WEBVTT - Interview: Noah Kahan 0:00:00.700 --> 0:00:03.099 Hey, it's Noah Kahn on The Smallsy Show on Kiss. 0:00:04.059 --> 0:00:04.640 Noah Kahn. 0:00:04.940 --> 0:00:05.900 Hey, Smallsy. What up, dude? 0:00:06.019 --> 0:00:06.800 How are you? 0:00:06.820 --> 0:00:07.590 Good to see you. 0:00:07.720 --> 0:00:11.049 We were just reminiscing on the years we have known 0:00:11.090 --> 0:00:11.530 each other. 0:00:11.830 --> 0:00:15.130 Almost nine years now we've been catching up. 0:00:15.150 --> 0:00:15.910 We have been. 0:00:15.930 --> 0:00:18.070 And every time I seem to catch up with you, 0:00:18.950 --> 0:00:20.569 the star explodes even more. 0:00:21.470 --> 0:00:24.049 Yeah, it might be you doing it. I think you 0:00:24.070 --> 0:00:27.630 should take all credit. You are my good omen. 0:00:27.770 --> 0:00:28.900 I'll take it. 0:00:28.910 --> 0:00:32.479 It feels like just before something happens, just before you're 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:37.980 due to catch up with me. So I will take that. Now, 0:00:38.020 --> 0:00:39.940 you know how I'm going to start the interview, just 0:00:39.979 --> 0:00:41.020 by checking in on your health. 0:00:41.740 --> 0:00:42.000 Right. 0:00:42.080 --> 0:00:45.970 No, they're still bad. They're still inflamed. Yeah. Worse than before, actually. 0:00:45.990 --> 0:00:49.860 The Crown Hotel has a bidet. And the water from the, yeah, 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:52.979 but no, because it sprays directly into the hemorrhoid. And 0:00:53.010 --> 0:00:54.810 so now I'm having to use the other toilets in 0:00:54.830 --> 0:00:57.330 the hotel that don't have bidets in them. Okay. So 0:00:57.370 --> 0:00:58.810 I don't want to get tempted to use it. Yeah, okay. 0:00:58.830 --> 0:00:59.630 It inflames them more. 0:01:00.330 --> 0:01:05.300 Okay, I'm glad I asked. That followed me around. 0:01:05.530 --> 0:01:05.810 Yeah. 0:01:05.860 --> 0:01:08.820 And it followed you around. 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:10.260 I remember seeing that clip. I'm like, oh, my God, 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:11.720 I can't imagine this is the one they wanted to 0:01:11.780 --> 0:01:13.360 go viral. It did. 0:01:13.819 --> 0:01:17.020 It did. Anyway, so I'm glad we checked that off 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:21.230 the list, number one. Number two, the show, man. Congratulations. 0:01:21.350 --> 0:01:25.270 I saw it. It's incredible. Your fans. 0:01:26.150 --> 0:01:29.610 I genuinely felt you were blown away when you looked out, 0:01:29.650 --> 0:01:32.750 I think, on night one of the Sydney show, like 20,000. 0:01:32.750 --> 0:01:36.950 And you've done four sold-outs. Yeah. So that's 80,000 people 0:01:36.970 --> 0:01:39.069 you basically have performed to in Sydney alone. 0:01:39.910 --> 0:01:43.310 Honestly, they're the show. I think a huge part of 0:01:43.350 --> 0:01:47.320 the show was the crowd interaction. the different costumes, the signs, 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:51.140 the joy, like the singing along. It's, that's what makes 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:53.060 every single show different for us is that like every 0:01:53.100 --> 0:01:56.150 night we're getting to watch these people experience and kind 0:01:56.170 --> 0:01:58.130 of perform for us in a way, like, you know, 0:01:58.610 --> 0:02:02.070 in such an amazing community of people. Yeah. So far 0:02:02.110 --> 0:02:03.810 away from where the music was written and what it 0:02:03.830 --> 0:02:04.390 was written about. 