Make Belief with Calvin Nowell

I’ve known Megan Piphus Baptist since she was three years old, back home in Cincinnati. Watching her go from a church kid with a gift to a puppeteer and performer on Sesame Street, and now to her own show on Disney Jr. and Disney+, has been incredible.

In this episode, Megan sits down with me to talk about the path from a gift that could have looked silly to some people to a career that has touched millions of kids. We cover The Oprah Show, America’s Got Talent, Sesame Street, her Emmy-winning work, and her new series, Megan and Cupcake Ready for Preschool.

We also get into the part most people never ask about: the business side. How do you build a team? Do you need management or a booking agent? How do you create and own your characters instead of only performing someone else’s? And how do you stay grounded in faith, family, and marriage while your career grows?

I went to the Dove Awards. I left with something on my heart I couldn’t shake, and somebody had to say it.

This isn’t me trashing the Doves. The talent in that room is real and the winners earned it. But I want to pull back the curtain on how the voting really works, why the same names win year after year, and what that means for independent artists doing the work with no label, no voting block, and no machine behind them.

In this episode I talk about how GMA voting works, why “celebrating independence” and actually rewarding it aren’t the same thing, and why impact and validation are not the same thing.

In this episode of Calvin's Favorite Creatives, I’m showing love to some of my favorite artists, visionaries, and entrepreneurs whose work constantly inspires me.

From their bold ideas to their dedication to the craft, each of these individuals brings something truly special to the table. Join me as I highlight who they are, why I admire what they do, and the creative spark their work brings to anyone chasing their passion.

Most leaders are reactive — something happens, then they respond. In this episode, Calvin breaks down a different way to lead: asking one question before you ever walk into a room — "who else, besides me, needs this to go well?"

Calvin gets into what it actually looks like to lead with intention instead of just managing whatever comes up. He talks through preparing versus repairing, a real moment leading worship where he had to stop and read the room instead of just powering through, and the honest, sometimes uncomfortable line between being intentional and just people-pleasing.

This one goes deeper into faith than usual — Calvin unpacks how Jesus led with more intentionality than anyone who ever lived, including the story of the woman at the well in John 4, and ties it to a modern moment that wrecked him this past week watching a stranger's random act of kindness change someone's life.

If you lead anything — a team, a stage, a room, a family — this episode will change how you walk into it.

In this episode:

• Why most leadership is reactive, not intentional
• The John Maxwell line that reframes preparing vs. repairing
• A real story from leading worship on Isaiah 6
• Telling the difference between intentionality and people-pleasing
• How Jesus led with intention — the woman at the well, John 4
• A modern-day echo of that same heart, caught on camera

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In this episode, I'm getting personal about the years I knew I had something real in me and still didn't let it out — from background vocals and artist management, to the moment CeCe Winans asked me a question that changed everything: "Are you waiting to turn eighty to release your music?"

I'm walking through the whole arc: the grief that made me hide, the inner work that turned pain into purpose, why I believe every artist needs to think like a media company, a true story about a billion-dollar Powerball jackpot that taught me something bigger than money — and why I started the Make Belief Mastermind to help other people unlock what's already in them.

If you've been sitting on your gift, waiting for permission — this one's for you.

Fifteen years after American Idol, Danny Gokey didn't need to change anything. The catalog was built. The career was proven. He signed with a new label anyway.

In this episode, Danny sits down with Calvin Nowell to talk about what nobody tells you about staying in this industry long-term — the years after the spotlight fades, the genre pivots that weren't always planned, and why betting on yourself again is harder the second time than the first.

Tommee Profitt doesn't fit in one lane, and he's never tried to. He's the producer behind cinematic film and TV scores, genre-bending collaborations with artists like NF, and worship music that's reached arenas like Bridgestone, including a recent collaboration with CeCe Winans. On this episode of Make Belief, we talk about what it actually looks like to build a career without picking a category, why versatility became his advantage instead of a liability, and how staying faithful to the craft in front of him opened doors he never could have planned for.

If you've ever felt boxed in by what people expect you to be, this conversation is for you.

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This one’s personal.

For a long time, I haven’t talked publicly about my weight, what it’s been like to live in a body that’s been judged before anyone knew my work, my heart, or my story. Today I’m changing that.

In this episode, I’m opening up about weight discrimination, what it’s looked like in my life, what it’s cost me, and why I’ve stayed quiet about it for so long. This isn’t about calling anyone out. It’s about finally telling the truth about something I’ve carried for years.

If you’ve ever been judged for how you look before anyone gave you a chance to show who you are, this episode is for you.

In this episode: - What weight discrimination has actually looked like in my life - Why I stayed silent about it for so long - What it’s taken to finally talk about it out loud - What I want you to know if you’re carrying something similar

You’re not alone in this. And you’re gonna make it.

There used to be a system in the music industry that gave artists 2–3 years to grow before they ever had to prove anything. Labels funded that growth. They carried the risk. That system is basically gone now, and almost nobody talks about it.

In this episode of Make Belief, I sit down with Sal Oliveri — Nashville-based producer, songwriter, and artist development specialist who helped shape me early in my own career. His credits span pop, rock, R&B, country, Christian, and film, with a Grammy nomination and work connected to artists like Pink, Jack Antonoff, and Billy Joel.

We get into: - What artist development actually looked like before streaming changed everything - Why labels shifted from developing talent to demanding artists arrive “fully formed” - What gets lost — for the artist and the music itself — when that development never happens - What real self-development looks like when there’s no label footing the bill - What Sal saw in me early on that needed developing, and how he approached it

If you’re building something right now without a system behind you, this episode is for you. You’re not behind. The system changed — quietly — and you deserve to know what actually happened.