Nick Fradiani – American Idol

By starrymag | May 18, 2015

Q) I wanted to ask you, a few days ago I asked you what you were going to do with the time that you had down between the end of Idol and the beginning of the tour preparations.  And I want to ask you now, do you know now how much time there will be, and will you be spending it in Nashville, or in Connecticut?  And if you’re in Connecticut, will you be putting on any shows?

A) To be honest, I don’t really know right now.  I think I’m going to be meeting with Scott over at Big Machine, as well as 19 Entertainment, and we’ll probably start discussing what I’ll be doing with this upcoming record.  I do think there’s going to be a couple days I know I will be back home in Connecticut.  I’m flying back into New York.  In terms of shows I don’t really know.  I’d love to.  I hope to get a chance to play back in Connecticut again because when I went back home and got to play for the parade it was pretty amazing.

Q) What is 19 Entertainment?

A) 19 is my management now.  It’s a split thing, with Big Machine records is my record company, and 19 Entertainment is my management.

Q) Clark talked about how they called you “Gramps” on the show because you were the older guy.  One, was it awkward for you being older than a lot of them?  Two, do you think it might have been a positive for you to get a glimpse into a younger generation’s, so to speak, music taste?

A) Yes.  I have my Master’s degree in Secondary Education, so I actually interned at a high school and student taught at a high school for a year.  So, I was used to hanging with kids 16, 17, or not hanging but at least relating to them, and so a lot of these kids I think I got along with them great.  I listen to all different types of music, so I never really had a problem with the current pop music or anything like that.

Q) I heard an interview with JLo after the show last night, and she hinted that indeed next year might not be the last of Idol.  Had you heard that?  And do you think they should continue with the show after you’ve gone through it?

A) I do.  Yes, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be gone forever.  It means that Fox decided not to pick it up.  I’d love to see the show continue.  It could be cool to see a revamp of it, maybe they can do something a little different.  There will never be another American Idol.  If it does end next year, it was an incredible run.  The amount of success that shows have to be on for 14 years, 15 years, it’s truly amazing.  Just to have been able to be a part of it is really awesome.

Q) Now, I wanted to talk to you about Chris Carrabba and your big Dashboard Confessional thing, you’ve got a Connecticut connection there with him. So, talk to me about the song.

A) Yes, I love the song.  The single, I was really happy with.  As a songwriter it’s always scary to get a song handed over to you and you just don’t know what it’s going to be like.  Luckily for me I got the demo and I started listening to it, and I’m like, that’s Chris Carrabba, I just know his voice, with Dashboard Confessional.  And I looked at Scott and he was like, yes, man, he wrote the song, so I lucked out with that one, man.  It’s spot on to the type of music I wanted to do and what I was doing with my band prior to Idol.  Yes, it was a real special thing.  I lucked out big time.

Q) What was the first thing you did after you got off the stage?  Tell me everything that was going through your head when you found out that you won, because it was the most exciting thing ever to happen to anybody to be on American Idol.

A) I’m trying to go back and remember everything, and it’s hard to.  It was such a blur yesterday.  I remember when I got off stage they brought me back into my dressing room that I was staying in and they brought my family down, and brought some friends down, and it was just a real special moment.  The whole night, everything was done so well and I never once thought that something like this was going to happen to me.  It’s just beyond words.  It’s really amazing.

Q) Now, you’re going to hit the ground running, right?

A) I’m ready to work, yes.  This is what I signed up for.  I’m ready for it.  I’m just so happy to have this opportunity.  It’s going to be a wild ride, but I’m ready for it.

Q) I can’t wait to see you on tour, Nick.  Do you have any idea what they’re going to have you do, or what your set’s going to be like?

A) I don’t yet.  I know that I’m going to be getting a decent amount of time, probably more than any other season, because there are only five of us this year on the tour.  I think I’m going to get a solid set.  I don’t know if my record will be written by then, it probably won’t, but I have a lot of original music that I’m going to share that my band wrote, as well as the single I have out now.  I’m looking forward to playing some original songs for people.