0:02:04.550 --> 0:02:05.170 Yeah. 0:02:05.250 --> 0:02:07.950 It's been unbelievable. I, you know, you know, as you've 0:02:07.970 --> 0:02:10.100 known me a long time, like we, I think when 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:12.080 Hurt Somebody was, even when Hurt Somebody was number one, 0:02:12.100 --> 0:02:14.840 I was having a hard time selling, you know, 150, 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:18.309 200 tickets. And so to be here like so many 0:02:18.330 --> 0:02:20.550 years later and have people fill in these seats and 0:02:20.590 --> 0:02:23.390 just really giving everything they have, it's been unbelievable. 0:02:23.530 --> 0:02:25.089 Do you look back? 0:02:25.210 --> 0:02:27.510 I mean, I guess you like, do you reflect on 0:02:27.530 --> 0:02:30.620 it and go, was there something that changed that connected? 0:02:30.690 --> 0:02:33.220 Because I heard somebody was like a number one airplay, 0:02:33.290 --> 0:02:35.860 number one song on the charts here. But at the time, 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:40.299 like you were relatively unknown. Fast forward eight years. And now, 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:42.700 as I said, the tickets you're selling, did something change 0:02:42.740 --> 0:02:45.020 for you? Or do you think it's just, Constantly showing up, 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:47.540 doing it again and again and again. And then you 0:02:47.580 --> 0:02:51.270 wear people down and they eventually buy it. 0:02:51.410 --> 0:02:53.669 They have no choice but to come. Yeah, I've just 0:02:53.690 --> 0:02:56.790 been in their walls begging them to come see me play. Yeah, 0:02:56.830 --> 0:02:58.829 I think something did change. I think I started just 0:02:58.990 --> 0:03:01.770 to find my own voice and to find what I 0:03:01.810 --> 0:03:03.950 really love to say and how to say it. And 0:03:04.330 --> 0:03:06.660 I stopped kind of auditioning for the world as much 0:03:06.690 --> 0:03:09.180 as I was. I really felt like I was just 0:03:09.220 --> 0:03:13.750 trying to be what people thought. successful music sounded like or, 0:03:14.110 --> 0:03:16.270 or what a successful musician looked like. And that brought 0:03:16.290 --> 0:03:18.430 me farther away from what I actually like about music. 0:03:18.450 --> 0:03:20.650 And I think it was, it was not like saying like, 0:03:20.690 --> 0:03:22.549 screw it, but it was like, you know, how do 0:03:22.650 --> 0:03:26.100 I do this? Enjoy and enjoy it. And the things 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:27.639 that brought me joy, I've connected with a lot of 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:30.460 people and that's a really, really unique privilege. So, um, 0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:32.120 I think it was just kind of stopping for a 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:35.140 second and finding out what really made me tick, I guess. 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:35.760 I love that. 0:03:36.180 --> 0:03:37.580 Um, when you look out on the crowd, do you 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:40.480 see any faces from the shows on the barricade of their, 0:03:40.780 --> 0:03:45.090 fans that you remember seeing in the early days? Like surely, 0:03:45.130 --> 0:03:48.150 I mean, surely there's a number one Khan head in Australia, right? 0:03:48.190 --> 0:03:50.970 Like there's definitely one Khan head from day. 0:03:50.830 --> 0:03:51.310 One, right? 0:03:51.510 --> 0:03:53.330 I do see people in like, sometimes I have to 0:03:53.370 --> 0:03:56.510 be reminded, but they're like, I saw you in 2018 0:03:56.510 --> 0:03:58.170 or a lot of people are like, I came all 0:03:58.190 --> 0:04:02.450 the way from, you know, Portugal or Boston or, you know, 0:04:02.970 --> 0:04:06.180 South America to see these shows. And, uh, It's just unbelievable. 