American Idol's Lionel Richie is From This ME Town's Sister City

Lionel Richie Has Ties to Maine

American Idol's Lionel Ritchie has a Maine tie, and he might not even know it.

In April of 2017, a proclamation was made by the South Berwick, Maine Town Council that said, the towns of South Berwick, Maine, and Tuskegee, Alabama, have common ground. Common ground is the mission of the "sister city."

As of the time of this writing, Julia Gagnon from Cumberland, Maine, is a contestant on American Idol. Her father, Jim Gagnon is from South Berwick. Lionel Richie is from Tuskegee, Alabama. I am a big Julia fan, so I am hoping this is another sign that she will be the next American Idol.

According to southberwickmaine.org, the "common ground mission" is to shed light upon the common areas of the two communities among people of different races and backgrounds in order to gain understanding of one another.

The two communities both share a similar size, both are about to turn 200, and both grew under the cotton economy of the 19th century, according to southberwickmaine.org.

What a great idea for people to come together and get to common ground, no matter where they live or what their background is. When it all comes down to it, I believe that we are all the same. We all want our families to be safe and our children to be happy. Also, good food. We can't forget the food.

I heard about this sister city program from Michelle Richards, who is a friend of the Gagnon Family of South Berwick, Maine.

Sister Cities has an organization out of Washington, D.C. if you want to know more about it, click here.

Have you ever heard of a sister city?

PICTURES: See Inside Carrie Underwood's Beautiful Post-'American Idol' Home

Carrie Underwood invested her money wisely after winning American Idol in 2005. One of her first big purchases was a 3,099-square-foot home in the well-to-do Nashville suburb of Franklin, Tenn. Underwood paid $384,000 for a luxurious 3-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom stone and stucco home in a private gated community.

The house features a library, a vaulted ceiling and lovely amenities throughout, but while it's very nice, it's certainly not the kind of home you'd picture for a budding country superstar. Underwood wound up being a huge success right out of the gate with her debut album, Some Hearts, and she sold the home in Franklin for $372,500 in 2007, when she purchased the Brentwood mansion that she would later share with her husband, Mike Fisher.

Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker

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