturdays, and that's what the dancers use Sunday and Monday to like, you know, finished doing their camera blocking or you know, dry blocking or whatever.

They use the references that we were going.

Now, will they ever come to you after you guys sing for the first time and say like, hey, can you slow it down or can you speed it up?

Or Yeah, we have that happen all the time.

This show is crazy because you really do have to be like ready to change things on a dime, or they'll they'll say, you know, they finally are in the ballroom and it's the band and everybody's together, and they forgot that, oh you know what, I want to add this extra like bam, this huge hit at the end, and so we've got to add that hit.

Or it's like could you bring this vocal to be even more like Breadthian intimate, you know, to really feel even more than in between rehearsals, we'll like go to our truck and we'll talk through things and have to make the adjustments on the fly.

Dang, that is so mate, easy, that's wild.

I love it.

I love it.

I love it.

So how did you start your journey?

How did you become a singer and decide this is what you wanted to do?

And how did you get to where you are right now?

Great question, saying yes to a lot of things.

You know.

I grew up on the East Coast in Virginia Beach.

My dad's a pastor, and I grew up singing in church.

So like classic singer story, I grew up singing in church my whole life, and then did a lot of musical theater in high school.

And I'm very far away from high school at this point in my life.

All of these, I'm sure I'm still a lot about it.

Yeah I am, I.

Promise, But yeah, So I grew up singing my whole life.

My family's in music, and my brother, my mom and dad would like you know, classic singing on long road trips all the time.

And then I worked in churches and then I started playing in like bars, and festivals and clubs and doing all the things just like anywhere that would let me sing growing up.

And then we moved to LA.

When I was well, we moved to Nashville.

First I did American Idol as a contestant any many many many moons ago.

That experience was that it was incredible.

Yeah.

I actually loved that experience so much that I still work on the show now to this show.

You know, how far did you make it?

I made it to the live shows.

Actually, I got the season that Chris Allen one and Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey.

That was my season.

Damn, that was a huge scene.

I've heard of Adam Lambert.

I've heard of Adam Lambert.

Okay, right, yeah, so I was on that season, made it to the live shows, and then got kicked off.

They chopped like seven of us a week.

It was like big chunk back then.

So yeah, I did that, and then after that I was just pursuing the artist thing.

I moved to Nashville.

We lived there for a while.

Then I signed a deal out here in LA And that's kind of what moved us to LA.

When I was thirty ish okay, came out here and was just still doing the artist thing writing and I ended up writing for a lot of other artists, and so that kind of took a turn.

You again, like saying yes to all of the things, I think is how you do it when you're chasing any dream, and especially in the arts, you're just like, Okay, yeah, sure, why not.

I'll do this gig, I'll play the show, I'll sing this theme song for you.

You know, all those things.

You just keep saying yes, and one thing leads to the next.

And I was in a session with this one guy and he was working on Dancing with the Stars at the time, and he was like, hey, would you be interested.

We're doing it.

We needed somebody to sing a Jesse j song.

And this was the finale of this season before I actually started on Dancing with the Stars, and I had also written a song that was being sung by one of the finalists on American Idol, And so I had to make a choice if I was going to go to American Idol finale that night or if I was going to go sing on Dancing with the Stars that night.

Oh like, good choice, good choice.

So well, I chose to go listen to my song being sung on American Idol.

I was like, you know what at that point, this is so full circle for me, Like, yeah, contestin and so I was like, you know what, if it's meant to be, it'll be.

And the next season I got a call for the first episode and I never left Wow.

And then in between all the seasons I'm doing, I do a lot of TV and film vocal work, theme songs, things like that, tons of stuff for Disney Channel.

Well, yeah, theme song.

You did the theme song to the New Ducktails, didn't you.

I Yeah, that's me, which is like one of the most iconic.

The original one is like the most one of the most iconic animated opening ever.

So were you when you heard that you were going to be doing that?

Was that just kind of a dream come true?

It's like life changing moments.

And we're living in this apartment studio city, and we have our studio, our recording studio set up in our guest bedroom and just like you know, just kind of a hole in the wall type thing situation.

And this producer that I had been working a lot with, he was like, hey, you know, I need you to demo this.

This is crazy.

But like Ducktails is coming back, and I'm like, I'm sorry, I call my brother.

I'm like, you're never going to believe, like I see Ducktails.

