Let’s switch gears over to Idol. What was something you weren’t expecting while on the show?
Oh gosh. Honestly, I never watched the show, so everything was a surprise. I remember when we got to Vegas, and they were like, you know if you win American Idol, you get a record deal and win a car. I was like, what? Are you serious? What else happens on this show? Everyone else had been watching it forever, and I was like, oh, that’s cool, man.
One of the coolest things to me was working with a bunch of the producers. They’re serious pros. Don Was has worked with the Stones and he’s doing John Mayer’s next record. And even though we’re doing covers, it’s cool to vibe with those kind of guys. And most of the time I’d also be showing them my records, and being like, "This is what I do." It’s amazing working with those guys.
Speaking of the producers, is there a producer from the show that you would like to work with on your album?
There’s a handful of them. Don Was, Jim Jonsin is another one of my good buds from that. I keep in contact with them. Obviously I’m on the road with this, but I’m hitting them up, like, "Hey, I’ll send you over some demos."
Since you’re performing the same set night after night on this tour, what are you doing to stay amped up for each show?
It’s the thrill of being in front of that many folks. I’ve been touring for years and years, and that was the thing that keeps it interesting. Every night you kind of do something different in the set, so the set’s always different. This is not. It’s a script, you know, and it is a show, so there’s not too much art involved. You have to focus on in every city [that] it’s brand new to every single person. I go out there and rock it like it’s one of my own songs. That’s how I have to put it in my brain. “Maggie May” is like my old girlfriend from high school or something, like that. But yeah, you have to do that. Then it’s fun, you go out there, and when there’s thousands of people screaming, even when you’re singing anything, it’s fun being out there. It’s pretty easy to stay amped up and pumped about it.
What was your favorite performance while you were on Idol?
Oh gosh. I didn’t really do anything too cool on the show. I never was really proud of too much of my stuff.
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