Move Over, Oliver Oken, It’s Time to Let Mitchel Musso Shine

Since the launch of the hit Disney TV show Hannah Montana back in 2006, Texas-born Mitchel Musso has played Oliver “Smokin” Oken, a goofy character that teen audiences across North America have grown to love. The popular actor is now launching another branch of his career by releasing his self-titled debut album, allowing fans to get to know the 18-year-old musician behind the TV persona. Musso took some time out to tell Youthink about his new album, his favourite artists and what it’s like to be a part of such an incredibly successful TV show.

YT: So tell me how you’re feeling about the recent release of your debut album. Has it been in the works for a long time?
MM: It has been in the works for a good amount of time. I’ve been playing music since I was about... oh, man... six years old was when I got my first grand piano, so I guess involved with instruments and stuff like that. I picked up a guitar for the first time at like 10. I started playing the drums at 11 or 12. So just overall, I’ve always had a passion for music, an ear for music, I loved just music in general – from tempos, keys and chords and everything else that comes with it. But most recently, probably about six to eight months ago, we were in discussion about creating this album to drop right around my birthday when I turned 18; and just this whole new look, you know what I mean, just completely changed. And it has! But I think it’s all for the better, you know what I mean? Music has opened so many doors and I do love it so so much so it’s been very good!

YT: How would you describe the overall feel or theme of this album?
MM: I guess as far as topics that we really talked about on the album are like, you know, girls, parties and not fitting in, but how it’s okay. And I guess mainly the sound, like if you want to hear what genre it really falls in, I’d say it’s kind of a rock, hip hop, dance, electro kind of a vibe. Yeah, because I listen to everything from classical to hard rap. Like Billy Joel to Three 6 Mafia or Lil Wayne to Elton John, you know I mean, so like everything in between. You probably won’t find very many country sounds in my album but as far as everything else is; I try to add as much as I could… get a variety.

YT: Was everyone on the cast and crew of Hannah Montana supportive of you pursuing your music career?
MM: Yeah, for sure! They were like the first people who got the album. Everybody was asking me for one so I came in with a whole suitcase full and gave everybody one. I wanted to hear everyone’s opinions. I know Miley [Cyrus] was like the first person I showed my CD to and she thought it was great and she wants to do music [together] in the future. Like for the second album, she’s written two songs: one just for me and a duet between me and her.

YT: How did you balance working on the album with your work on Hannah Montana?
MM: You tell me! I’m not sure… it just kind of happened, you know what I mean? I wouldn’t say...working on Hannah’s not too difficult and recording music’s not too difficult, so both of them together wasn’t too bad.

YT: You worked with a number of well-known industry heavy hitters such as Max Martin, Curt Schneider and Matthew Wilder on this album. How was the experience of working with them?
MM: Phenomenal. I mean, even, we also worked with S*A*M & Sluggo, which is Sam & Dave, who did Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, Gym Class Heroes, also Metro Station, my older brother’s band. And then PJ Bianco who did Look Me in the Eyes for the Jonas Brothers, branched them off in the top 40. But overall, yeah, I try to tell everybody that there was so much talent put in this record, not on my own behalf, just by everybody else’s help, that it really made it sound like a rockin’ album. It’s not just me, it’s a lot of help, you know what I mean, there’s so much talent in the world… it’s ridiculous.

YT: You co-wrote a few songs on this album. How did you enjoy that process?
MM: It definitely was a thrill. I wrote two of them by myself and then I co-wrote mostly all of them except for like two that were already written. But it’s been cool. I wanted to add my own ideas and I feel like we covered all of that. I feel like we came out with a pretty rockin’ album.

YT: So your brother Mason is also in the music industry, in the band Metro Station, and is featured on your track Shout It. How has he helped you or influenced your career as a musician?
MM: Well, as far as Mason goes, he’s really like my role model when it comes to music – not just music, I mean he’s my role model in general. He’s helped me a good amount, he’s definitely taught me a lot of guitar. And then, when he was progressing in it, excelling in it, I was like “I want to do that!” and he helped me out, taught me some chords. He taught me how to write. When I was little, he taught me the meaning of the chorus, the meaning of a verse, and a pre-chorus and a bridge... just pretty much how to make music.

YT: Who are some of your favourite artists and bands?
MM: Well you know what, there’s so much talent in this world, that it’s very difficult to really pick my favourite artist, you know what I mean? But I love bands like Blink 182, I love The Used, I love the Clash, I love Metro Station. And then again, I like stuff like… I love Eminem, I love Dr Dre, I love Three 6 Mafia... it really all depends. I like everything.