But then they're like, it's just a demo.

Like I think they're gonna go out to some people and they're gonna see if, like you know, a big wig's gonna do it.

So I think it went out to like Kelly and Miley and like all of the people, like, let's get somebody to do this, and for whatever reason, they just kept coming back to my demo and we call it demoitis, which I'm just glad that they got demoitis for that.

Yes, And then I it was a full pinch me just I couldn't believe it.

I couldn't.

Yeah, and also it's like scary too because it's Ducktails.

So it's like our people hate you because of it.

They're gonna be like, oh my god, you you know after the whole thing up, Like yeah.

I played I played the New Liono and ThunderCats, so I know exactly what that's like.

You're either I'm gonna people are gonna love it or they're gonna hate it, and there's not gonna be any in between.

Right, yeah, right, there is no middle ground, no right.

No one.

You never hear like, yeah that was pretty good.

Nope, it's oh my god, it's better than the original.

Or I can't believe you screwed up the original.

That's all You're gonna.

Get so harsh.

It's the hard part about nostalgia stuff like it.

You can having remakes and reboots and stuff can completely.

Destroy what was the original.

And some hard times, but I will say we're going to transfer I guess kind of into Malachi.

We watched under Wraps.

Right, and I know we'll go back to the original, but like that's not a case.

That's one of the things I was talking to you at the twentieth anniversary.

I was like, they did the movie better than the original, and like Malki killed it, Like.

We kind of thought, so, yeah, we thought it was.

Better, and we do want to get into Malachi.

But it's actually I've been doing some research.

I think, are you also Clint Barton who is Hawkeye on The Avengers?

Are you his mom too?

I'm just checking No, I'm not okay checking it because if you, I was like, is one of your kids an Avenger?

Because that's kind of awesome.

That I'm really the ultimate monitor.

Right.

That's I was like, man, and right.

Here's nothing else.

You just lift your hands and you.

Know why one guy who saves the world and the other ones an act don't.

Worry about it.

Amazing.

Hey, it's Wilfred Ell and Sabrina Bryan from the podcast Magical Rewind, and we have a very special guest on this week's episode.

He's the mastermind behind some of your favorite movies like Hocus Pocus, Newsy's, The Descendants, and of course High School Musical.

Yes, it is the one and only a living legend director Kenny or Tega.

We sit down with Kenny to talk about his incredible career and the legacy he's created with his choreography and films.

You seriously will not want to miss this one.

Listen to Magical Rewind on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, it's Jenny Garth, host of the I Choose Me podcast.

This week, I'm so excited to welcome my friend Gabrielle Carterris the Andrea Zuckerman from Beverly Hills nine o two on OZHO to the pod.

We're choosing to get real.

I applied to the networks about my aging contracts.

They never would have hired me if they had no mind age.

We're choosing to be honest.

She looked at me, and she said, this business is about the mask, which you have neither of.

And we're choosing to get nostalgic.

Listen to I Choose Me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

One of the things we always talk about, especially on pod Meats World, but Sabena knows this as well, is especially when you start very very young in the industry, sometimes it's not the best thing in the world, and you really need people that are looking out for you, which you obviously have been.

So how where did the idea come that your son was going to be in the entertainment industry?

Was this his idea or your idea?

And how did you kind of help navigate what can be at times a pretty treacherous road.

Totally?

Yeah.

I mean the thing is, as I feel like with Malachi, he kind of fell into it naturally.

Right.

My husband and I both are in music and in entertainment, and so being in this space has always been like a very natural space for him to live in, and I'm super thankful to just you know that I've gotten to do a lot of the things that I've been able to do to kind of like prepare him and have a lot to like look back on.

Obviously at this point, he's just doing his thing, you know.

But I feel like it's just been a gift for me to even be in television and in music and have an idea, some sense of an idea of what to expect for him.

But he just he really did fall into this.

It's crazy.

He when he was four years old, we were I'd signed a steal out in LA and I was coming back and forth between Nashville and LA and writing music for artists and doing the whole thing.

I went into the studio session and the guy that owned the studio walked into my session and he was like, Hey, is that your kid outside on top of a car dancing to Justin Bieber?

Probably run outside, And then sure enough, my husband literally was like blasting Justin Bieber in our call and he was on top of the roof of the car dancing, And then he was like, I think he should meet my friend's best friend who's a manager and blah blah blah, and that was literally the beginning of it.

