American Idol season 12 alum Janelle Arthur is pregnant with a baby girl. But the good news comes after considerable heartache.
At the end 0f 2020 she learned that she and her husband of four years were expecting their first baby. But just six weeks into the pregnancy, Janelle suffered a miscarriage.
“It’s hard to put into words what you go through because you have so many different emotions,” Janelle told People magazine. “It was as if my brain wasn’t prepared for the loss and the sadness of it all. I let myself cry and grieve. And then I just had to trust Him. I just had to trust God’s timing.”
And then in May, the country singer received the news that she was expecting again, and this time, the baby was due on the birthday of her musical hero, Dolly Parton.
“When I went in for my 20-week ultrasound, they determined that the due date was Jan. 19,” she said. “I mean, you can’t even dream this stuff up!”
Her latest song, “Hand Me Downs,” a song she co-wrote with Emily Lynch that celebrates one’s heritage and roots, includes Dolly Parton’s vocals.
“I portrayed [Parton] as a child in a show about her life when I was 8 years old called Paradise Road,” Janelle shared. “So when I wrote ‘Hand Me Downs’ after coming off American Idol, I wanted to somehow get the song into her hands. Once [Parton] heard it, she loved it. The fact that she trusted me and this song really meant a lot.”
The clip features several treasured items from Janelle’s childhood, including everything her great-great grandmother’s dress, her grandfather’s bible and the singer’s own baby clothes tucked away in a hope chest. And at the end of the clip, Janelle reveals her pregnancy.
Watch: Janelle Arthur Reveals Pregnancy in ‘Hand Me Downs’ Music video ft Dolly Parton’s Vocals
Janelle wants people grieving the loss of a child to know that they are not alone. “For me, I feel like I have a child in heaven that I will see someday, so I don’t have to really look at it as a loss. It’s just delayed, and that’s okay. I knew that it was only going to happen when it was right. God was always going to give me the children that I’m supposed to have.”
“I’m feeling her move and stuff and it’s really fun,” she told People.
“I thought it was probably a little boy, but I was just so thrilled that it was a little girl,” Janelle shared. “People are already buying this girl so much stuff. She’s going to be loved from every direction.”