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:08.180 I think every night I try to think about the 0:04:08.220 --> 0:04:10.220 journey that each fan went on to come see me, 0:04:10.260 --> 0:04:11.500 whether they live here in Sydney and they had to 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:14.140 take work off, they saved up for the ticket, or 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:16.380 they've been looking forward to this for months. It reminds 0:04:16.420 --> 0:04:17.940 me of how important what we're doing is and how 0:04:17.990 --> 0:04:20.970 important it is to give everybody 100% all the time. 0:04:21.230 --> 0:04:22.830 I love that. People go through a lot nowadays to 0:04:22.850 --> 0:04:26.270 see shows. Tickets are expensive. It's hard to kind of 0:04:26.450 --> 0:04:27.850 get the time and the money to do it. So 0:04:27.890 --> 0:04:29.970 I try to really honor what people have gone through. 0:04:30.460 --> 0:04:30.980 to come see me. 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:31.520 Good on you. 0:04:31.540 --> 0:04:32.960 And you've got a great set, you know, you give 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:35.820 a show because sometimes people sell tickets to a concert 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:38.480 and there's not much happening. And you, you, I appreciate 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:40.480 the effort that you have gone to, to bring the 0:04:40.500 --> 0:04:41.170 whole thing to life. 0:04:41.490 --> 0:04:43.330 I've been very lucky to have like had a career 0:04:43.370 --> 0:04:46.990 where I didn't have like a TikTok moment early on 0:04:47.029 --> 0:04:49.330 that like brought me to these kinds of stages, uh, 0:04:49.490 --> 0:04:51.610 at an early point, because I really had to fail 0:04:51.710 --> 0:04:53.690 as a performer a lot. And that, and like a 0:04:53.710 --> 0:04:55.220 lot of my shows, I would just flip my hair 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:56.940 over my eyes and like, You know, all you saw. 0:04:57.860 --> 0:04:59.660 And play my guitar and, like, not interact because I 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:02.040 was so nervous. And I feel like having gone through 0:05:02.180 --> 0:05:04.520 eight years of that kind of touring, like, I feel 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:08.280 very comfortable and very excited to kind of– and not embarrassed, 0:05:08.300 --> 0:05:09.400 you know, to get out there and just give a 0:05:09.420 --> 0:05:12.020 show and make fun of myself and sing as hard 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:12.600 as I can. 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:14.260 Let's talk about intrusive thoughts. 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:14.820 Sure. 0:05:14.900 --> 0:05:15.960 Because they come into your mind. 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:16.300 Yes. 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:18.520 You did address them. Do you address them in every show, 0:05:18.550 --> 0:05:19.350 the intrusive thoughts? 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:21.210 I've started to since I got to Australia. 0:05:21.290 --> 0:05:21.550 Yeah. 0:05:21.570 --> 0:05:26.010 Because I think– culturally we really connect with that. Yeah. 0:05:26.070 --> 0:05:26.510 Yeah. 0:05:26.570 --> 0:05:28.450 Yeah. I feel like you guys, everyone here is kind 0:05:28.490 --> 0:05:30.770 of got that neurotic thing going on. We do. 0:05:30.830 --> 0:05:32.560 You know, we love, we love an intrusive thought. 0:05:32.570 --> 0:05:36.220 We love also vocalizing it. Um, do you have them frequently? 