LAT: Before you auditioned for “American Idol,” was there ever a point where you were ready to give up music and get a 9-to-5 job?
KA: I don’t know if there was a time when I was going to give up music completely. I was going to give up trying so hard, because whether it would be playing at a church or playing at weddings or anything like that, I felt like music would always be a part of who I was, but yeah, I was totally ready. I was going back to college and was going to finish and hopefully get a decent job so me and my wife could have a comfortable life together, which would have been fine. But things worked out this way. I’m really happy.
LAT: And now you’re working on your first album for a major label. What is your vision for this debut release?
KA: I think the vision that I have for the first album is so hard to put into words. I know that it’s going to be music that people like and something that is hopefully different than maybe people have heard in a while or maybe ever. I hope that it’s something that grabs people lyrically-wise, subject matter and even musically as well, but something that’s different from what people are doing right now.
LAT: Are you writing songs for the album?
KA: I pushed for that. I wanted to be part of the writing process. I don’t know if I can. There’s so much going on right now with the tour and all that. But yeah, we’ve done a lot of co-writing sessions and it’s been an experience because you learn from people who have been writing songs for a long time.
LAT: Are you happy with how it’s going so far?
KA: The first session I had went well, but the song didn’t end up as something I wanted to do on the album. I was intimidated, so I didn’t put my two cents in as much as I should have, and then the next one went really well and I got more comfortable. Same thing with the song though. Closer to what I wanted, but not completely there. And then I was with somebody yesterday and it was weird, but it went really well and I think it’s getting there. I really do. I’m excited.
LAT: Before the summer tour started, what was the biggest audience you had played for?
KA: I played for 20,000 at the home visit [to Conway, Ark., during top three week on “American Idol”]. That was definitely millions of percent bigger than anything I’ve ever done and it was very cool to sing in front of that many people. And then I sang at the Wal-Mart shareholders’ meeting and I think there were 16,000 people there. I did the national anthem at the Lakers’ game. I don’t know how many people were there. But before all that stuff, maybe like 200, 300.
LAT: Is there a different energy playing for 20,000 people instead of 200?
KA: It’s a completely different energy. I had a best friend that I’ve been playing music with and we always talked about what it would be like to be playing in front of arenas of thousands and thousands of people. When you’re singing in front of that many people, the energy they give you is so captivating that you want to give them something to cheer about.
Read the rest of The Ultimate Interview, Part Four
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