Austin Mahone on longevity: 'You better get used to me'

JOLIET, Ill. — Though Austin Mahone wrapped up his 26-city, three-month U.S. tour last week, the 18-year-old pop star wants people to know one thing: He's not going away anytime soon.

"Whenever people see me, I'm a young dude and I sing, and I feel like they're just like, 'Oh, there's just another teen pop star. He's going to have a few songs,' " Mahone says. "But I want to be more than that. I want to grow, I want to challenge myself to be better and to be different. I want people to know I'm in it for the long run, so you better get used to me."

So what's next? Mahone will return to Miami, where he now lives, to begin working on his first full-length album. There's no time frame for the album's completion, but Mahone says he's "going to try to get this one done as soon as possible to get more material out."

Mahone, who performed a concert before Sunday's NASCAR race at Chicagoland Speedway, isn't much of a race fan. But neither were the screaming teenage girls who crowded around his stage on the infield grass — a rare crossover that Mahone says is a win-win for both himself and racing.

"I think it works both ways, you know?" he says. "The dads bring their daughters to the NASCAR race because I'm performing, and then they watch the racing afterward and maybe they'll get into it. But it's the same thing for me — I come to the NASCAR event, the daughters bring their dads and I get to make new fans."

Actually, Mahone might have more in common with NASCAR fans than he realizes. He's an avid country music fan from growing up in Texas and he attended a Garth Brooks concert Saturday night in suburban Chicago.

The country superstar's performance dazzled Mahone, who already has an energetic style on stage but figured he could take some tips from a legend.

"I grew up listening to Garth Brooks," he says. "I knew every song he was singing. Watching him perform, I took some mental notes so I can try to incorporate that into my show as well."

Mahone says he'll miss the routine of his tour, which included traveling with Fifth Harmony.

What were his days like? Certainly nothing resembling the schedule of the typical teenager.

"I'll wake up around 12 and I usually take a shower, get ready," he said. "Then I'll sign 300 posters, do a meet-and-greet, sing a few songs for them, eat dinner, stretch, warm up my voice and get dressed (for the show)."