Glee’s rising star, Darren Criss, graces the cover of the latest issue of Billboard, out on newsstands April 18th, as he promotes Glee: The Music presents The Warblers out on April 19th. In the issue, Criss talks about his fondness of Disney songs, YouTube fame, his future in music and of course about Glee.
Why he got into musical theater:
For me, it was Disney. I remember seeing people’s reaction to “Aladdin” and thinking, “Oh, man, I want to be a genie when I grow up!” Robin Williams is a pretty big character in San Francisco. I was like, “I want to do whatever that guy does. What does he do, Mom? He’s an actor? OK, I want to do that.”
About possibly releasing a solo album with Sony music:
We’re working on it—we’re really excited and it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I’m so thrilled that it’s something that can happen because of “Glee,” and like the Warblers album I hope I can do it justice and make it something that people can really enjoy.
Getting prepared for the ‘Glee’ tour:
A year ago, I was so psyched that my first show in L.A. was at the Troubadour. Talk about so much for baby steps. It’s like, “Wait—Staples Center, are you kidding me?” I was happy to drive around in a beat-up, crappy old van with my bandmates and just go to small clubs around the country.