And Margo, his manager, has been his manager since since that.

Wow, So he's had the same team literally, And then of course every meeting that he went into, like when he's meeting with agents and everything, they were like, okay, can you we hear you like to dance to Justin Bieber.

The first meeting, my husband literally puts him on top of this giant conference room table and he just gets up and he's dancing, and they're like, any kid that's willing to like jump up on a table right dancing in front of people that he doesn't know, we feel like it's probably going to be a good thing.

Did you recognize the talent right away?

I mean when he was super young.

Yeah, well, you know you always kind of feel like your kid's the cutest kid in the world, and like, oh, they're gonna whatever.

But like he just he's always had this really magnetic thing about him.

He never really knew a stranger.

He was always willing to like perform on a like just would do whatever whenever.

However, like it didn't happen.

There was no reservation.

I mean, he's always had like a healthy fear of like strangers.

But you know, he he just was always willing to do it, which was cool.

We never wanted him.

We never wanted him to do this if he, you know, was gonna be like, oh, I don't want to, you know, I'm nervous or anything.

I think that's kind of where a lot of parents miss right.

They're like, oh, my kid's got it, now go do it, and then their kid gets in front of people and they just get this like they don't got it.

It's not right for them, you know, and that's okay, something else is great for them.

But yeah, Malachi just from the beginning always had this like this spark.

Wow.

Then he gets his manager.

You guys are living in Nashville still or.

You in La.

Yeah, so that was pretty The crossover was like within a few months, I feel like, yeah, we we started.

He signed with her.

He booked his first thing, which was on The Young and the Restless.

He booked like a guest spot on The Young of the Restless at five years old.

It was the Christmas episode and he ran out in these cute little Christmas pjs and he was adorable.

So not a Christmas episode of a soap is like Santa gets amnesia and has a twin.

It's like you forget about that, Like Rember, I can't be like out of.

A dream sequence.

This guy literally it was like he wasn't a real kid.

It was his dream child that he had had with somebody and.

There you go.

Okay called it yep, yeah, but like pretty close yeah right yeah.

The drama.

The other thing.

I mean, I I don't have children, thankfully, never wanted them myself.

But one of the reasons that I one of the things about it that's so interesting is I always imagine how difficult it would be for anybody, let alone somebody in the industry, but especially somebody in the industry parents also having to deal with social media, which has become such a juggernaut and is so important in young people's lives, but is also can just be adored the evil yes where it's and it never I mean, you read these stories about you know, bullying, bullying used to stop when you left school.

Well now it's twenty four to seven because social media never shuts up.

So I mean, how did you also guide him or help guide him through the minefield for lack of a better term, that is social media.

Yeah, that's a big one for sure.

I think kids have too much access too quickly.

I think it's you know, parental involvement has to be like, he wasn't going to have social media unless I was running the account for very many years.

And to be completely honest, I still have his TikTok and his smart Instagram and he's eighteen, you know, obviously like posting for him and doing all the things.

But like you know, there are occasions where he has no Internet access because he's on a shoot somewhere and he's like, oh my god, I need to do this.

Can you help me?

But like to this day, I feel like accountability in your life, in every area of your life is so important, no matter what it is like, but social media, there's so many It's just it creates this weird accessibility to your life that is unhealthy and and not normal, you know.

And then in turn, we also have weird accessibility to information now that I don't feel like our minds and our brains were created to be able to handle all of this.

So yeah, it's it's a balance.

It's been you know, there are there were moments, probably when he was younger, when it was a little bit more of a fight, right, but only because it's like, but what why can't I Well, because you can't right now because you're you're not ready for that yet.

And that's the way.

And he has really had quite an explosion in social media even in the last like six months.

It's honestly been the craziest thing to watch, just since Zombie is coming out and then the tour.

I think he's gone from on his TikTok he was like maybe right under three million to now he's about to hit seven million followers on his TikTok.

And it's just the responsibility that you carry when you're you know, you have access to that many people is heavy for any person.

But then also, uh, you know, they're just these computer warriors that sit behind a computer and feel like they can say whatever they want to say.

And yep, board cowboys.

Yeah yeah, cowboys.

I love that.

Yeah.

And they just they love to stir the pot.

You know, is pretty good at going like I'm gonna shut this off.