0:05:36.300 --> 0:05:38.600 Do you have them on most nights when you're on stage? 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:41.380 Oh, I'm always having intrusive thoughts, man. Every thought I 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:43.260 have is, I haven't had a welcome thought in like 0:05:43.260 --> 0:05:45.590 10 years, dude. Every thought I have is like a 0:05:45.670 --> 0:05:47.690 scary man knocking on my door in the rain that 0:05:47.730 --> 0:05:50.900 I have to let use my phone, you know? Um, Yeah, 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:52.930 I always think about, like, I just think, like, if 0:05:52.950 --> 0:05:55.210 everyone here got really mad and, like, texted each other in, like, 0:05:55.230 --> 0:05:58.510 a WhatsApp group, they could just come and, like, eat me, basically. 0:05:58.610 --> 0:06:01.330 They could eat my arms, my legs, my butt, everything. 0:06:01.390 --> 0:06:03.590 Is that the basis of the tweet that you put 0:06:03.630 --> 0:06:05.270 out the other day about, hey, just a reminder, if 0:06:05.290 --> 0:06:08.050 you want to dress up like me for Halloween, you 0:06:08.070 --> 0:06:09.570 need to stop showering today? 0:06:09.610 --> 0:06:12.770 Twitter is, like, the perfect intrusive thought canvas. Yeah, 100%. 0:06:12.770 --> 0:06:14.210 I just want to make sure people, if they really 0:06:14.250 --> 0:06:17.409 want to commit to the bit, you have to stop Showering. 0:06:17.589 --> 0:06:20.010 Sorry, I wouldn't have thought, do people dress up like 0:06:20.070 --> 0:06:20.930 Noah Kahn for? 0:06:21.370 --> 0:06:23.290 Yeah, they have. Or they're just pretending to be Jesus. 0:06:23.350 --> 0:06:23.870 I can't tell. 0:06:25.089 --> 0:06:27.250 And if you squint from a distance, it's hard to tell. 0:06:27.270 --> 0:06:29.750 I look like Jesus at first glance. For sure. Second glance, 0:06:29.810 --> 0:06:30.849 it's like, oh, no. 0:06:32.500 --> 0:06:34.940 It's mildly successful Noah Kahn. 0:06:34.950 --> 0:06:37.420 It's just that guy with the guitar, yeah. 0:06:37.860 --> 0:06:41.760 Now, big news in your world, music-wise, obviously, is you 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:44.000 just have the lead single for the new Hunger Games movie. 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:44.740 Yeah, yeah. 0:06:44.900 --> 0:06:45.680 Congratulations on that. 0:06:45.700 --> 0:06:46.020 Thank you. 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:49.550 How did that happen? 0:06:49.960 --> 0:06:53.670 It was funny. I had heard people talking about this movie. 0:06:54.630 --> 0:06:56.490 I'd read all the books, and I'd heard people talking 0:06:56.510 --> 0:07:00.090 about the soundtrack for this movie. And a lot of 0:07:00.350 --> 0:07:02.250 my friends were making songs for it. And I was 0:07:02.270 --> 0:07:03.340 kind of like, oh, man, I would have loved to 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:04.940 do that. It would have been really fun. And I 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:08.839 ran into Dave Cobb, who is helping curate the soundtrack. 0:07:08.900 --> 0:07:10.840 And he was like, no, we actually want you to 0:07:10.860 --> 0:07:12.420 do the lead single. And so it was the first 0:07:12.460 --> 0:07:13.960 I'd heard of it. And I was like, oh, my God. 0:07:14.430 --> 0:07:16.650 I was obviously super excited, but a little nervous because 0:07:16.670 --> 0:07:19.890 it's a big opportunity. And I am very well aware 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:23.180 of like the passion that the fans have and how 0:07:23.500 --> 0:07:27.200 into every single part of the story, the soundtrack, the 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:29.260 actors that these fans are. So I felt a little 0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:32.420 bit of like a pressure, but it was a really cool, 0:07:32.500 --> 0:07:35.280 unique experience. I never gotten to write for a. movie 0:07:35.300 --> 0:07:36.880 before and it was really fun to get a chance 0:07:36.900 --> 0:07:38.300 to kind of step outside of my own story. 