HOLLYWOOD - Dating rock superstars like Kelly Clarkson and touring with his rock heroes like Counting Crows has not fazed all-American-football-star-turned-crooner Graham Colton. In a recent interview at Buzznet's offices, the singer/songwriter was a walking personification of cool.

Colton had plenty to talk about, including how he has used the Internet as a positive tool to launch his career, and how he came to be friends with the Crows and Clarkson.

"It was kind of the first time in a long time for me at that time of my life. When I, you know, had a connection with somebody, and was kind of going through the same situation," Colton said of Clarkson, who, like how he meets all of his other friends. "It was like summer camp. You know? You go and have fun on the road. And look back I don't regret if for a second."

(Click on the image below to check out the full interview.)



Colton was not just some random, half-ass football player. New England Patriots' star running back Wes Welker was his teammate on their high school football team, and together they broke passing and receiving records all the way to state championships.

"Sports, where I come from, especially football, is kind of like a religion. So when you’re growing up as a little kid, it’s football. That’s all there is to it," Colton said. "You know that show ‘Friday Night Lights’? That’s like exactly where I come from. But music was always my passion."

Click on the image to see Colton's performance of "Big Days.")
   


Just excited to play his songs in local coffee houses, it was really Napster and the birth of peer-to-peer networks that helped launch Colton’s music career. "I started to write songs my junior of high school… and into my senior year. And actually it was then that my songs found their way onto the Internet," Colton said. "Just about the time I was making the decision if I should play college football or not, I was starting to get emails from kids across the country saying, 'Where can I get this CD? I love the music,' and that was just kind of mind boggling to me."
   
Despite his success, Colton’s style is not set in stone, and he is always learning ho to do things better with trial and error. "As look back now, there are certain things I would do differently. That you know helped kind of mold what album’s out now, and what kind of album I am going to make in the future. And all that happened on the road," Colton said. "It all happens when you’re playing for eight people in a bar, and then next week you’re playing for 8,000 in an arena with Counting Crows. I mean, I experienced the bar, the coffee house, the theater, and the arena."