Yeah, he sees it.

He laughs about it.

He's really thankful to be working and he's you know what, I'm just gonna go this is what it is.

And it really is holding a tiger by the tail though social media.

And it's one of those things that I did it for a little while and about a year or two and I was like, this is not good and I erased everything and I haven't had it for years.

And it's been magical.

Yeah, to not have any social media.

It's one of those things where it doesn't seem to be getting better, it seems to be getting worse.

Yeah, So you wonder if it's going to come to a head somehow, and usually that's not going to be a good thing.

It's not gonna it's not gonna always we're going to wake up and it's going to be rainbow.

Something's going to happen, uh to where you know, we have to find that, like you're talking about, it's a balance obviously in your life, but it might come down to it being regulated like alcohol or cigarettes, where it's you know, when you're twenty one and over, you can do social media, but before then you can't.

Yeah, so who knows.

It is hard though, because they're there.

It's a part of your business.

You know, there's branding and this is advertising now, this where they're making you know, any company is making their money from TikTok, and suretizing is taking place through all of that, so there is this weird balance.

I do think that there's a parental responsibility though, Yeah, and parents have to go my kid's not right for this, or like it's so easy to take away.

Hey Bud, you know what, You're gonna lose your Etagram for the next thirty days, like he was younger, you know what I mean, Like, you're gonna not be able to do this.

This isn't a part.

This isn't something that you get access to because it's a privilege, right, and if you don't know how to balance that privilege, then you need to take that away.

Well, I would imagine too, because I know, like with my social media, I tend to end up not posting very often because I'm really hyper aware of posting where I'm at and like while I'm there.

I had a scary situation while I was doing the Cheetah Girls with somebody who was kind of you know, stocker situation and showing up at my shows that didn't have any kids.

Didn't make sense for him to be there.

He was coming to like the random stuff.

He was somehow getting backstage passes like very very, very scary, And I didn't have social media at all, right, so this was him finding out somehow.

But now you are so to be, like you said that accessibility.

So I was wondering, like as a mom for you, you.

Know, I know he's eighteen now, but when you did have a lot more hands on with it, were there certain rules that you guys kind of he started to have to really understand, like we don't post until this or you know, things like that, so that you felt like he was safe, because that's a big a scary thing is to feel like your your son is so recognizable.

I'm sure at this point, well, we can't go anywhere without people one hundred percent knowing who he is and being excited that he's there, But then to actually give them a heads up of where you're going makes that even scarier one hundred percent.

We just had he came home for two and a half weeks.

He just shot Camp Rock in Vancouver, which we're so excited about it.

Did you get to go set work?

I know he's eighteen five, big boy.

I went for like a few days.

I went for here and right at the beginning, I was there for a little bit too, but I was shooting Dancing at the Stars while he was shooting, so I wasn't able to right.

But when he came home for two and a half weeks before, he just went back to go shoot Coven, a new show.

And so while he was here, we were in our neighborhood.

We went up up the street to Mendosino Farms to go have lunch on a Sunday afternoon, and it was the first time that we had to get our lunch to go.

We like sat down at the table and then within like minutes it was a madhouse and we were like, okay, we're just gonna get our food.

Jah.

It was.

It was weird to feel like we were, you know, going to our regular like neighborhood restaurant to have a lunch and then all of a sudden.

But also Halloween was wild.

We had about one hundred people that showed up and Malachi wasn't even home at the time, and they were all at our front door asking where Malachi was.

Oh, so, yeah, we are moving, and that's you know, I think that's just part of it.

It's it's you know, I think with the like the rules and stuff, we've always been really open.

We've loved kind of like opening up our life to the public because I think there's something that's really been special about the three of us and our bond that the three of us have, and we've loved sharing that with people through our podcast and through social media and all that kind of stuff.

So it's been really special and there's just this balance.

So we're just now starting to feel the other side of it.

I think a little bit more sure where we're going, like okay, like now we have to be even more protective of like people in on where we're at, where we're located.

Disney's been really really good about that though.

They have a lot of talent one O one training and stuff that they go wow kids with the talent.

I don't just say kids because they don't all kids anymore, but you know, with the talent, and they talk about like not posting when you're at a location, making sure you're the day after or a few hours after you leave, or something like that.

So they've been really good at helping this next generation I think, to kind of process some of those things a little better, which is nice.