0:07:38.460 --> 0:07:40.960 And you're also joining like a great list of other 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:44.670 artists that have contributed songs to the soundtrack in movies 0:07:44.690 --> 0:07:48.290 that have gone by, by the way, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Coldplay, Lorde. 0:07:48.850 --> 0:07:50.390 I mean, that's not bad company to be in. 0:07:50.730 --> 0:07:52.630 No, no. They're all people that I look up to 0:07:52.650 --> 0:07:55.290 and artists that I admire and, um, being in the same, 0:07:56.180 --> 0:07:58.140 you know, the same world as they are for this 0:07:58.220 --> 0:07:59.660 kind of soundtrack is, um. 0:07:59.920 --> 0:08:01.400 But if you were in the Hunger Games, you'd have 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:02.380 no trouble taking them out. 0:08:03.550 --> 0:08:06.690 No, I would be dead in seconds. Olivia Rodrigo would 0:08:06.830 --> 0:08:09.130 bash my head in. Taylor Swift would club me to death. 0:08:09.750 --> 0:08:11.050 Laura would punch me in the stomach. 0:08:12.250 --> 0:08:15.480 Yeah, you would volunteer as tribute to go out first. 0:08:15.650 --> 0:08:17.100 I'd just be like, get me out of here. I 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:17.920 don't want to be here anymore. 0:08:18.060 --> 0:08:20.260 So that's your game plan. If there was a real 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:22.580 love Hunger Games, you're like, I'm dipping out early. 0:08:22.980 --> 0:08:25.120 I'm going first. I'm going to go out first. I 0:08:25.140 --> 0:08:28.890 want to be... jump on a sword in the cornucopia, 0:08:28.950 --> 0:08:30.770 go to the tallest tree I can find, try to 0:08:30.810 --> 0:08:32.630 get to, like, the electrified ceiling to stick my hand 0:08:32.690 --> 0:08:32.969 up there. 0:08:33.070 --> 0:08:33.869 And just end it. 0:08:33.970 --> 0:08:35.429 Just get me out. I'm not trying to go through 0:08:35.450 --> 0:08:37.949 all that shit. No, absolutely. I've got stuff to do. 0:08:38.270 --> 0:08:40.189 Have you had any downtime while you've been here in Oz? 0:08:40.210 --> 0:08:42.010 Have you done anything? Have you, like, had some? 0:08:42.110 --> 0:08:44.470 Yeah, we've had a ton of downtime. That's my favorite 0:08:44.490 --> 0:08:46.650 thing about coming to Australia is, like, the amount of 0:08:46.670 --> 0:08:48.750 fun stuff that we get to do. We went to 0:08:48.809 --> 0:08:49.589 urban surf today. 0:08:49.850 --> 0:08:50.030 Okay. 0:08:50.050 --> 0:08:50.870 Went surfing. 0:08:51.790 --> 0:08:53.150 How was, right, right yourself? 0:08:54.090 --> 0:08:57.910 One out of 10 probably. I hurt my calf getting up. 0:08:58.010 --> 0:09:01.069 So it's like even the most successful situation means I 0:09:01.110 --> 0:09:01.590 hurt myself. 0:09:01.650 --> 0:09:01.949 Yeah. 0:09:02.429 --> 0:09:05.050 Uh, I went to, uh, to deep sea fishing a 0:09:05.510 --> 0:09:06.890 couple of days ago, which is really cool. 0:09:06.970 --> 0:09:07.390 Okay. 0:09:07.490 --> 0:09:08.890 I got seasick once doing that. 0:09:09.170 --> 0:09:09.589 Oh my God. 0:09:09.630 --> 0:09:09.770 Yeah. 0:09:09.790 --> 0:09:12.050 We all got so seasick. My security guard was just 0:09:12.100 --> 0:09:14.020 throwing up the entire time. I felt so bad for him. 