SFBG: Is touring pretty close to what you expected it would be?

MS: Yes. Touring is exactly what I expected it would be actually. I knew it was going to be hard work and it is. I knew it was going to be incredible and it is. I knew it was going to be extremely memorable and it is exactly that. So everything I thought it was, it is. It’s a blast.

SFBG: Like the other contestants on Idol, you have a newfound exposure to fame. How are you handling that, and your responsibility to your fans?

MS: I love my responsibility to my fans. It’s the same responsibility I have to being loyal to music itself. They are the people who made us who we are, and every time I meet one of them, it’s just as genuine and fun as the 800,000 before that. I mean, seriously, it is always a pleasure to meet a fan. And they drive us, they keep us going. I mean, literally. They come to the tour and they thank us for doing the show, and they don’t realize that without them, this show wouldn’t exist. We don’t just show up because we are who we are. We show up because they’re gonna be there, and we want to give them something in return for making our lives incredible. I mean, who else does this for a living? Not many. There’s a lot of them, but when you compare it to the population of the world, not many get to do it for a living. And the fans put us in that place, and it’s priceless.

SFBG: Do you have any plans for what you want to do after the tour?

MS: Yeah, I’m gonna take a month off. (laughs) I want to take some time off, and then I’m writing for my album right now. So then we’ll go right straight to the album, and then hopefully some time next year, that’ll happen. It’ll probably be late in the year. And then beyond that, it’ll be tours and gigs and different things like that, but I’ll just keep on going with this.

SFBG: Is there anyone you didn’t really have a chance to bond with during the show whom you’ve gotten to know better on tour?

MS: Actually, I have to say that during the show, Danny [Gokey] and I seemed to hang out a lot because we have a lot in common. During this process, the tour, where we’re all together a lot more, I’ve really begun to bond with everybody. Adam would probably be the biggest growth in relationship. It’s no secret that Adam and I are from different worlds and different backgrounds and different lifestyles. And because both of us are very open and very understanding and very loving people, we’ve embraced each other. And I’ve learned all the great, amazing things about him, and he’s learned all the things that hopefully he thinks are great and amazing about me. And I would say that the most growth in a relationship beyond the show would be Adam Lambert. He’s an amazing artist — everyone knows that part. But what they may not know is how great of a person he is behind the scenes, and that’s what I’ve come to learn. So yeah, we’re having a great time.

SFBG: I was actually talking to Scott and Allison a bit about how this is the first drama-free top 10. But the gossip blogs still find stuff to talk about. Is that hard, or do you just kind of ignore that?

MS: We ignore it. The gossip blogs tend to really harp on me being from Texas and Adam being gay. Why it seems necessary I don’t know. You know, I’ve made comments that were misconstrued and taken out of context, and it made me look as if I were a hateful person. Those blogs just like to elaborate on the bad things. What they don’t understand is the type of people we are. The top 10 this year are some of the most genuine people you could meet. They’re normal, they have real lives, they have families, they have people that they care about, just like you do. And what people don’t seem to understand is that being different is a good thing. But my advice to people is, if you want people to respect you for being different, you have to not forget to respect them for being different in return. It’s so easy to ask for everyone to look at you cool, but why is my different bad and your different good?

If we’re all going to embrace the differences, then we should just embrace them all. And not to hate. Like, to literally be hated because I think different is mind-boggling. And I would say those are the blogs that affect me the most, because I think people are missing it. If I’m different, be glad that I’m different. I’m glad that people are different. Because if the whole world was made up of people like me, it would be a sucky, very dull world. So different is good, and I would say that if any blogs get to me, it’s those that pretend to understand my character when they really have no idea.

Otherwise, I really believe, to be honest with you, that the media has been our friend. I love the media, I love talking with the media, I love the way they portray us. They may say something about me as an artist that I don’t really agree with or like. I still respect it, because they’re being who they are and it allows me to be who I am. We’re kind of on an even playing field. I think it’s a good year. It is. We don’t have drama. We all get along. Allison’s like our kid sister. I’m one of the oldest. Danny’s 29, I’m 28, so we’re just kind of the old people. But we just have a blast. We really do.

SFBG: Is there anything you’ve learned from media or fan responses that has made you change the way you think about your music and the direction you want to go in?

MS: It has in some way altered the direction I want to go in. Before American Idol, I never, ever in a million years saw myself in a country genre. My family, like my wife, it blows her mind when people say that, because I’ve so not been in that area in my life. But I won’t say it’s changing who I am. I believe it’s adding to who I am. And it’s helping me discover more of who I am. The fans say country, and they’re going to get what they want. And the reason is not just because I’m trying to please everybody, but they have helped me find parts of myself that I didn’t find before. And I believe my album is going to be a very modern, soulful country, with a very pop edge, but it’s probably gonna go in that direction. And I appreciate them for it. I have no problem with that.