Q) Ooh, so we can hear “Coming Your Way?”

A) “Coming Your Way,” so you know it?  Yes, absolutely.  I was trying to play that on the show.  They wouldn’t let me do it, for fairness issues.  But I wanted to sing some original stuff the whole time, so I’m excited to do some of those on the tour.

Q) That song fits in so well with Walk the Moon and other things that are on the radio right now.

A) Yes, I’m hoping that we might be able to re-cut that one for the record, so I’m going to have to show it to Scott and see what he thinks.

Q) Since the start of the season did you ever think that you would become a role model for the younger generation?

A) Oh, man.  I guess whenever you’re on TV, or you’re in the public eye like this you should always be aware that you could be a role model to somebody.  That’s very important to me.  Like I said, I’ve always been involved in education and working with kids and stuff.  I’ve been a high school basketball coach, I’ve taught in high school, so I always know that you can be so impressionable to young kids, and it’s really important to me.  So, I’m always trying to do the best I can to lead with a good example.

Q) And what advice would you give to an aspiring artist who wants to follow in your footsteps?

A) Just never give up.  I know they make the “Grandpa” joke at 29, I grinded this music thing out for a long time, and there’s a lot of times I could have given up and said, “Just go get a normal job.  Start making some money.  Stop playing bars and grinding out and maybe it’s time to just get a real life job type stuff.”  But I just truly felt that I was supposed to do this and I never gave up on the dream I had and I’m glad I never did.

Q) Do your friends back home treat you any differently?

A) Not really.  No, my buddies, they’re still all the same.  A lot of them flew out here and everything is pretty much the same still.

Q) And what can we expect from your first album?

A) I think, to be honest with you, the single that you’re hearing out now, “Beautiful Life” to me is a good example of the type of genre it’s going to be.  If you want, my band is called Beach Avenue, if you want to listen to some of our past stuff, that could give you an idea as well.  We’ll see.  I’m sure I’m going to come up with some new ideas and I’m hoping to write with some cool co-writers as well.  It’s going to be cool.

Q) What do you think is your appeal to those people who listened to you and voted for you?  And what sets you apart from the other contestants?

A) I think a big part of American Idol, there’s been some powerhouse vocalists on this show, and I can sing but I never considered myself to be some powerhouse vocalist.  I do the best that I can and I do what I need to do as a rock/pop singer.  But I think a lot about American Idol is just overall just hoping that people like you.  I tried to just paint a picture of how I am as a person and get my personality to come through, and I think that happened.  I don’t know I’m hopefully just a relatable guy.  I’m just a regular dude that likes to play music, and I guess people liked it.  I did the best I could, and I’m still shocked but so happy to be in this position right now.

Q) At what point did you know in your gut that you were going to win?

A) To be completely honest with you, not until I felt it when I sang my coronation song on Tuesday.  When I ended the show and sang it, and it felt big, it felt really big and it got so loud when I finished.  And at that point I was like I think you’ve got a shot at this now.  I never really gave myself much of a shot and then at that point I thought I had a pretty good one.

Q) So, it was like the final moment on Tuesday?

A) Yes, it was.  It was the final moment of the show where I finally thought that I had a really good shot.  It was probably one of my favorite performances of the season for me, so it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Q) I find that interesting, because that shows your growth.

A) Right.  I agree.  Yes, Tuesday was a good day.  I was so happy with how everything played out with the song choices and the order in which they went.  It was a good thing.  It showed all the layers of me as an artist, including getting to play an original song.  So, it was a special day.

Q) The only thing you have left if you wanted to be a teacher is to do more student teaching?

A) Yes, I didn’t actually student teach.  What it was, UNH had a program where I went to school at night and I interned at the high school for a year, and that paid for my schooling.  So, all I have left is the eight weeks or so of student teaching.  I still have to do that.

