EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — After a whirlwind run on a national singing competition, El Paso’s Julian Kalel is back to doing what he loves most: making music, meeting people, and planning a busy stretch of shows that includes a hometown stop on the Fourth of July.
Kalel said the experience left him feeling thankful more than anything.
“I have the most supportive and loving city behind me at all times. No matter where I find myself in these next coming years or in life in general, I’m never going to forget where I was born and raised and the love I have for this community.” Kalel said.
He said the show brought him a supportive community, new friendships and a bigger platform for the message behind his music.
“I got a wonderful community because of it. I got surrounded by incredible artists. I made lifelong friends on the show and I, you know, I’m just forever grateful for the platform that I was given to you know talk about my message and what I try to really sing about in my songs,” Kalel said.
He also described the show as a springboard.
“I thought about it as a launchpad and it was one of the craziest most awesome experiences of my life. I mean once in a lifetime honestly, and I just you know, you got to take with it. You got to take what you get from it and run with it,” he said.
Even after being eliminated, Kalel said he stayed focused on what comes next — even when supporters took it harder than he did.
“I’m not watching this show ever get out. Like y’all it’s not over,” he said, recalling reactions he saw in comments. “They’re taking it harder than me and I was like guys I’m just excited for what’s to come.”
Kalel said he wants to keep releasing music and sees his audience less as “fans” and more as people walking through life together.
“It’s okay though cuz I feel I feel weird like even naming it like we’re calling it fans or stuff like that like supporters. You know, we’re all in this together,” he said. “We’re all going through the same thing world. We have each other’s backs in this, you know, I’m not on some stool because of it I just happen to be lucky enough to be given an opportunity to talk about it on a bigger stage.”
He said the show helped him grow personally and professionally, especially when it came to confidence onstage.
“I would never be able to step on a stage like the Auditorium in in Nashville in Hollywood week I mean that was like one of the scariest moments of my life and I had to conquer it,” Kalel said. “I’d never done that in my life so really helped with my confidence.”
Julián Kalel (credit:{ }Julián Kalel via Facebook)
Looking ahead, Kalel said he’ll be touring this summer with his friend Jake Thistle who was also on American Idol, with stops planned in the Northeast.
“We’ve chosen the Northeast,” he said. “Yeah, we’re gonna be in Jersey, New York, Philadelphia. Like Pittsburgh, we’re gonna it’s we’re gonna make a really fun trip out of it.”
And yes, El Paso is on the calendar, too.
“We do got an El Paso show on the 4th of July…We’re gonna be here in the Wild West on the 4th of July for the America 250 Festival. I’m gonna be on stage for that,” Kalel said.
Kalel called it a full circle moment to perform at home and credited the city for helping him get to this point.
“I’m just so grateful that I had a community as tight knit and supportive and loving as El Paso behind me,” he said. “I wouldn’t be where I’m at today if it weren’t for being raised or like born and raised in El Paso.”
Kalel also said he’s headed to Nashville next week for multiple appearances.
“We’re starting there. We’re in the road and going to Nashville next week,” he said. “I got a couple shows there. We’re doing the Idol Kickoff or CMA Fest on the third and then I got country and color on the fourth and then whiskey jam on the fourth and I’m hoping to record over there as well.”
Beyond touring and shows, Kalel said he plans to keep writing and putting out more music.
“Definitely gonna be writing more songs. Just really eager to just keep giving this wonderful community of mine more music to listen to more tunes to heal, you know,” he said.
He also said he’s aiming to return to school in the fall, while acknowledging how quickly plans can change.
“Now is to you know hit a tremendous lock in I guess and just go back to school in the fall and try my absolute best to balance it too,” Kalel said. “But things can really change really quickly and really dramatically especially when you’re doing something like this. So we’re gonna see what happens.”
As for the message he hopes listeners take from his music, Kalel hopes listeners continue resonating with his songs as he continues to spread his message about mental health awareness.
“It kind of goes hand in hand with the strength that it takes to stay one more day and that is to like choose the harder decision make the harder decision make the harder choice and that does involve choosing yourself,” he said. “If we just you know really put in that energy into loving ourselves and to loving one another we can create just a safer community and environment for us to even talk about where we’re at with our mental health and to be I guess safer to be vulnerable with each other.”
Before wrapping up, Kalel had a message for his hometown.
“Just thank you El Paso for having my back throughout the whole thing,” he said. “I am never gonna forget where I was born and raised and the love I have for this community.”
Kalel will be back home on July 4th at San Jacinto Plaza during a free community celebration honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary.
ARC El Paso
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