Fritz Hager III performs in May 2022 for hundreds of supporters at True Vine Brewing Co. in Tyler after being in singing competition ‘American Idol’ and making it as a top 5 finalist. True Vine has previously been awarded Best Live Music Venue in the Best In Town awards.

Fritz Hager III is taking advantage of the momentum he gained in the music industry after making it all the way to the top 5 on “American Idol.”

Hager, 22, is back in his hometown of Tyler after months in Los Angeles in an “Idol bubble,” as he called it. Now, he’s ready to take on the next phase in his career.

The Tyler Morning Telegraph sat down with Hager on Friday night to talk all about his return to Tyler and catch up with him after his “Idol” journey recently came to a close. He also hinted at new music coming soon.

Hager was the headliner for a well-attended concert at True Vine Brewing Co. on Friday night. He had no idea the amount of support that would greet him, as hundreds waited in anticipation for his show. Hager emphasized the gratitude he has for all his supporters, especially the Texas love he has been receiving.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about the gigs that I used to do a year ago, like playing in The Foundry (coffee shop) in a listening room and there are two or three people,” he said.

Hager said now that more people know his name, he is still in disbelief.

“It can be a little overwhelming but it’s like the best overwhelm possible because it’s a bunch of people wanting to support me,” he said. “It’s a full circle and to just sort of see what I’ve wanted for so long to come into fruition and all the work I’ve put in finally showing some results, it’s really cool.”

Now that he is back in town, Hager said supporters can expect more performances from him.

“I know that I’ll be in town for a bit. I do have some other shows planned here in Tyler like in October the Rose City Music Festival is happening and I’ll be playing there. We’re still working out a day for Stanley’s,” he said.

Just because he’s home and no longer in a competition doesn’t mean Hager will be slowing down. Hager said he is still in “work mode” and will continue to stay busy.

“I’m kind of grateful that things are just happening really quickly, it’s almost hard to imagine taking a long extended break from everything. I feel like I’m still in work mode and I know how important these next couple of months are going to be for my career. Just keeping the ball rolling and staying busy, no breaks,” he said.

Hager said Tyler will always be home and enjoyed representing the Rose City and East Texas on a national platform, especially as the only one from the Lone Star state in the top 24.

“I thought for years that there is some crazy talent in Tyler, it’s just hard to take the first step. So to be able to shine a light on Tyler and the people here, the musicians here, was an honor to sort of put Tyler on the big stage,” he said.

As Tyler starts to become more well-known and out from under the radar, the singer mentioned that Tyler was not so unknown in the singing competition.

“So I actually ran into a lot of people that knew about Tyler which surprised me, like Bebe Rexha who was our mentor in Hawaii, she knew about Tyler. I think her tour bus broke down when she was driving through here. There were people on the crew who had family and friends from Tyler, so that’s the thing,” he said. “I feel like Tyler is really lowkey, I feel like people here go off and do amazing things and people just don’t know about the city.”

Hager mentioned that during the show he came across a lot of city updates, which he is in favor of, especially because he believes in the potential the city holds with its talented residents.

“I’ve been really passionate about downtown, because over the past couple of years it’s been revitalized. I saw while I was on the show that they’re starting to put music every week on the square (Tunes at Noon) and get artists out there, which I think is so cool,” he said. “I really think there’s so much talent in Tyler and they just need a place to play and people would be blown away.”

Hager said what he misses the most about the contest journey are the other singing contestants.

“I miss the people … I was really close with Leah (Marlene), I miss her. Really everyone in the top 24, we were together for two months pretty much and we all got very close, and it’s one of those things we would’ve never met without that experience but we’re keeping in touch. Just being around those guys every day was really cool … we leaned on each other,” he said.

Among the many learning lessons he took away from the competition is a piece of advice from singer and judge Katy Perry.

“The piece of advice that I really think is the only reason why I got as far as I did was the advice that Katy Perry gave me in the first audition. She said people need to know who you are as an artist from the first word that comes out of your mouth, and the first note you sing doesn’t have to be loud or anything, it needs to be interesting and just needs to catch people’s attention. That advice I carried for every single round,” he said. “Getting that advice made me think of, ‘Who am I as an artist? What’s my sound? What do I want people to know about me?’ Throughout the process I was figuring that out and I think I have an idea of what that is now.”

Fans of Hager will want to be on the lookout for new things coming up.

“I just want to remind people to keep an eye for new stuff, because there’s cool stuff coming out in the next couple of months that I can’t really talk about it yet but it’s cool stuff. ‘Idol’ is over but it’s page one, my story is not over yet. There’s a lot of cool music coming out people’s way pretty soon,” he said.

To listen to Hager’s music, you can find it under ‘Fritz Hager’ on all music platforms, including his new single ‘Hearts Align.’