Now, have you you've talked about before that you have written for a lot of great people, written some pretty incredible songs.

Have you written a song for Malachi yet?

No, it's funny though we've actually been talking about it.

This is a very new conversation for us to be having about music.

He always his entire life, he said, Mom's a singer.

I'm the actor, okay, and then he booked Zombies and start.

I was gonna say he can sing a little because I take that back, right, I take that back, and I can dance now, right, yeah, which is like all of this is very new for him, Like, yeah, danced before Zombies.

He never like he's.

Not want to dancing with the stars Malachi and dancing with the stars stars.

Sure, I'm sure you know a person at the show that can make that happen as soon as he's available.

He's just not available right now.

That's exactly the point.

Yes, Yeah, I mean he's We've been having a lot of music conversations lately because it's definitely something that he's interested in.

Acting is still his like number focus, but he's interested and at the stage Bug from the tour, I want to be the one that's like listening to the story that he wants to write.

About and being like, but you shouldn't have never you know, you never got it like that, you know, the bug from the tour he loved in front of the bands and singing and warning.

We went to Vancouver to shoot Camp Rock three and within the first I think it was the second day we got there, the Joe Bros.

Were in concert in Vancouver and we all they gave us this whole like section, the whole cast and families and everything.

And it was literally two days after he had just performed his last show on tour, and he was like he looked back at me and he's like, I want to be up there.

I just yeah, that's cool.

Well, I can tell you we've we've seen nothing from Camp Rock three.

We know nothing of Camp Rock three, and it's already better than Camp Rock two.

So there you go, uh calling that right now?

It's really good.

They literally did.

This in Camp Rock two a bunch of times.

So for the record, that's all I need to see to know.

I need to ask if they included that they're gonna lose will like that.

I'm out.

I'm out.

So just very quickly, going back to your writing, what's your favorite song that you've ever written and who.

Did you write it for?

Yeah?

Okay, So I wrote a song.

My favorite song.

This is an easy one.

Well there's two.

I'll tell you two stories.

The first one is my favorite because I wrote it for Malachi, actually not for him to sing he was a baby.

But I wrote this song called Finally, and it ended up getting cut by this artist, Namie Moro in Japan.

She's like the Beyonce of Japan.

Okay, huge artist, and it ended up being her her final record, like it was her retirement.

She put out like one last record.

The album was called Finally.

It did insane numbers, sold so many it was crazy, the biggest song that I ever had.

And also it happened to be about Malachi because we did for a really long time to have a kid and then finally ended up getting pregnant and he was our miracle baby.

And so I wrote the song with my friend Matt Tischla and it's called Finally.

So yeah, that's my favorite.

Wow.

Second favorite is a song that I wrote for Demi Levado called Nightingale.

It was on her debmi album, And when we were justin Vancouver, I got to see Demi for a second and she was meeting the cast for the first time and everything, and Malachi had already gone out and he was talking to her manager and he was like, oh my god, yeah, my mom, she actually like wrote a song on Demi's record, and she said and he was like, oh my gosh, you have to tell Demi when you see her that like your felicious son, blah blah blah.

And so it was the funny moment because I thought this would just be like a little like side conversation or whatever.

And I'm like in the back.

I try to like kind of hide in the back.

I don't want to be like that parent.

You know, Hi, it's me.

So anyways, we're like in this little group and all the kids are saying hi to her and all the parents are there, and I'm just like in the back and her manager's like, Malci, I tell her the story and he was like, oh, and it's literally like thirty five people standing at that getting back and he goes, oh, well, my mom, she wrote Nightingale And she was like, oh my gosh, no way.

And she and I had not had a chance to meet yet, and so I'm like it was like the Red Sea's Parting and the parents like I'll split and I'm like coming out from the background and I'm just like a Hi, Demi me you so awkward.

But it was one of my favorite songs to write.

I originally wrote it for me and we pitched it to Demi and she did a job on this song and really made it personal for her own story too.

But the story for me, it was about a moment that my husband and I had.

I had been offered a couple of deals here in la music deals and I didn't know what to do.

I was like just in between, like what's the next step for us.

We were living in Nashville, moving to La Possibly.

We were staying on a air mattress in the dining room of our friend's one bedroom apartment in Santa Clarita tell me.

That, yes, I love everything you just said there.

