At first pass, a dual headlining tour featuring Kelly Clarkson and the Fray might raise eyebrows. What do the one-time “American Idol” winner and a piano-based rock-pop act have in common?
Well, for one, both Clarkson and the Fray have had a number of hits flood popular radio. Second, each has had to deal with the pressure and expectations that come with great early success.
“It’s a funny pairing in one sense,” said Fray lead singer Isaac Slade, speaking by phone from an Atlanta airport. “But in another, we’re both on the same radio stations all over the place.”
The Fray and Kelly Clarkson perform at Jiffy Lube Live on Thursday.
| Onstage |
| The Fray and Kelly Clarkson |
| » Where: Jiffy Lube Live, 7800 Cellar Door Drive, Bristow |
| » When: 7 p.m. Thursday |
| » Info: With Carolina Liar; $26 to $71; livenation.com |
The two acts are alternating headlining dates.
“After having done seven or eight shows, I feel like I know less about it than I did before,” Slade said. “I’ll play some shows where I feel like every single fan in the crowd loves both of us equally, and I’ll play some shows where it’s obliviously a Kelly crowd or it’s obviously a Fray crowd.”
The idea for a Fray and Clarkson pairing started last December at a holiday show, when they teamed up for “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire).” From those yuletide spirits sprung forth the summertime venture.
“She’s a firecracker man, that girl,” Slade said. “We hit it off. It just kind of came together. I feel like that’s how it happened in the ’50s, you know?”
The Fray is touring in support of its most recent album, February’s “Scars & Stories.” Slade said traveling and finding commonalities around the world influenced the new album.
“We just wanted to change it up a little bit. We’ve written so many songs from the comfort of our home; we wanted to get out and see the world a little bit.”
The Fray hit it big in 2005 with its debut album, “How to Save a Life.” The album’s title track and first single, “Over My Head (Cable Car),” garnered plenty of airplay, and the album has been certified multiplatinum.
Slade remembers knowing that the band needed to sell 175,000 copies of that first album or risk being dropped by its label. While grateful for the success the band has enjoyed, he does still have certain anxieties.
“Half of me is freaked out all the time that I’ll wake up and nobody will like us any more, and I’ll have to go back to work at a coffee shop,” Slade said.
