Delilah On Success: “People Are Fascinating”

Delilah

 Radio personality Delilah says she can remember every lyric she's ever heard in her life. "While I'm listening to somebody tell their story," explains Delilah to Yahoo Shine!, "they'll say a sentence or a line and that will trigger what song I want to marry with that call."

Born Delilah Luke, the show host says she's had her iconic radio voice since she was a young child. In junior high, she was in a speech contest where the judges were from the local radio station. They set up a program for Delilah at the radio station, teaching her how to write news and sports and record. After high school, Delilah started working full time in radio.

"I moved a lot. I got fired a lot. I lived in my car on occasions," she says. Delilah did everything from airborne traffic reporting to country music before developing her signature show.

Inspired by the stories listeners would tell her as they made requests, Delilah says, "One night, this light bulb wen off and I hit record."

In one rating period, her show went from having no listeners to being the number one radio show at night. Today, "Delilah" is syndicated on over 200 stations nationwide and averages over eight million listeners.

Even though people told Delilah her show would never work, she persevered. She says her show is a reflection of her personality and her conversations with listeners, finding a perfect song for their situation. "People are fascinating," she says. "The stories that tie in with the songs are what makes the show compelling." Delilah knows she's not a psychiatrist or a psychologist, but says her advice comes from being a mom to 13 children and the mistakes she's made in her life.

Recently, Delilah has been using her voice to advocate for adoption with her foundation, Point Hope. Delilah has 10 adopted children and believes that every child needs a family. In a world where children don't often have a voice, Point Hope tries to be a voice for those kids, she says.

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