![\"Juli\u00e1n](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1780515430_444_25bb0f99-c74c-4364-97e6-29f3438312cb-JulianKalel.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\nEL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 After a whirlwind run on a national singing competition, El Paso\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Kalel said the experience left him feeling thankful more than anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
He said the show brought him a supportive community, new friendships and a bigger platform for the message behind his music.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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\u2019m 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,\u201d Kalel said.<\/p>\n
He also described the show as a springboard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Even after being eliminated, Kalel said he stayed focused on what comes next \u2014 even when supporters took it harder than he did.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not watching this show ever get out. Like y\u2019all it\u2019s not over,\u201d he said, recalling reactions he saw in comments. \u201cThey\u2019re taking it harder than me and I was like guys I\u2019m just excited for what\u2019s to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kalel said he wants to keep releasing music and sees his audience less as \u201cfans\u201d and more as people walking through life together.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay though cuz I feel I feel weird like even naming it like we\u2019re calling it fans or stuff like that like supporters. You know, we\u2019re all in this together,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re all going through the same thing world. We have each other\u2019s backs in this, you know, I\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the show helped him grow personally and professionally, especially when it came to confidence onstage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d Kalel said. \u201cI\u2019d never done that in my life so really helped with my confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Juli\u00e1n Kalel (credit:{ }Juli\u00e1n Kalel via Facebook)<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Kalel said he\u2019ll be touring this summer with his friend Jake Thistle who was also on American Idol, with stops planned in the Northeast.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve chosen the Northeast,\u201d he said. \u201cYeah, we\u2019re gonna be in Jersey, New York, Philadelphia. Like Pittsburgh, we\u2019re gonna it\u2019s we\u2019re gonna make a really fun trip out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
And yes, El Paso is on the calendar, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do got an El Paso show on the 4th of July…We\u2019re gonna be here in the Wild West on the 4th of July for the America 250 Festival. I\u2019m gonna be on stage for that,\u201d Kalel said.<\/p>\n
Kalel called it a full circle moment to perform at home and credited the city for helping him get to this point.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just so grateful that I had a community as tight knit and supportive and loving as El Paso behind me,\u201d he said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be where I\u2019m at today if it weren\u2019t for being raised or like born and raised in El Paso.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kalel also said he\u2019s headed to Nashville next week for multiple appearances.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re starting there. We\u2019re in the road and going to Nashville next week,\u201d he said. \u201cI got a couple shows there. We\u2019re 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\u2019m hoping to record over there as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond touring and shows, Kalel said he plans to keep writing and putting out more music.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also said he\u2019s aiming to return to school in the fall, while acknowledging how quickly plans can change.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow 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,\u201d Kalel said. \u201cBut things can really change really quickly and really dramatically especially when you\u2019re doing something like this. So we\u2019re gonna see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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,\u201d he said. \u201cIf 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\u2019re at with our mental health and to be I guess safer to be vulnerable with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before wrapping up, Kalel had a message for his hometown.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust thank you El Paso for having my back throughout the whole thing,\u201d he said. \u201cI am never gonna forget where I was born and raised and the love I have for this community.”<\/p>\n
Kalel will be back home on July 4th at San Jacinto Plaza during a free community celebration honoring the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary.<\/p>\n
ARC El Paso<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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