When the American Idols LIVE! 2010 Tour came to Los Angeles, CA, we had the opportunity to catch up with Andrew Garcia. Season 9’s ninth place finalist was in his hometown area. He opened up about being back in California, being away from his son, and his wonderful fans.

Andrew Garcia was happy to be back in Southern California. “It feels so good to be back. The weather’s amazing. This is where I came from and I just haven’t been here in so long and it’s good to be back. I’m just about to perform at Staples Center; it’s like a dream. It’s just crazy. I’m just so good right now."

Before his Idol journey, Andrew was a stay-at-home dad. He was happy when we spoke to him because he was minutes away from reuniting with his loved ones. “My family and friends are coming out and I cannot wait to see them. And my son’s going to be here so it’s going to be amazing. I flew him out a couple dates but not so many dates because of the traveling. You know my girl has school and there’s a lot of stuff going on and he’s young to be traveling. But I’m going to see him today and I’m pumped and ready to go out there and rock on stage!”

Andrew is having the time of his life on tour with the Season 9 finalists. “I love everything about this tour. They give us the best of the best. They take care of us really good and I just love seeing the fans. It’s one thing to say I want to do this for a living, but the fans make it so I want to do this until the day I die. It’s just amazing to see that support and love. When they show that kind of love it makes you want to succeed in this career. I just love seeing the fans. It’s cool.” While meeting the fans, Andrew received some special gifts. “I got albums of my journey and posters and pictures and chains with glasses on them. It’s cool – really cool! All the fans are really cool and I’m glad I met them.”

Of all the stops on tour, which was Andrew’s favorite? “Texas! Texas was amazing. They went crazy; they were going non-stop screaming, yelling, and loving. Texas brought it. There’s a lot of love out there.”

With the tour wrapping up soon, what’s next for Andrew? “Right now I’m writing songs and after the tour is over I’m gonna get in the studio and finish writing an album and trying to get that out as fast as I can because I want to be touring again. I want to go out and perform on stages.”

Andrew was known for putting his own acoustic spin on pop songs, so we asked him what his debut album would be like. “I would say there’s going to be a lot of acoustic music on the album, but it’s going to be mainstream R&B/Pop,” Andrew shared. “That’s the kind of music that I love. R&B for the smoothness of it and the heart of it. I just love the catchiness of pop. The melodies just get stuck in your head.”

To the Season 10 hopefuls, Andrew offered up the following advice: “Don’t be nervous about the judges because they’re going to be a lot of new judges and they’re going to be more nervous than you. Just don’t forget they’re regular people just like us. You’re on there because you love to do what you love to do. Don’t regret any song choices. Make sure you love to sing that song and you get touched by that song so you can look back later and be like, ‘I’m glad I chose that song and I don’t regret it.’ And just have fun! Live it up! Have fun on that show; have fun at auditions. Just appreciate everything you got and just have fun with it.”

Andrew’s fan base has stuck by him throughout his Idol experience. To all of his fans, Andrew says, “I love you guys so much. I have seen so many things that I will have never gotten to see without you guys. I’m so thankful that you blessed my life and that now I can provide for my family because of you. I really appreciate you from the bottom of my heart and I cannot wait to see you when I’m out on that stage showing you that love back.”

View photos of Andrew’s L.A. performance.
Watch Andrew and the Season 9 finalists open up about the tour.

Read our exclusive tour interviews with:
Lee DeWyze
Casey James
Crystal Bowersox
Katie Stevens
Siobhan Magnus
Aaron Kelly
Didi Benami