Meet Matt Klein | Former Child Star, Future American Idol

We had the good fortune of connecting with Matt Klein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I always felt that I had something inside that made me better than other people, and I learned early on that it was my voice. I once met and sang for former presidential nominee Bob Dole while in line at a 7/11, and he told me it was selfish to keep my voice to myself. Ever since then, I’ve humbly pursued a career in the spotlight.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I was a ghost writer on “Wild Thoughts,” by DJ Khaled. Funny story… I’m actually the reason he started saying “another one.” I ordered wings for the room while we were brainstorming and I couldn’t stop eating them! I would eat one and yell “ANOTHER ONE” and boy did he think it was funny! Lol! Unfortunately we had a huge falling out right after and he refused to credit me. We have not spoken since.

After that, it took several years for me to be able to get back on stage and use my gift. It wasn’t until former presidential nominee Bob Dole dropped dead that I sang again. I did what I thought he would want, and sang “Wild Thoughts” at his funeral. It brought the room to a complete silence. Not many people can do that with their voice 🙂

Since then I have been auditioning for American Idol every year. I have not yet gotten past round 2 of the auditions, but I am not giving up just yet!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Hope they’re ready, because we’re doing my favorite thing — auditioning for American Idol! We will get up at 6 am, have an adderall, drink some tea, and gear up for the best day of our lives. Once we get to the convention center, we’ll wait in line for and meet some new friends in the industry! 🙂

The audition process takes about 12 – 14 hours, and what we do afterward depends on one thing — whether I make it to the next round or not.

If and when I do get to the next round, I’ll have my friend treat me to Sugarfish! And if for some reason I don’t make it, I’ll need to sit in silence for the next 3-5 days to collect my thoughts.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to thank former presidential nominee Bob Dole for believing in me when no one else did. There can be 100 people in a room and 99 of them don’t believe in you, but all it takes is one and it just changes your whole life.

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