Before he was a contestant on “American Idol,” Clark Beckham used to be a “busker,” a street singer, in Nashville, Tennessee. You’ve all seen them, those people, playing guitars or saxophones or something else, or just singing, with a hat or an instrument case or a basket in front of them, collecting tips from passers-by.
I met Beckham at an “American Idol” party a couple of weeks ago — click here for that — and then we got on the phone on Tuesday, March 31, in advance of the April 1 episode of the show, in which everyone will be performing songs from the first “Idol” winner, Kelly Clarkson.
Click here for part 1 of our talk, in which Beckham again discusses his Christian faith, growing the Kingdom of God, and how he keeps himself on an even keel in the middle of a reality-show whirlwind.
But we didn’t just focus on supernatural matters, so here’s the rest of the chat.
Asked what advice he’d give to his fellow buskers, Beckham said:
I’d say, I know where you’re at, and I know how hard that work is, but to keep working hard, just doing what you think you’re called to do, ultimately, and just work hard at it. I know that’s not very poetic, but just work hard.
It’s hard work, playing on the street. People don’t understand. I have a friend who was, like, “Hey, man, I started playing on the street. I can’t do it. Do you have any tips?” I’m like, “What have you done?” “I was playing for, like, 20 minutes, and I didn’t get anything.” “You gotta be out there for four hours.”
Then they’ll get discouraged, because they’ll be out there for an hour and make, like, a dollar. It’s so difficult, especially because people walking down the street don’t want to hear you. They don’t want to see you, because then they feel obligated to give. They don’t want to do that. They’re not there for you; that’s something that’s important to understand.
No one goes downtown on a Friday night to hear the street performers. They go down for the bar or for the restaurant or wherever they’re going. It’s a very difficult job, and I have a lot of respect for people who do it, because I did it for two or three years, off and on.
Just because “American Idol” is happening doesn’t mean that life doesn’t go on for the contestants. Joey Cook (pictured at 
left from the party’s red carpet), turned 24 on Monday, and on the Saturday before that, got engaged to her boyfriend of five years, Evan Higgins. Said Beckham:
Yeah, she sure did. She was a street performer as well. She’s very artistic; she’s very happy. Things make her very happy, very easily, which is great. It’s a great personality trait that I admire, and I would like to be more like her in that way.
Yeah, she got engaged. Her fiance is really cool, really nice guy, I’m happy for you. They’ve been in love for a while, so when we saw them together — sometimes you just know with certain people. You know it’s special, and you know it’s different. You know it’s totally, in that case.
She’s like, “We got engaged!” And we’re like, “Yeah, we thought so.” So, they’re just really great together.
Of course, being on “American Idol” raises the dating profile of the single contestants, and some fans can go a little overboard. Regarding how many marriage proposals he’s received, Beckham said:
Oh, gosh, do you count Twitter, or no? Shucks, I don’t know, 10 or 20. But they’re just silly tweets. “Oh, my gosh, marry me!” They propose to me, and then they’ll propose to Nick, and they’ll propose to Daniel, and then to Rayvon … [sometimes] at the same time.
It’s the girls that love the show. We really appreciate their support, talking to them, and they’re funny. They crack us up.
While he’s not looking to run for political office, like former runner-up Clay Aiken, Beckham does have ambitions besides singing:
Music is the primary thing, through and through, no doubt, but I’ve always loved acting. I acted a lot in high school. I was fortunate enough to be part of some theater productions at Lee, the university where I went to school. I love it. I’ve done a couple little short film things, that were fun.
So, acting is another passion of mine, but truly music is what I hope to be doing primarily, forever.
One way or the other, it looks like Beckham and Hollywood are in a long-term relationship. God help him (and I’m sure He will).
Image: Courtesy Fox; Kate O’Hare
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