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PEOPLE & ARTS Saturday 29 September 2018
Willis Clan rebuilding their career after father's crimes

By KRISTIN M. HALL "The song really is that just
Associated Press internal struggle of if I speak
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — my mind, one, can I do it?
The Willis Clan, a musical Do I have the strength to?
family that starred in their And if I do what will the
own reality TV show and outcome be?" said Jen-
competed on "America's nifer McDowell, 23. "And I
Got Talent," are now ready just resonated so well with it
to sing again and tell their and I knew that it really just
stories through a new al- could work so well with the
bum called "Speak My project."
Mind" a year after their fa- After a lifetime of being
ther was sent to prison for under the control of their
child abuse. father, McDowell said they
The Tennessee-based fam- are each rediscovering
ily was introduced to the their individual voices.
world through the NBC tal- "There's definitely days
ent show in 2014 as 12 sing- where I personally I feel
ing and dancing siblings like, yeah I totally have the
with ages ranging from courage to speak my mind
3 to 22. In 2015, they got and to tell my story," Mc-
their own reality show on Dowell said.
TLC called "The Willis Fam- In this Sept. 19, 2018, photo, members of the Willis Clan, from left, Jeanette Piatt, Jedidiah Willis, "And there are days that
ily," portraying the home- Jennifer McDowell, Jasmine Willis, Jeremiah Willis and Jackson Willis pose in Nashville, Tenn. are just really hard and it's
Associated Press
schooled, religious family hard to talk about it at all.
with varied artistic talents. ages ranging from 16 to 25, band we realized, 'This is not an easy subject," he And I realized that it's going
But that all came to an end collaborated on the new good for us. I wonder if it said. "It's not an easy life ex- to be a process for the rest
in 2016 when their father record out Friday, in which can help other people.'" perience that we all had." of my life."
Toby Willis was investigated they address the pain and But even for a family that The title track, "Speak My For Jeremiah, the oldest of
by the Tennessee Bureau abuse and their fear of spent so much of their lives Mind," was written by the the boys in the family, he's
of Investigation for years of speaking the truth about together and perform- eldest daughter of the struggled to understand his
abuse against underage their ordeal. ing on stages, writing the family, Jessica Willis, long father's impact on his life.
family members. He plead- "We were just writing them songs was a difficult pro- before their father's arrest. He said he no longer has a
ed guilty to four counts of for therapeutic reasons," cess. Jackson Willis, 20, said Although she is no longer in relationship with his father.
child rape last year and said Jeremiah Willis, 25. some of the songs were the band, her siblings saw "The song, 'How Much Of
was sentenced to 40 years "And after enough of those written through tears. the song in a new light as Me Is You,' is a question I will
in prison. songs have been written "The content of the songs they worked on the new be asking myself for the rest
Six members of the family, by various members of the that are on this album, it's music. of my life," he said. q

Cher sings ABBA songs and the reason is sadly clear

By MARK KENNEDY Cher offers a very deliber-
Associated Press ate, 10-track collection of
Cher, "Dancing Queen" classic ABBA songs, includ-
(Warner Bros.) ing "Waterloo," ''Mamma
OK, everyone, settle down. Mia" and "SOS." Inexpli-
We have a question. This cably, she returns to "Fer-
is important. No, really. nando" for another swing,
Can someone turn the having already supplied
music down? Ready? OK: a version for the film's
Put your hand up if you've soundtrack. That cover is
ever asked for an album of produced by former ABBA
ABBA covers by Cher. Se- member Benny Andersson;
riously, who wanted this? the rest of the album is pro-
Anyone? duced by Cher's longtime
Crickets? We thought so. collaborator Mark Taylor.
Well, Cher, we guess, want- All the versions are fantasti-
ed it, maybe to buy a new cally well produced, mixed
yacht or fulfill some label and arranged, but there's
requirement. Warner Bros. a strange coldness in these
Records clearly did, too, if tracks, as if all the fun was
only to profit on the icon's drained. Cher takes them
appearance in "Mamma all very, very seriously, like
Mia! Here We Go Again." they were tunes by Ste-
The whiff of a quick buck phen Sondheim instead of
is so sour here that it taints frothy disco songs. Her take
the Swedish band's bub- on "The Winner Takes It All"
bly compositions. Like one In this May 21, 2017 file photo, Cher performs at the Billboard Music Awards at the T-Mobile is especially preposterous
song's chorus goes: "Gim- Arena in Las Vegas. Associated Press and pompous. q
mie! Gimmie! Gimmie!"