When you were recording your first post-Idol album, was it really rushed for you? How was that recording process?
It was rushed. But so was the rest of the year that I spent before. To have made it that far, you've lived in a year's worth of rushed. You should be quite immune to rushed. It's fast-paced - it's a lot of interviews, a lot of recording, a lot of trying to do shows. There’s all kinds of stuff going on in your life right after the show. It took me two years and I probably would've taken longer if I had not put the brakes on with my health issues.
I finally said, 'No I won't go back to work until I'm healthy.' And then things went south, and I lost my record deal. Which I don't fault Clive [Davis] and them for that. It's the way it is. I was not a healthy person. I was a mess for a year through Idol, through the stress, and I played through the pain. I got through the tour and the first surgery, but the first surgery took a toll on me. The second and third surgeries put me down for the count. So it was really being told twice, 'Son, if you don't stop you're going to die.' Then, three different operations, it made a lot of sense in my head that I wanted to be here for my kids.
So it's a fast-paced life, it really is. I love it. I'm glad to be where I am today. And I’m doing my own record label, I have my own studio, but most of all I have my family right here with me and they keep me grounded. I still move at a fast pace - if you ask my wife, she would tell you I'm a workaholic. I think that just comes with the job. We love what we do so much that we don't get tired until we're already worn out.
Are you doing okay health-wise now?
Yeah, you know what's crazy is that I had a year and a half of a clean bill of health. I've never been this healthy in probably over a decade. I started getting sick when I was about 15 or 16 with this issue that I have, and it's just progressed my whole life until I had the surgeries to correct it. It's weird being healthy now, and having to watch what I eat, manage stress, and not drink liquor - which changed my lifestyle. All the things that came along with the surgeries really have been helpful for me.
Article comments
1 - Eden
Hmmm! David Archuleta and Brooke White are the only ones I can remember from the top 12 during last season to play the piano. I wonder which one he felt was hiding behind the piano?
2 - Buck
I think he probably meant Brooke White was the one hiding behind the piano.
3 - rainbow
Good article. Interesting that Bo lost his contract cos he was sick. I don't believe I've ever heard him say that before. Still, things have a way of working out and now Bo has his own studio and can do what he wants. Yay Bo! You rock!