Life is busy.

As busy as busy can be.

Could you imagine just how busy you would be?

No, when I used to think of all this I would think of the premiers, concerts and stuff, but you don’t think about the amount of work. Now that I’m doing it it’s a lot of fun. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t work.

Was it harder to deal with Simon or to deal with the critics now that you are on your own?

You know honestly I think Simon prepared me for the critics. Simon really prepared me for a lot of things they are saying. It just rolls off my back.

Guys seem to get jealous and the girls are obviously big fans. Does it matter?

(Laughs) You have to take the good with the bad. Who am I to make assumptions about how people feel. All I can do is keep doing what I do and learning and growing. If people get jealous then that is for them to deal with.

Has your easygoing attitude helped you when times get tough?

Definitely. It’s one of those things that with my attitude because things can roll off my back. It can be dangerous too because you can be walked on as well. There is a fine line between assertiveness and being relaxed.

It’s because they’ll run themselves into the ground. I’m not going to be one of those people. If I go out it’ll be with a smile on my face. (Laughs)

You were obviously disappointed with the film’s box office showing.

Yeah.

Do you think it was overexposure, like Ben and Jen?

No. Not at all. The film I think was a good film for what it was designed for. It was for kids. Unfortunately the critics slashed it before it even started but that is just the way the cookie crumbles. That film offered so many opportunities beyond that moment. It has offered me opportunities to work in film and television, which I will be taking advantage soon.

Do you think the film might have done better in a different place and time?

Who’s to say, I don’t really know. Directly after the show people might have responded better to it, but who really knows. It did what it did and while it seems like a failure to most but it was a success for me and has given me so many opportunities.

That’s a good attitude in spite of the circumstances. A lot of people might have lost there minds and not looked at the bright side.

Wow. Well people sometimes gear themselves for failure.

When did you actually get into the studio after the show ended?

You know what? After the show we did the Las Vegas show, tour, movie and then into the studio. It was months and months. I was raring to go.

Did you have your hands on material before then?

Ahead of time? Yes, we had a whole bunch of stuff and started to filter through it and went on from there.

When did the idea for covering “Unchained Melody” come up? Were you sure you even wanted to tackle that task?

That was Clive’s [Davis] baby. To be honest with you I wasn’t quite sure at first. Clive told me to trust him and I did. It came out great.

I have to admit before I heard it I was skeptical…

…well that would be the way. [We both laugh]

I wanted to write one so bad. It was a great experience because I got to work with Carole Bayer Sager and Wade Robson. The first time you write with anyone and you get to write with two successful and talented and well-known people was a blessing. I’m very proud of it.

How important is it to write as much for the next album as you can?

It is paramount. It is part of the growth that I have experienced this year. It’s super important to get it right and explore those avenues. For the second album I look forward to doing a lot of serious collaboration and taking the experiences I’ve had over this last year, good and bad, and working it into the album.

Many of the people you point to as idols, Stevie Wonder, write their own material. Do you think those who write their own songs you can feel them more?

You know what? I think they are more meaningful without a doubt. Even though other people wrote my songs I put my stamp on them. I have a connection, but there is no truer connection than an artists and their own song. So I think that would be a valid argument.

But then of course you have your Whitney’s and it doesn’t even matter.

With Whitney she has such a unique sound and powerful instrument that she made those songs her own. She might as well have written them because she brought such a power and passion to them that were very unique. She has a great gift.

I was on the message boards (justinguarini.com), are you still surprised that people are fighting over you losing?

I’m glad people are still passionate about what I do. Either positive or negative comments are good because it shows I am still relevant. I’m just surprised how wonderful my fans are and how they’ve persevered through all kinds of stuff. Right now I’m struggling to get on my feet and I wouldn’t be to continue through that process if it were for my fans and how good they are to me.

It has been a great deal of learning, patience and it’s been frustrating. It has all been slowly but surely coming together and I hope over the next few months I hope people will see the genesis of my project.

If you look at the history of music not everyone is lost because the first single doesn’t take off.

Sometimes it takes three.

Right. Fans seem really angry that the first single isn’t getting played more. If they realized that artists like Kid Rock took a year after his album was released to…

…explode. I swear it takes a great deal of understand for me to not get angry. I have no idea how this all works. I do but I don’t. I’m very new to the industry. I’m not on the Billboard 200 and that is alarming to me. But when I sat down with my management they said it’s not a big deal and that it happens all the time. I opened at 20 with a very quiet opening. When you have a very hot single there is no reason why it can’t drive album sales. People fall off and come back on. I’m looking forward to coming back on with a vengeance.

I guess the question comes down to; would you rather have a hot single out of the box and never be heard from again or be like a Brian McKnight and slow but steady your whole career?

I would love to be like a Brian McKnight. Shoot, I’d love to be Brian McKnight. He wrote one of the songs I’m most fond of on my album “Condition Of My Heart”. Really it’s all about give and take. It’s a rollercoaster and I’m along for the ride.

You have such a good attitude that it seems like if anyone is going to wade out the storm and come out on the bright side of it its you. I’ve talked to a lot of artists that get discouraged and angry and I’d say they are all gone now.

It’s hard not to get angry. But it’s learning and experience. The one thing I seek above all else is understanding. Sometimes I’m so frustrated and I don’t get it. But I’m lucky to have a good management team and people around me who explain things and answer my questions.

What is it like going home?

When I do get to go home. [We both laugh] It’s funny, there is still work when I go home because people call for autographs. I do things like that. Sometimes it can be more work than being out here because I’m isolated. Family can pull you left and right because they haven’t seen you, but I love it.

Is it hard to be you because people obviously recognize you everywhere?

I’m in a very interesting place when it comes to fame. I’m not unknown, yet I’m not super famous where I can’t go anywhere. I am very conscious of what I say and do when I go out because the media is quick to make that a story. It’s really no harder to go out and do things than I make it really because the people who recognize me and come up to me are very nice and calm. [Laughs] I’m in fame limbo. [We both laugh]

Yeah, exactly. If I do it it’ll be in print. I can’t do that. Even when you want to you have to be very calm. But that isn’t in my nature, but everyone has his or her breaking point.

Well I don’t want you to think I go around swearing at people, that was a little of an extreme example. [We both laugh] I swear to God I don’t swear at people.

[Justin laughs histarically] You swear to God you don’t swear? [Continues to laugh] That is great.

Back in the days you dreamed about being where you are now, now what are the dreams?

To keep it going. Success is like a high-rise building I’m on the first floor. There are a lot of people in the basement or the parking lot but I was lucky enough to have made it to the first floor and I’m looking to make it to the penthouse. That will take some time and work. I have to earn it. I dreamt of working hard to get to where I want to go; the top.

Keep up the attitude. It’s refreshing to be honest.

Thank you very much for that.

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