Q) Other than being excited to sing your own music, which is really great, is there anything else that you’ve been thinking that you’re looking forward to doing on tour, or part of it?

A) Yes, I’m looking to collaborate with some of these top five people, because we’re sitting around in the dressing rooms, we’re always messing around with our guitars and pianos and whatnot, and so probably to do some duets with Jax, or whoever, Clark, Rayvon, Tyanna, I think that’s going to be really cool.

Q) Throughout your whole journey what’s the one piece of advice from the judges that you got that you’ll take with you that you think helped you the most?

A) I think all of the judges said it at one point, just trying to get me to break out of my comfort zone and just let loose out there.  I just needed to get my confidence up, and once that happened it took off, so probably that, just let loose, man.  That’s what they kept telling me, just break open.

Q) We just talked to Clark before you, and he told me that you were thinking you’d be the one going home every week as of recently, like “Oh, no, it’s me in the bottom, it’s going to be me, it’s going to be me.”  Was that because of your own performances and maybe a little bit of lack of confidence there?  Or was it another contestant, like, say Jax, or Clark, for example, who was particularly threatening or intimidating to you?

A) Probably none of that really.  It was probably just a way of me mentally preparing for whatever.  I think that’s how I used to just react to things.  Also, I was always considered the underdog, I feel like.  Everybody had Jax and Clark up there, and they’re very talented, so obviously they brought it every week. But, yes, I think that was more of just me preparing myself for whatever, do you know what I mean?  I don’t want to go in there thinking that I’m definitely going through.  So, I always was like, “I’m probably going home.”  I said that since top eight, I was saying that.  That’s probably why they said that.  But, no, not really an intimidation thing, or even down on my performances, I think it was just to prepare myself for whatever.

Q) American Idol has obviously created a handful of very successful artists before you.  But there have also been winners who fell off the map shortly after the hype of the season died down.  I just want to know what you plan to do to stay relevant.  Are you a little bit worried about being taken seriously because of the American Idol title that’s going to follow you through your career?

A) No, not at all.  To be honest with you, to me I think the biggest thing is the songs.  I think American Idols that come off the show and don’t have a hit song, that makes it tough.  If you come off the show and the song isn’t big, then it takes a couple months for you to get your next single out there, and that time could be damaging.  One thing I’m excited for is I think the single is going to do well, right now it’s number two on iTunes, and I hope that that can continue to do well. The one thing that I’m really the most confident as an artist is my songwriting ability, and my ear for my pop music.  So, I’m really excited to show that off.  It was a side that I wasn’t able to show on American Idol.  That’s why it shocked me that I was able to win, because my songwriting is what I consider to be my strong point, so I think that I’m going to be able to succeed because of that.  I think the most important thing is having the songs.  You’ve got to back it up with good songs, and I think I’m going to have that.

Q) Have you and Scott actually sat down yet and had any discussions about your album?  In some interviews he said that he could see you maybe even going down a country route.

A) Yes, we had discussed that at one point.  I think that might be maybe in a couple of years it could be an option.  But I think the direction that the single is, is the direction that I’m going to go into, which I’m happy.  It’s where I’m most comfortable at.  But we haven’t really sat down yet.  We’re going to be doing that in the next couple days, where I’m going to really be able to put my input in on everything.  I’m really looking forward to it.  The artistic side of it and the songwriting aspect is what really excites me.  I can’t wait.

Q) You’re hoping to bring along your band with you.  Would you maybe be fronting a band, or would your bandmates just come along and play?

A) Yes.  Once you win American Idol, I’m going to be putting out an album as Nick Fradiani.  But the music I play needs a band, and it’s not like I’m going to be singing to backtracks.  Nick and Ryan, they’ve been with me for the last four years and we’ve been through a lot, and without them I wouldn’t have been in this situation at all, and they’re ready.  We were ready as a band and it just so happened that this happened instead.  I’m really hoping that those two could join me on this ride and the record label could maybe fill the bass and whatever else needs to be used, or piano, or whatever, although we have a bass player too that could maybe come with us.  But anyway, I’m just really hoping that they can play with me because they’re my best buds and they’re ready for it.

