Kevin Quinn made his debut as an artist in August with the inspiring single “Wildfire,” which he followed up with a few weeks ago by releasing a Spanish version of the song called “Fuego En Mi Interior.” He takes his next step in music with the premiere of “I’m Still Breathing,” which he sat to talk all about with L.A. Confidential. Before we dive in, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Quinn before. After getting his start on American Idol, he’s forged a path as an actor and has appeared on TV shows that range from Shameless to Disney’s Bunk’d. Recently, he starred in Netflix’s faith-based musical A Week Away. Now he opens up about his future with acting, music and his mission to provide hope for his fans.
Let’s start with the new single. Can you start by telling me what the song is about and what you hope fans get from listening to it?
I think this song, in essence, is just about being at your lowest low, and even when things are at their absolute worst, the one thing that you have going for you is you're still breathing.
I just want them to take away this feeling of love and validation for whatever it is that they're going through. I've been in that position where I wish that people were there for me when I thought they would be and they weren't. And I'm not bitter about it. It's just I understand how difficult it can be feeling alone or feeling unheard feeling unloved or unworthy. This is where the faith undertones come into play. God loves all of us equally and I don't want to get too preachy on you, but I firmly believe that there's a higher power that can see and hear everything that you're going through. And that's why I'm so grateful to be able to make this music because I call it God, but you can call it whatever you want. But whatever that is, it loves you immensely and it's always there for you.
Are the singles part of a leadup to an album or are they stand-alone releases?
These will be on the EP but that's going to come out in, I think, January of next year. The train is moving forward pretty quickly at this point.
It’s been a lot of experimentation. I have a third single that I can’t quite name yet, but it’s actually getting mixed today. Believe it or not, I think it’s going to be better than “I’m Still Breathing”... It’s a progression of my writing over the past two years in the pandemic.
I love pop music, some of my favorite artists are pop icons. I wanted to keep the faith undertones, but also keep it clean, positive and true to the genre. If you're looking for a great pop song, you'll find it in the music. If you're not and you're just looking to be inspired, you're also going to find that in the same song, So it's a true crossover in that way.
How has it been balancing careers in music and acting?
My team has been so great with securing these opportunities and scheduling them at a time so that they don't conflict with each other. But my plan is to just keep going full speed ahead on both. I don't necessarily think I have to sacrifice one for the other, which I thought I did when I started taking on this record deal with Capitol, but it's proved easier than I thought to balance them, but it requires twice the work.
[American Idol] was kind of the inception of my entertainment career, but the acting just sort of worked out first. Now I get to revisit the thing I've always wanted to do and I've always been so passionate about music and I've always been passionate about acting. It's just, I didn't expect my career to blossom this much as an actor.
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What’s next for you as an artist? What are your ambitions with your music career?
Definitely tour. I did Winter Jam, which is a Christian tour, in 2020 before the pandemic hit. That was an amazing experience. I grew so much.
We ended up doing 38 out of like 40-something shows on that tour, so I definitely want to get back out on tour. I'd love to do Winter Jam again. But I think a Kevin Quinn tour will definitely appear at some point, it just might be somewhere down the road. I think next year.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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Photography by: Randall Slavin
