HOUSTON -- Carly Patterson wants to be a rock star. She has aimed her post-Olympic career more toward Madonna than Mary Lou Retton.
Patterson, 20, has three tattoos and wears tight T-shirts and high, high heels. She speaks seriously of holing up to write songs and of traveling to Los Angeles and Dallas and New York for recording sessions and dance lessons.
Four years ago, Patterson seemed well-placed to become America's New Sweetheart.
Twenty years after Retton had bounced into American fame and onto Wheaties boxes with a tough but bubbly Olympic performance at Pauley Pavilion that included the first U.S. all-around Olympic gold medal, Patterson won her own all-around gold at the 2004 Games in Athens. No American had done that since Retton.
As soon as Patterson was in position to win that gold, journalists swarmed Retton to ask if this blond-haired Texan would finally push her into the history books. "I hope so," Retton replied. "It's time for someone to take my place."
It didn't happen.
Instead, Patterson is a fledgling musician with a tentative voice but big plans.
In August she hopes to release her first music video and in September her first album called "Back to the Beginning," an anthem of songs she wrote and says are dedicated to chronicling her journey from Olympic gold medalist to aspiring musician. The single off that album, called "Temporary Life (Ordinary Girl)" is available on iTunes.
"Like a black cat walking next to me that I can't seem to shake
Seems like only yesterday life was going my way.
I'm just an ordinary girl.
It can't be like this forever; someday it's going to change.
It's a temporary place that I've been in way too long."
Patterson's voice is plaintive and the words make it seem as if life hasn't been happy.
"That's not it exactly," she said. "It's just that you give up a lot to be a great athlete or an entertainer. I guess the things I've chosen to do with my life are just a little more difficult."
So far Patterson's public singing has been confined mostly to gymnastics events. She performed at the U.S. Olympic trials in Philadelphia last month where she found her natural audience -- worshipful and screaming pre-teen girls.
Evan Morgenstein, an agent for many Olympic athletes, including 2008 Olympic team member and nine-time world champion Nastia Liukin, says it is always a mistake to presume that an Olympic gold medal, even in a glamour sport such as gymnastics, is a guaranteed marketing payday.
