New KAMELOT Singer: 'I Never Thought So Many People Would Accept Me As Fast As They Did'

Kamelot Chile recently conducted an interview with new KAMELOT singer Tommy Karevik. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Kamelot Chile: How did you feel when you first found out you were selected to be the new KAMELOT singer? Nervous? Anxious? Happy?

Tommy: All of those feelings were there to some extent. I was very honored and happy to be trusted with such an important task, but at the same time, I, of course, knew that it was going to be hard work winning over the hearts of the fans, so to speak. As soon as I stepped out on stage for the very first show with the band and met the audience for the first time, all my fears that I had where suddenly gone and I couldn't help but smile the whole show through.

Kamelot Chile: How do you feel that KAMELOT fans have received you in this months touring?

Tommy: It has been nothing short of amazing! I never thought that so many people would accept me as fast as they did and I am truly happy and thankful for this. All the shows have been great in terms of crowd response and we have had an awesome time together on stage. On more than a couple of occasions, I have been very moved by the overwhelming support from the fans. Thank you all for that!

Kamelot Chile: What can you tell us about the experience to be with KAMELOT as a "team" until now?

Tommy: It has been a roller coaster ride from the very first day… in a good way! I already got to know the guys while touring with them in 2011, so the hardest part was already over when I accepted. We started working on the album right away and apart from sending files over the Internet I spent a lot of time in Germany together with [producer] Sascha Paeth. It was a lot of hard work to get the album done in time, especially with the concept and all, but the team spirit and the great cooperation led to a fantastic result. From that point we pretty much played 70 shows as a unit. I really learned a lot and met some fantastic people doing it. Now I am just looking forward to get out and play songs from "Silverthorn" to the world!

Kamelot Chile: How do you perceive "Silverthorn" has been received by the fans?

Tommy: It seems that people like it as a whole as well as the separate songs on it. I have heard many people say that they like the fact that we brought the melodies and choruses back again, which I also personally think is a good thing. "Sacrimony" was the first song we played live and that was even before the album was released, and the reaction was fantastic and that is a rare phenomenon! After a while, when the video was released, everyone knew the lyrics and that song was basically one of the highlights of the live set on the U.S. tour. A week before the European tour, the album was out in the stores and we played a couple of more new songs during the shows. All the new songs that we played worked really well and by the sound of it the crowd approved of our choices.

Kamelot Chile: How do you feel about knowing that "Song For Jolee" is one of the favorite songs in "Silverthorn" considering you were so involved in it?

Tommy: That was the first song I wrote melodies and lyrics for, and in the end it was that performance on that song that landed me the singer position. For me, it's a truly emotional song where I get to express myself fully vocally. I always aim to reach out to the heart and soul of whoever is listening and make that person feel what I felt when I was singing it. If you say that I succeeded in doing just that, then I am a happy man.

Read the entire interview from Kamelot Chile.