That sounds magical and.

So literally like on this air mattress.

Malachi's asleep on their futon and Lauren looks at and I was like, babe, I really don't know what to do.

And he just grabbed my hand and he was like you know what, like it doesn't matter, Like whatever decision you make, it's gonna it's gonna be great and just I felt in that moment like I needed somebody to just be my steady in that space.

And the opening lyric is I can't sleep tonight, wide awake and so confused.

Everything's in line, but I'm what I am, Bruce, I'm what's the use?

I can't remember now, Oh my head, it's been a minute.

It was like this beautiful moment that we had and we shared, but then she was able to take that song and make it about, you know, some really personal stuff for her, which is the translation of music.

You know the stars too.

It's like that's how we're able to be the soundtrack that expresses, you know, what the dancer's vision is.

Yeah, wow, I love it.

Oh okay Malachi, Yeah, I gotta admit I'm slightly obsessed with him.

He's just so cute, like watching him in Zombies and then but to find out later because before I had met you guys at the press junket, and you know, he's he's so grown to me already, he's like grown right, And then all of a sudden pops up on my Disney Plus because I have Zombies going some of the things he's done when he was younger, so I didn't realize he was like a dizz kid from what when did he enter the Disney world and start blowing that whole channel up.

He signed his very first Disney deal on his eighth birthday, eppy birthday.

Literally he went to test for Stuck in the Middle on his eighth birthday and signed his deal on his eighth birthday.

And that was his first show for the network.

And they have just been so good to him and her family for so long.

They really are, They really are and have made some really fun shows that he's gotten to be a part of.

Stuck in the Middle obviously, which was his first one, and then Villain's Valley View, he did under Wraps one and two.

He's did Fancy Nancy, the animated series.

Oh it is so fun.

But yeah, he's just he's been a part since literally since he was eight years old.

So it's been fun to watch.

And it's funny because some of the fans who are like, you know, been a fan since Stuck in the Middle, and I'm like, yeah, those.

Yeah, just do this location where Sabrina is watching.

So we ask a lot of a lot of the Disney stars this question.

We talk about the auditioning process with Disney, so we know the actors.

You know, their their their jitters, their nerves, their everything.

If they felt like they walked out, nailed the part, or I just screwed that up.

What is it like for a mom when you're sitting in that, you know, the casting rooms or the casting lobbies.

I should say there are some crazy moms first of all, which I'm all seen right Like they're the moms that are like so overly involved in the process that you're just like your kid's gonna hate you at eighteen, Like they're really not gonna be happy with your choices, nor do they want to act anymore.

Because they want to crush crushed the spirit pretty quickly.

Yeah, truly, we've seen the crazy ones.

We've seen the good ones.

I I when we were on he was auditioning before Stuck in the Middle.

I think he went out for an episode of Girl Meets World, okay, and he was maybe six or seven at the time, and he was We're in the audition room and I'll never forget this mom.

She literally was like basically out loud telling us about her kid's resume.

And this was like one of the first Disney auditions he'd ever had.

I just remember texting my husband, I'm.

Like, these people are crazy.

Mom is literally like out loud telling me about her son's resume, Like what are we doing?

You know, I got trying to psych you out and trying to psych out your kid.

Oh that's when the elbows started going, oh yeah, start killing.

And you know, I just want to like go play rock paper Scissors in the corner with Malachi and just try to keep his you know, vibes good.

But I think it's tough.

You know, the older he's gotten, the more the audition process has become more intense.

And it's the audition process for Zombies was really really intense for him.

It was quite a few months.

It was also the first time that he and I really got to work together on the music side of things.

I coached him through the whole process for on the vocal side of stuff, and so yeah, we we it's intense.

But we also have always tried to go you audition and then you let it go.

It's the thing, and then you let it just go out there into audition land and if it's meant to be, it'll be, and try not to get so, you know, There's been a few of them where he's like, I want this, like I really Zombies was one of those.

He was sure.

He was like I want this, I want this so bad.

What do I need to do?

And he just kept delivering time after time.

I mean he probably he went in so many times and it was like can you sing?

Can you act?

Can you dance?

Can you act?

Can you sing?

Can you dance?

Wait, let's provide ourselves.

Can you do?

You know, so all of the things.

But but yeah, it's funny sometimes the parents we just sit quietly in the audition space.

