“I didn’t want to be another Disney kid who did music,” Mitchel Musso reveals during his interview with myMag about his debut self-titled album that’s set to hit stores June 2nd, but “this is what I love to do, this is my passion.” While it’s easy to roll your eyes at any TV-actor turned CD-making celebrity, it seems like this former mouse-ear-wearing star might just have what it takes to make it in the music biz. Under the guidance of his older brother, Metro Station lead singer Mason Musso, and his own unyielding determination, Musso’s first single “The In Crowd” has already sold more than 100,000 copies, setting his album on one surefire chart-climbing path.
When did your passion for music start?
My whole family is so musically inclined; it’s been easy wanting to be a musician. My parents were in musical theater for 25 years, before I was born. I was doing piano recitals at six, and playing guitar at 10. My older brother was already phenomenal at it, so it was easy because he taught me a lot. Everyone has always been interested in talking about music because that’s everyone’s life.
Your brother is the lead singer of Metro Station, and you’ve mentioned his early influence on you. Has he remained an influence on you in terms of your album?
Definitely, he’s my role model. It’s not just because he’s a phenomenal singer and musician, it’s because he’s my older brother. I go to him for advice. When I was done with this CD, I showed it to him and asked him what his favorite songs were. Also, what he liked about the album and what he would change. Actually, he’s in one of my songs. It’s called “Shout It” because he had a hit called “Shake It,” we figured that worked perfectly.
What’s the song “Shout It” about?
It’s about just getting it out. The chorus is ‘shout it from the rooftop, let it out!’ It’s about meeting a girl at a concert and shouting out that you like the girl - going crazy. All of my songs are party songs.
Is your writing based off of a party lifestyle?
Sure, definitely. I know you’ll find a lot of musicians who say, ‘this song is about this girl who broke my heart and blah, blah, blah.” See, it’s a little bit different for me. I grew up being an actor, so when I’m writing I like to make up a story. It doesn’t have to be true, but it’s like I’m a character playing a role.
Is there a song on this album that is personal to you?
A song called “Speed Dial,” pretty much every lyric in that was timed out perfectly. It’s about someone super, super close to me. That someone does know that that song’s about them.
Will you be touring for this album soon?
There’s a bunch of touring this summer. We have this Live Nation tour with some House of Blues venues. I’ve got a couple shows with my older brother, with Metro Station. I’m excited about that.
If you could tour with anyone, who would you pick?
My friends in this band called The Beach Girls. One of the girls is Mandy, which is Miley (Cyrus)’s best friend. She wants to go on tour with us.
As far as my dream gig, it’s Metro - my older brother. That’s already booked. You don’t understand how happy I am about that. That’s like, that’s my dream.
You mentioned Miley. You play her best friend, Oliver Oken, on Hannah Montana. Are you two best friends in real life, too?
She’s been my friend since day one in Hannah. We talk all the time. She’s such a crazy girl. She’ll just text me random stuff, and call and start singing for no reason. That’s the kind of relationship that we have. It’s like a brother-sister thing. She calls me for advice with her boy when they go through certain things, and we try to get through it. I’ll go hang out with her, and hopefully make everything better.
Are you a fan of the guy she’s dating right now? There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding that.
Uhh, ehhh. Ehhh, whatever. I don’t know. Don’t ask me. That’s too much for me, you know? I don’t want to say anything wrong because I think she’s such a sweet girl. They are great, very wholesome people. So, I’m not worried about it. I don’t know if I agree with it. He’s 21. I want her to be with someone who is her age.
Back to your album, what did you learn in the process of making it?
I really just aspire to be a musician for, hopefully, the rest of my life. I didn’t even know how much I was in love with music until after this album. I literally recorded 48 songs in two months. You’d think I’d get sick of it. But now, I’m at the studio every day pumping out the second album as fast as I can. I love making music.
Will you steer away from acting to pursue music fulltime?
I have acting stuff lined up, but I’m really pushing for music right now. I’ve been acting all my life, but I started off a musician. I just never wanted to show it. To be completely honest with you, I didn’t want to be another Disney kid who did music. One day, my older brother said, ‘You should definitely do it.’ Now I’ve got his help with being cool. It’s not just the Disney channel. I’ve got all my boys trying to help me be me, not just Oliver Oken.
It looks like you’ve also spent some time creating a new image for yourself, too. You recently got a new haircut…
Everybody’s freaking out on me because I didn’t tell anybody that I was going to do it. I just chopped it off and dyed it black. It was time for a change. I think it’s a good change.
A lot of people are telling me that I look like Jared Leto in Requiem for a Dream. That’s probably a terrible person to pair me up with because that was a crazy character, but just his look was cool.
Just as long as you don’t get the track marks on your arm, that’s not so Disney-friendly.
Yeah, no, no, no. It’s just his hair.
With so much going on in your life right now, how do you stay focused on your dreams?
This is what I love to do, this is my passion… I was born into this.
