'Dancing' winner Julianne Hough readying country album

Is two-time Dancing With the Stars winner Julianne Hough (pictured) trading in her paso doble heels for cowboy boots? Though next season’s Dancing lineup has yet to be announced, the 19-year-old Mormon wonder has just signed a multi-album deal with Mercury Nashville, the Universal Music Nashville label that is headed by country music veteran Luke Lewis and home to Shania Twain and Sugarland. Hough’s first single is expected to drop sometime in February, with an album due out in late spring or early summer. Hough (who is managed by another music biz legend, Irving Azoff) is currently living in Nashville where she’s been recording with David Malloy (Reba McEntire, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band). According to a music city insider, the two “have already cut half the record” and Hough is planning to try her hand at writing songs. Here’s hoping she’ll have better luck in the major label system than recent American Idol winners.