People

The pop crooner is releasing a live CD/DVD version of his 2006 megahit album, Awake, on May 6.

Why did you want to make a live version of Awake?
A live environment gives songs more room to breathe, and I felt the music on the album worked better live. After show after show of feeling every night was so special, we wanted to document it.

How do you define yourself as an artist?
I look at myself as a pop artist. There's no question that there's a classical sound to what I do, but in the end, most of the songs are original, and I would rather see my music as a part of a wider view of what pop culture is.

At what age did you discover that you could sing?
I knew I had singing in me, but I was shy about it. It was in seventh grade; my music teacher had me sing a solo in front of the school. I wasn't very popular, but then I sang, and the next day all the kids were like, "Keep singing. Don't ever change!"

You've done some of your own songwriting. What inspires you?
The first album was just going to be this new guy and his voice. It wasn't until the second album that there were expectations. All of a sudden, I had people telling me what my album had to sound like. So my writing started out of frustration. I knew what I didn't want, so I sat down and wrote what I did want.