YT: Have you always known that you wanted to get into the music industry as well as acting? When did you decide to pursue your music career?
MM: Truthfully, just after I knew I could do it. When I felt like I was an artist, that’s when I felt like I wanted to pursue it. I was like, I don’t want anybody to just look at me like another one of those kids who comes out with music and is all bubblegum pop and everything else like that… no creative control and just gets fed stuff and does it. I wanted to really be able to take over. I get up on stage and I play every instrument and I just want to be a musician in general.

YT: How has being an actor helped your career as a musician?
MM: You know, the fan base of course. And I have the coolest fans in the world. I always like to shout them out; they’re the best, always, always filling out the shows and everything else. As far as acting goes, when I write, it’s not necessarily – I don’t want to word this wrong – but it’s not necessarily always true, you know what I mean? When I write, some of it’s from the heart but I try to mix up a couple things. Because when I write, I don’t like to write about necessarily my personal life. If I write about things, it’s very under wraps, you would never know, only I would know and maybe the person who it’s written about. You’re not going to catch me in a room with an acoustic guitar writing a song about a girl named Ashley who broke my heart. The music’s more about...it’s always going to be upbeat. I will always want everybody to dance to it and I want everybody to be able to feel free and let loose and that’s what the music truthfully is for me.

YT: How do you keep perspective with your celebrity status?
MM: I don’t know, I think me and Mason especially, are pretty good about it because we’re very... how do I say this... we love to share I guess is the right word for it. We’re huge into sharing. Like if we’re going to play a concert, we love throwing the mike in front of the kids’ faces so that they can sing with us! We want everybody to feel involved to be completely honest with you. We also come from the smallest county in the largest state of Rockwall of Texas where everyone’s all hicks and I mean, I walk outside and you see cows and then you see a lake, you know what I mean, like whatever. So I feel like maybe that kind of has a little help. But then again, we just look at it like a job. We’re just regular kids with just extraordinary jobs. It’s weird, I feel like if you talk about being grounded, you actually have a big head, so it’s kind of weird. You know, like [in sarcastic tone] “Oh I’m so grounded, I’m just the nicest of the nicest,” you know what I mean? No.

YT: What’s it like to be a part of such a phenomenally successful TV show as Hannah Montana?
MM: It’s nice! Ever since I was about thirteen was when we started so it’s definitely been the right area for me to get involved in. I mean Disney was definitely a good steppingstone and will always be right there to back me up. I’ve definitely been blessed I guess to be a part of the channel. Disney is phenomenal; they’ve helped me pursue this dream, not just of being an actor, now they’re so open about letting me be this musician and everything else.

YT: Your character Oliver “Smokin” Oken is a pretty funny guy...Can you relate to Oliver and his crazy situations?
MM: Sure. I guess Oliver, he’s a little bit “goobery” and I’m not as wild as he is for sure. Also, Oliver is more of a clean-cut kind of a kid. I’m more of like a Southern, you know, I like to go out and play in the dirt and stuff like that; that’s the kind of stuff I like to do. Oliver is more like, likes to look proper and nice. He wears his, not khakis, but more like suitpants and stuff like that. See, I never do that kind of thing. I like to go out in my black jeans and my black shirt with my black shoes on, you know what I mean, I’m not too fond of all the colours.

YT: How do you feel being on Hannah Montana has affected your career in television as well as the music industry?
MM: It’s affected everything, really. I guess because you get known as a character and people learn to love that character and they want to see this character all the time and then they figure out that it’s not just you, it’s a character that you’re playing. So then there’s this other ego and then they want to learn about that. And then you’re playing another character on another show or another movie or music, you know what I mean? That was just kind of the first steppingstone that opened up the career. Even though I’ve done tons of stuff beforehand, but when you get booked on a show, you get stuck as that character because you play that character for years. I’ve played Oliver for the past six or seven years, you know?

YT: Moving forward, what will be in the forefront – your music or your acting career?
MM: It’s a tough question, but when it all comes down to it, I would pick music because music I’m playing Mitchel; acting I’m playing another character. Although, I love acting… I can always improv and make it my own and stuff like that but when it comes to music, I make my own call time, I write what I want to write about, it’s more of my project, it’s me being my own artist and I think that’s cooler.