Today we had a rare opportunity to spend a lot of time with an artist. Hunter Hayes joined the "Sean and Richie Show" for over an hour and when I say joined I mean it. Not only was he very quick-witted and easy to listen to speak, but he also was kind enough to participate in "Write a song Wednesday."

Normally I don't give my personal opinion about an interview, maybe I should more, but I thought in this case I learned as much about Hunter by the way he was when we weren't on the air as I did when we were.

So what was the difference between Hunter off-air and on? Nothing. I liked that a lot. Even at the young age of 23, Hunter seems to be very comfortable with himself, he has an easy-going confidence and presence that not many people his age (or older) possess.

As I said to him when it was over, it really is a little nerve-racking when you finally get to be face-to-face with someone who you have spoken to on the phone a few times and have followed professionally. You really hope that they are really as fun or as cool as you thought they'd be and many times it's just not the case.

I particularly liked it when he agreed to do our improv game with Richie. He seemed a little nervous about what he was agreeing to, but jumped right in.  When he and Richie got the parameters of the song they needed to instantly invent, he went right to work collaborating with Richie and everyone in the room who had an idea. You could see his entire person light up when he was in creative mode. Even if it was to do a silly parody song, he was not about to not make it great. He, himself, admitted to being a bit of a perfectionist and it showed, in a good way.

He was very gracious with the fans that were in the room and every other air personality, sales person, office worker, and janitor who wandered in to meet him.

Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...

So he is what you might think he is: a young, very creative, very bright perfectionist who is loaded with charisma and star quality but manages to make you feel like he's happier to meet you than you are to meet him. I can't wait to see his upcoming show at the Times Union Center on Oct. 31 and I think you all should get tickets and enjoy the show as well.

He was very excited about the show and lit up a bit when he was talking about it. He said to be prepared to see things that you have never before seen at a concert. Now that is a big claim to make, but after meeting him, I am pretty confident he will meet and beat everyone's expectations but his.

Thanks again, Hunter, for coming in and letting us, and more importantly yours and our fans, get to know you a little better.

More From 107.7 WGNA