'Idol' Nick Fradiani's crazy journey ahead
Meet the champ: Nick Fradiani, a 29-year-old singer-songwriter from Guilford, Conn., was just crowned the winner of American Idol's 14th season. Paste BN caught up with Fradiani to learn more about his big plans ahead.
Idol chatter: Is it still surreal for Fradiani to hear people introduce him as the new American Idol? "It hasn't really sunk in yet," he told Paste BN. "I think it'll probably take me months. It's just been a blur. We've been really busy, and it's been amazing."
Man on the move: It's been a whirlwind few weeks following the Idol finale, where the 29-year-old singer-songwriter was crowned the season 14 champion. "I think I went from L.A., to New York, to D.C., and it's amazing. I get to visit all these radio stations. We're doing lots of cool acoustic performances."
After weeks of unplugged, intimate performances, Fradiani will shift gears for the American Idol Live! tour, a two-month stretch of nearly-nonstop performing with his old Idol castmates. "The tour stars in the beginning of July, and then it goes on forever - we're doing 37 dates," Fradiani said. "It's with the top 5 [Idol finalists], and it's exciting - I'm looking forward to getting back with those guys to maybe do some duets."
In the studio: And after the tour, there's an album to make. Fradiani doesn't exactly have a release date nailed down — "We're going to do some more singles after that, two or so," he said — but he's in no hurry. "We don't want to rush it, you know? We want to make sure we have the best songs, and whenever that happens, that's when we'll put it out."
As far as the album's sound, Fradiani's new single Beautiful Life is a good indicator of the style he'll pursue. "I didn't write that song, it was written by Chris Carrabba, and that's the sound of what I was doing before Idol," he said. "It was really cool, and I'm looking forward to doing more of that. But you never know - things change, I evolve, I'm always looking into new types of music."
It's a family affair: Anyone who watched this season of Idol knows that Fradiani's musician dad is his biggest fan. So, is a father-son collaboration in the Fradianis' future? "I think so," he said. "I love playing music with him, and he's always willing - he'll fly to wherever to get on the piano or play his guitar with me."