Now everything's like self tapes for the most part.

Yeah, you really don't see anybody until you get to that testing process.

But now I'm like kind of out of the picture with it.

Oh wow, oh man.

We just had an audition the other day and he was in Canada and it was a pretty good one.

And I was like, I think I'm gonna come see you and let's just do the audition because we've always taped together.

So I flew up to Canada so we can.

Oh that's nice.

Yeah, I mean, what was it?

What was it like?

Because that's you know, at eighteen, it's it's for any mom, whether they're they're going off to start their career, like Malechi, they're going to college.

Things like that.

That that's when your little baby starts really leaving the nest.

How how was it?

Were you like trying to overpack him for going like and being away from you on set?

Like how what were those feeling?

I mean, I can't I'm dying already.

That Yeah, I like cried for sure.

I think I even posted a picture on my Instagram like my story or something, and it was just like me and tears.

And I'm not like a like let me post people or post while I'm crying kind of a person, but like it was very real.

It was like the going off to college kind of feeling.

And it's different.

I think when you're the parent of a creative like this, you're so involved in so many different layers.

It's not just like sending him off to college and letting there be an ra there that's dealing with things and professors.

You know, you're going into a work environment where you're dealing with executives and other adults that are working and paying their bills, and like you got to like show up.

This isn't just you know, it's fun, and you always want it to be fun, you want to love it, but also like you are.

We've tried to help him remember that every show he's ever been a part of this is an adult in environment.

Yeah, and you are a kid in an adult environment.

So we shut it off really quickly and we go into kid mode as soon as we leave, you know, sure, but yeah, it's it's we're still so connected on like a day and a day basis.

He literally called me this morning.

He's texted me probably seventeen times already today this morning, and they've got table reads today for three episodes, and he's.

Oh, that's great.

You know, watched the pilot yesterday and he's calling me and he wants to tell me all about it.

So we're still so involved on a day to day basis.

But yeah, my husband and I are like learning what it's like to be empty nesters.

And I don't feel old enough to have that.

E O.

Well, I mean you should have learned it the first time when Hawkeye went out to save the world.

I wasn't paying attention.

He was attention.

Okay, So last two questions.

The first one I always want to ask.

This would normally be the last question, but I have a separate last question I need.

So the first of the two last questions is what was your favorite D com.

Of all time?

Oh?

So good?

Okay, I should know this question because, like I've listened to Malik, I answer this a thousand times.

Just don't take camp rock too, and we'll be fine.

My favorite D com it's probably okay, see this is it's not a d com.

It's like rides the fine line of not a D com.

Okay, which is okus, it's not okay, we just we just did hocus Pocus.

Okay, it's not a com, but it's literally my favorite.

Okay, I have to watch it every single year.

I'm not a I'm not a rewatcher either, Like I don't rewatch a lot of movies or TV shows.

I'm not like that person that watches Friends a thousand times, right, but I watch that movie every single year.

So that's close.

It's not a dcom, and I guess, like I have to say though at this point, Zombie's word on the vampires done.

Okay, all right, there you go, And then the ask question other than Malachi, Yeah, your son who's the actor?

And Hawkeye?

Your son who's the avenger.

Malachi is an avenger in the future, then I and you have.

To exactly you can't.

You can't be the ultimate mom of of of every amazing I mean, he's all he's already a good actor.

He can't also be saving the world.

I can't do.

Will don't you put a ceiling over that kid?

You if you could pick anybody, yeah, other than your own child to be on Dancing with the Stars.

Who do you want?

Who do you want to see?

Dancing?

Great question?

Great question?

Hmmm of this question, I have to like go through the uh repertoire in my head, like who would I want to see?

Celebrity wise?

My god, yes, Sabrina's thinking too, that's what I want.

Like, there's so many people.

Who do you want to see?

I mean, okay, I feel like we do the reality thing, so like I don't want to pull from reality TV, A pull from like television that way, okay, okay, okay, my childhood television.

Let's go first.

I would love to see this is gonna be, this is not embarrassing, it's fine.

I would love to see Jonathan Taylor Thomas do it.

Okay, Oh my god, a dull jtt on Chancy with the Stars wall era, Right, this is our era of television.

That's what I would love to see.

Yes, it's a great answer.

We should submit that to you know who commit On Tuesday.

