It’s
late January and I find myself battling through security at a 5* hotel in LA to
interview the mega pop star, Austin Fever. As I knock his door, he opens with a
smile and friendly handshake, “Hello, nice to meet you, I’m Austin”. He invites
me into his luxury suite where we hit it off instantly. One
thing I notice is his phone beeping every 30 seconds. Not once does he start
looking at his device, instead, apologizes and turns it off immediately. His
politeness takes over the room and the crew begins to fall in love with the man
we never thought we would.
Do you think you
were put into this industry too young of an age?
I mean, I was
probably a bit too young because of how vulnerable I was. People took advantage
of the attention benefit themselves. But
I am so grateful for where I am today and I think music was a coping mechanism
to help me get through the difficulties that I've faced. For so long I closed
myself off from the world because of how many times I have been disappointed
with the people I thought I had 'true' friendships with. It made me question
people's motives. But, to get into the studio and have some alone time to do
the thing I loved was so liberating and calming for me.
Has any of this
had an impact on the music you make?
Absolutely. When
I was growing as an artist, I was being designed to steal young girls hearts,
you know? They gave off this image that wasn't me at all; it wasn't my music in
a way, it was just my voice. I was being manufactured to sell. But to be honest,
I hadn't experienced enough in life to actually make music based on my personal
experiences anyway. As I got older, I started experiencing new things, found
out through trial and error what to do and what not to do. It made me have more
experiences to write about that I felt I needed to express through my music and
is music that definitely is true to who I am
We've noticed
you've been in a lot of trouble lately. Is this what you're referring to as
trial and error?
Well basically.
I've done things that I'm not entirely proud of, to say the least. I was
seeking support of some sort but I never had any. So I did go off the rails
slightly. What I’ve done has obviously caused a lot of controversy, but I don't
feel I’m the monster that the media is portraying me as. I don't think it's
fair that if someone else did what I did, no one would bat an eyelid, famous or
not famous. So why am I seen as an easy target for abuse? Every moment of my
life is recorded or on film, so people don't want to see me make any mistakes.
To the public I’m expected to be this perfect individual that has to please
everyone all the time. Most of the things other people get up to will probably
never be found out or discussed because they haven't got cameras shoved in
their faces or following them everywhere they go. I'm never going to be able to
please everyone so why should I try?
Do you think you
are ever going to go downhill like you did again?
Absolutely not. Things
have been going great recently; I have a lot more support. And it’s not just
that; I remembered what I was craving so much as a child and it was to make
music I love and that people recognize so they can relate to it too. I've learnt
to never give up on what I’ve worked so hard to become. I had to work from the
bottom to get where I am today and I definitely don't want to throw that all
away through my anti-social behaviour. Every time I feel like I need to get out
and away from people, I go to my studio and turn the negatives into positives
and so far, it seems to be working.
You're saying
the music you've written currently is from previous experiences, so what shall
we expect from your new album?
Expect music
that is true to me and that no one else has messed with. I teamed up with a few
major artists to write some music together which sounds really good. My new
album is more current and the lyrics mean a lot to me. It’s called ‘Worth It’
which I think sums up everything I went through in just those two words. The
rough patch I went through has, looking back, been worth it in every way. And I
think this has pushed me to put everything into this album and hopefully you
can see that when you hear it. I’ve included everything that I felt like I
needed to express through this new album. I talk a lot about the faith that got
me through dark periods and really helped redeem myself. My album probably
isn't going to be what many people are expecting, but I feel it's going to be
loved by everyone. My goal is to make music that no one can hate on and that's what
I feel I have achieved in this album, so I’m proud of that.
Pre-order Austin
Fever's new album ‘Worth It’ now at www.brithits.com. The album will be released on 09/09/16.
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