Q) with all the advice and all the experience that you had on Idol, was there something new about yourself as an artist you learned that you didn’t know before?

A) Yes, I guess overall I didn’t know that I could perform at a high level.  I knew I could just sit behind a guitar and play with my band right next to me, but towards the end I started to learn I could really move around, not that I could dance or anything, but that I could work a stage and get the crowd involved, and feel really at home as a front man.  It felt good to know that I could do that.  Scott was really working on getting that out of me, and it finally started happening towards the end there.

Q) How do you think this success will impact your relationships and dating?

A) Being in music has always made it difficult to have relationships, especially when I’d be traveling a lot, so I’m sure it will make things more difficult, but I try not to look for those things.  Hopefully the right thing just happens, and that would be pretty cool.

Q) You obviously probably will be putting relationships on hold to focus on your career but if you had to pick three important qualities in a partner what would they be?

A) Three important qualities.  Humor, I like to laugh and have fun, so I’d say somebody that’s funny, somebody I can trust, and somebody that I can just be myself around.

Q)Family is so important, and you and your dad have such a unique relationship.  Tell us a little bit about that, and what did he say to you

you were crowned the American Idol this year?

A) Yes, me and my dad have a really cool relationship.  He’s my buddy.  We had this music connection since I was a little kid, so it’s been something really special.  It was really cool being able to see him after I won.  I don’t even remember what he said.  He was crying.  It was an emotional moment there.  I’m just so happy that we got to share that together.

Q) And Scott Borchetta was an amazing addition to the show this year, such talent from him as a mentor.  He said at the beginning that Taylor Swift, who he’s connected with, has that double threat of a singer/songwriter and you have that same thing.  What kind of advice has he given you or one of the guest mentors throughout the season that you feel has been really valuable?

A) Yes, Scott was so helpful throughout the whole season with me.  We had a good rapport and we worked well together.  He just has given me non-stop advice that really helped me to win this season, for sure. In terms of one mentor, I think Florida Georgia Line actually helped a lot.  They wanted me to own who I am and just rock the stage and that was when I thought I finally broke loose was their mentor session, when I sang a Katy Perry song, actually.  They were like, “Dude, you’ve just go to rock the stage, be yourself, and let loose,” and that’s what I did.  And ever since then it went well.

Q) You mentioned earlier in the conversation that you wanted to be the regular guy with the guitar who sings songs.  I noticed that the wardrobe they gave you, almost every week, almost every song you were wearing jeans and a T-shirt.  And I’m wondering, did you intentionally choose those kind of clothes to project that kind of image, or were the clothes chosen for you?

A) No, I got to pretty much choose what I wore.  They would just give me a rack with all stuff.  I just felt comfortable in jeans and a T-shirt, and that’s all I wanted to do is feel comfortable up there.  And as long as the wardrobe signed off on it, I was good to go, so it all worked out.

Q) Was it like that for every contestant, because everyone had this image they were projecting that was reflected in the clothes they wore?

A) Yes, we all got to pick what we wanted to wear.  They went out, and they looked at what we were wearing and they just kind of got nicer stuff, to be honest with you.  I would wear $10 T-shirts, and then they were giving me $100 T-shirts.

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A) I just want to, one, just thank you guys, all of you for taking the time to talk with me.  I really appreciate it.  Yes, hopefully I’ll see some of you guys out on the tour, and to please check out the single, “Beautiful Life.”  I’m really proud of it, really excited for it, and I think if it could take off it could really help boost my career here.  I’m looking forward to you guys hearing this first album.  I hope you guys will end up liking it.  Thank you.

 

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*