Q:How fun is it to be you right now?
A:I always have fun being me! [Laughs] I don’t know. I entertain myself easily with simple things like just being outside or listening to
Q:Everyone we’ve spoken to has described you as cute and cuddly. Do you ever get tired of being called that?
A:Well, I don’t think I’m cute and cuddly! And what’s funny is before [ American Idol ], I didn’t used to give hugs to people.
Q:Really?
A:Yes, but now I do because so many fans ask for hugs. I was like, ‘[Gives a look of disbelief] Why do you want a hug?’ I didn’t even give my family members hugs! I just wasn’t a hug-gy person. And so it’s funny because now I’ll hug anyone! I give hugs to my family and my friends now.
Q:Do they find that strange?
A:I think they find it funny but it shows how you can improve and grow out of things. Like before, I used to be afraid of cameras too. So just now, when all the photographers were taking pictures, I’d be out of the room! There would be no way I would ever be in front of those cameras. I was camera-phobic.
Q:American Idol must have been really scary for you then.
A:During the first rounds, I felt really awkward doing interviews in front of the cameras. Sometimes they’d be like right there [holds his hands right in front of his face] and I would be like eyeing them and going, ‘Erm...’ but I grew out of it. American Idol helped me get over hugging and cameras! [Laughs] It helped me a lot.
Q:Do you think you’re still the same David who started out in the audition rounds singing ‘Waiting On The World To Change’?
A:Yes. I think I am. And I still love ‘Waiting On The World To Change’. I love John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Sara Bareilles...
Q:Have you met any of them?
A:I haven’t met John Mayer but I have met Jason and Sara!
Q:Were you star struck?
A:Oh, yes. [Laughs] With Jason, I was like [gets excited, drops jaw and just stares up in awe]. It was so scary; I didn’t know what to say! I was so embarrassed but he was so nice. He’s such a cool guy. Natasha Bedingfield – she’s another one who I really love – came on the show and she said hi and I’ve ran into her a few other times after that and I’ve become friends with her because she’s so cool. I was better when I met Sara [laughs].
Q:Do you consider yourself a celebrity?
A:I don’t consider myself a celebrity. That’s why it’s so weird to see myself in magazines, on posters and stuff like that because it’s like, ‘What am I doing there?!’
Q:Surely you had some expectations of what might happen when you auditioned for American Idol ?
A:None. I had no expectations. I thought I was going home. I really didn’t think that I was going to get past the first rounds. I think that it looked like I was calm because I just kept thinking, ‘This isn’t really happening... [laughs]’ It just didn’t seem real.
Q:And now you’re enjoying your new fame and fortune...
A:No, no fortune yet! Still waiting... if that ever happens [laughs]!
Q:When you do get your fortune, what’s going to be your first big splurge?
A:If I get my fortune – I say that because there are a lot of people you have to pay! – I don’t know, the one thing I do buy a lot of is clothes. It’s weird because if I wear something in public again, people will go, ‘You wore that three months ago!’ or ‘You wore that two weeks ago!’. So that’s the price of fame – you have to keep buying clothes. But I’ve been gaining an interest in it more. Before, I used to wear big baggy clothes, I didn’t wear ‘Small’. These jeans [stands up and shows us his jeans] were tight. Before, it had to be loose and stuff, now it’s OK.
Q:What were you trying to hide under those baggy clothes?
A:Er, little me? [Laughs] I’ve gotten a better sense of what I like to wear too because, well, I have to. Everyone else cares! [Laughs] So I have to too!
Q:Well, your sense of fashion is very young like your music which is very fun pop. Do you think of yourself as a pop artiste?
A:Yes, I’ve always thought of myself as a pop artiste. I think I’m more of a soulful pop artiste. I love music with soul in it like John Mayer, Jason Mraz and Sara Bareilles.
Q:Does your music reflect who you are?
A:I think it so because I love music. And that’s why it’s hard because there are so many different sides to music and it shows so many different sides of me but I think what ties it altogether is the way I portray a song and how I sing it and put a little of my flavour into each song. I definitely experimented with things on the first album and there are things I never plan on doing again but it was a great learning experience for me. I like to try new things and being a teenager, I don’t want to settle on just one thing. I want to try what this is like or what that is like. Generally, I consider myself a pop artiste and I like heartfelt emotional music.
Q:Well, you’re singing about love – and yesterday, at the press conference, you confessed that you’re still single and available – so where do you go to tap into that emotion?
A:It depends. A lot of love songs that people write aren’t even about themselves. And so it’s kind of like empathising and understanding what they’re going through. That’s what a lot of music is about. I’ve always tried to be an understanding person. Like my friends, they’ve always been able to trust me. I’ve always made sure that I stayed honest and stuff. So it’s always nice to know that my friends trusted me with things. For a while, they even called me things like ‘Dr. Phil’ because I always tried to understand what they’re going through even though I hadn’t gone through it myself. And a lot of them would come to me with relationship problems.
Q:You were the resident expert on love!
A:No! [Laughs] I guess it’s because I tried to understand the situation and I never took just one side. I always tried to understand both sides and what other people went through. And I think that’s what has helped me with music too – it’s understanding what the message of a song is about and trying to get that across to other people, even if I didn’t write it myself. But sometimes, if I’m singing a song I wrote, it’s more awkward to express it because it’s my own story and I don’t know if I want to express it or explain it that way.
Q:Have you had many girlfriends?
A:No, I’ve never had a girlfriend. I’m waiting. I’m not really searching! [Laughs] I’m just waiting!
Q:Would you date a fan?
A:[Thinks for a minute] I wouldn’t date someone who’s like all [makes a hysterical noise] – that would be weird. It’d be hard to get to know them because they think they know so much about you when there’s really a lot that they don’t, you know? [Pauses] But I think it’d be awkward if they weren’t a fan of your music or if they didn’t like your music because it would be like [goes silent for a moment]. Awkward! [Laughs] It’s the difference between a fanatical person and a fan. If it’s a fan who just goes to the concert and is like, ‘Yeah, I like the music,’ and stuff, yes, I could date someone like that.
Q:Do you feel pressured that you’re part of the new generation of clean-cut musicians like the Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift that are role models to so many fans?
A:I think that’s so cool. How cool is it that Taylor Swift is not only such an amazing artiste and songwriter but she makes music that everyone can enjoy. I’m not really under a lot of pressure. I’m just who I am and people say, ‘You’re clean-cut,’ and I go, ‘Thank you!’
Q:So you take it as a compliment?
A:Yes, I think it is a compliment because I know that parents don’t have to worry about my being a bad influence. I feel so bad if parents were to say, ‘I don’t want my kids listening to him because he’s inappropriate.’ I’d hate that because for my kids, I’d want them to listen to good stuff that has a good influence on them. The emotions in music are so contagious.
(David self-titled debut album is in stores now)