I'm gonna be like, yes, I've gotten I've gotten season covered.

Don't from from the very little I know about how private he is, I would say, good luck.

Well I did, I will, I will put it out there.

I wasn't a giant fan of this band, but I did see one of the Hanson brothers in the audience this year.

And typically when someone I don't know.

If I didn't watch that episode, so I didn't know if he possibly had somebody who was like on the show that he was there to support.

Yeah, but typically when random celebrities just hit the ballroom floor audience, it usually means that they have been talked to her or are interested in being on the show.

Just friends.

No, I know.

That's why I said I wasn't.

I didn't watch the show, so I didn't know if he was there supporting someone.

But I did see him one of them on there.

I don't even know which one it was, but my girlfriend lost her mind.

She's like, he's coming he's coming next season.

I bet, I bet, And I was like, amazing, that would be amazing, It would be good.

I'm I'm so a huge Dodger fan.

Some of them were on the show too, I know they were there now obviously like they would have to not be playing because the same thing, right, So that's why we never really have baseball players on the shows.

Yeah, during ye during the season.

Right, But now that Clinton Kershaw has retired, I think that would be a great interesting.

That is interesting, okay interesting.

I feel like on the show in general, even retired baseball stars haven't really come.

This would be a good news.

We did have what's his name, David Ross?

He did it, yeah, because I got actually he signed a baseball for Malchi.

Oh wow, Well, thank you so much for taking the time to join us.

You mentioned the podcasts.

Are you still doing your podcast?

What's it car?

Yeah, Mam Drer it's yeah right.

We finished last season already and we're going to be starting season two up very very soon.

But my co host, Malachi is a.

Little busy right now, so that jeez, well, if you need me to step in as your host, because Hawkeye obviously is off with the Avengers, and your other son is doing Camp Rock.

Three, which will relay Batman at some point too, so I feel like he's that's an easy fit.

I'll come on more so to ask questions because my daughter is so constantly saying she wants to be a part of the industry.

I love to think she's there yet.

She's still very young, but and it would mean I who would be taking her to all the things.

That it would be I can do that, so would be.

But I would love to learn because I feel like you're doing such a great job.

And what I love is your You've been doing this with Malachi for years and years.

He's he was eight years old, but you've also been pursuing your own career and taking your own opportunities to continue to write and beyond dancing with stars and American Idol.

I mean, it's just amazing that you're a mom showing you can do it all.

And I love that.

Thank you so much, So thank you for joining us and taking.

The time to me you guys, I never one.

Go check out Mamajer, which season two will be starting soon.

Thank you, Thank you, have a great day.

Bye.

What a career she's had and still going yeah, I mean, I know, crazy, all the stuff that's going on.

I'd love to talk to him too, but I but frankly, she's so interesting that that was that was great with that, I know, right.

But it would be awesome to know to like what he sponged off of her.

I mean so much her an, it sounds like her husband too.

That just sounds like they're a talented family that he.

Sponged off of them to start making his decisions.

And why did he originally say mom's got the music, I'm the actor?

What is that?

Malachi?

What happened?

Were you're nervous?

His mom just too much of a superstar?

I can understand that he found he found his comfort, and his comfort was acting, and that was, you know great.

Yeah, he's right from from the jump that when you saw him that he was gonna be an.

He's sweet in person doing the junket for Zombe, I mean, met him, very professional.

Of course, the handled which I'm sure you would have caught onto.

You know, obviously the relationship between him and Freya and them both just saying like we're really great friends, and you know, he was just so professional.

So ready, Yeah, and yeah, what.

I told you when after I did that junkie, he told me we had no dance prior dance experience, and I did not believe him.

I'm like, crazy, you're a liar.

He's so good.

He's so good.

Well, thank you everybody for joining us, and don't forget to join us next time.

Over on our other feed where our movie is going to be.

I think it's twas the.

Night, Twas the Night.

We're getting into that Christmas bye.

Oh it's it's Christmas, okay, Oh kidding, of course.

It's assuming it's Christmas.

Geez.

So thank you everybody for joining us, and thank you so much Felicia for joining us, especially when you've got one son making a movie and another son saving the world.

So it's really really cool saving the universe.

So uh yeah, always overshadowed by Malachi, but Clinton is doing pretty well in the adventures.

So thank you everybody, and we'll see you next time.

Bye.