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:16.100 And I'm like, but what about what if a swordfish 0:09:16.140 --> 0:09:18.680 comes out and tries to kill me? Yeah, I know. Uh, 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:21.650 so yeah, we got to do that. Put some golf, um, 0:09:22.530 --> 0:09:25.410 I've gone to the spa, got a lot of good coffee. Lovely. 0:09:25.530 --> 0:09:27.340 Are you a mani-pedi guy or what's the story? 0:09:27.380 --> 0:09:29.800 I'm a massage guy, but I always feel like I'm 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:33.020 hurting their feelings if I don't ask for... More pressure 0:09:33.059 --> 0:09:35.920 or less pressure? I say medium, but I actually want more. 0:09:35.980 --> 0:09:37.160 But then if I ask more, I feel like they 0:09:37.179 --> 0:09:38.770 get mad and start going as hard as they can. 0:09:38.870 --> 0:09:39.030 Yeah. 0:09:39.270 --> 0:09:40.990 And so I worry about them getting pissed and hurting me. 0:09:41.150 --> 0:09:41.410 Okay. 0:09:41.830 --> 0:09:42.530 They're wrapping me up. 0:09:42.570 --> 0:09:43.770 I got a lot of problems. Yeah. 0:09:43.850 --> 0:09:45.610 They're wrapping me up. One last question. One last question. 0:09:46.470 --> 0:09:48.730 You were at the Emmys the other week and then 0:09:48.750 --> 0:09:50.400 there's a photo of you and Steve Carell. And then 0:09:50.440 --> 0:09:53.059 you posted, my king and also, believe it or not, 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:54.370 my dad's high school classmate. 0:09:54.660 --> 0:09:54.800 Yes. 0:09:54.850 --> 0:09:55.630 Is that actually true? 0:09:55.660 --> 0:09:57.380 Or did you make that up? It's true. It's true. 0:09:57.400 --> 0:09:59.640 Because I can't believe a lot of things you say. 0:09:59.880 --> 0:10:04.010 I know. This one's real. This one's real. He was 0:10:04.170 --> 0:10:05.610 a little older than my dad, but he played hockey 0:10:05.630 --> 0:10:09.070 at Middlesex in Massachusetts. And he went to high school 0:10:09.090 --> 0:10:11.630 with my aunt and my dad. I think my dad 0:10:11.650 --> 0:10:13.270 kind of played up their friendship a little bit more. 0:10:13.290 --> 0:10:15.180 Because when I asked him about it, he was like, oh. 0:10:15.750 --> 0:10:16.660 Vaguely remember. 0:10:16.740 --> 0:10:19.280 By the way, for anyone wondering, he was... Super cool, 0:10:19.380 --> 0:10:22.200 super kind. I was so nervous to approach him, but 0:10:22.220 --> 0:10:24.300 he took five minutes just to talk to me and 0:10:24.340 --> 0:10:25.739 ask me questions about my music. You looked happy as. 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:29.330 I was really, really grateful for his time. As someone 0:10:29.350 --> 0:10:33.330 with clinical depression, The Office is my depression show where 0:10:33.390 --> 0:10:36.490 I'm really struggling, and he's provided me with so much 0:10:36.630 --> 0:10:38.329 light in my life. I love that. It was cool 0:10:38.350 --> 0:10:38.690 to talk to him. 0:10:38.710 --> 0:10:41.450 I love that you had that moment. Hey, massive congratulations. 0:10:41.470 --> 0:10:41.809 Thanks, dude. 0:10:42.110 --> 0:10:45.140 Wonderful to see you. Congrats on the tour. Go put 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:46.340 your feet up once this is wrapped. 0:10:46.380 --> 0:10:47.300 You deserve a break after this. 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:48.420 I'm going to, man. I'm going to. And thank you 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:49.800 so much for your time and for the support for 0:10:49.820 --> 0:10:50.199 so many years. 0:10:50.700 --> 0:10:55.220 Smallsy, now on Kiss. Head to Chemist Warehouse and save 0:10:55.300 --> 0:10:58.500 more money every year on your regular medication with discounted 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:00.660 prescriptions in every store, every day.