Scott MacIntyre on the Idols Tour
While on the last leg of the American Idols Live! 2009 Tour, we caught up with Scott MacIntyre who opened up about song writing, dueling pianos, and his plans for the future.
Scott said the best thing about touring around the country is "being able to share my heart through music with all the fans. It's an experience unlike anything else." With the tour wrapping up in just a handful of days, Scott said "I'm going to miss the magic of performing the most."
Because Scott is visually impaired, his brother Todd has been by his side throughout the tour up until two weeks ago. Todd MacIntyre has recently left the Idol tour to work for Tokyo Disney. The tables have been turned a little, as Scott is now being approached on the street by Todd's Japanese fans.
The close-knit MacIntyre family has come out to support Scott at many of the Idol tour stops. "People make fun of me for having 10 hometowns. The truth is I grew up in Redondo Beach, I lived in Toronto, and now I'm in Arizona, so I have friends and family all over." Scott has enjoyed playing to crowds around the country. "We've had some great audiences. We just played in Chicago, and the Chicago crowd was awesome."
When we interviewed Matt Giraud after his elimination, he talked about the dueling piano competitions he would have with Scott in the mansion. On tour, Scott and Matt perform a Billy Joel duet at the pianos, which Scott called "one of my favorite parts of the show. It's a bit like Billy Joel and Elton John who have piano duets and even played to some of the venues we're playing for. I would love to have a dueling piano tour in the future." Scott claims he always won the duels, but we have a sneaking suspicion that Matt might deny this. We'll find out this Thursday!
Scott had to survive most of the tour without a keyboard on the bus. "We just got a keyboard a few days ago. I was only able to practice on stage. That was crazy for a classical pianist like me."
In a previous interview, Scott mentioned that he writes songs. When we talked to Scott this week he said, "I've been writing since I was five years old. I released six independent solo CDs before American Idol, but I didn't realize Idol would be the thing that would get me where I wanted - touring - and I have American Idol to thank for making it easier." The next CD that Scott releases will be similar to the sounds of Gavin DeGraw, Vanessa Carlton (whose song, "A Thousand Miles," he sings on tour), John Mayer, and Bruce Hornsby, but it will all be original music and original lyrics. "I like to write about relationships and challenges in my life." You can visit Scott's MySpace page or personal website for a taste of his original music.
American Idol is just the beginning for Scott, who has big plans for his career after the tour is over. "I'll be touring again with my next album and I'd love to come back and see the fans that I've met. I began working on my music after the show." MyIdol member luv2scotty said that in addition to releasing music, Scott has plans to write an autobiography. Scott confirmed that this is true and he's been approached by a few publishers. "I've wanted to write a book about my life for a number of years. After American Idol feels like the right time. While on the show, I received thousands of emails from people about their personal stories and how my journey meant so much to them. Writing a book will allow me to share my full story."
To all of the Season 9 hopefuls that have been auditioning this summer, Scott advises, "Know who you are as a musician and who you'd like to be. I knew, and it helped me to do my best. I never assumed I'd make it as far as I did, and I never took being a finalist for granted. The best thing to do is to decide who you are and believe in that musical genre. You need to stand out in some way."
Scott wouldn't be where he is today without his supportive fans. "I love my fans and I love being on tour," Scott said. "As long as you are with me, I'll keep making music. This is only the beginning of me."
View photos of Scott and the Top 10 Idols on Tour.
Read all of our interviews with the Top 10 on tour:
Posted by AI Insider