“My first record, I feel like I didn’t do the due diligence of making sure people felt like they were warned or like they knew about what I was going to say,” he admitted. “And so, in this last record and in the documentary, there was a lot of really great conversations about what my career means to other people around me, and that’s taking that input.”
Kahan, who released The Great Divide in April, continued, “Whether or not I like it—or whether or not I want to write about it—if someone says, ‘Hey, I don’t feel comfortable with this,’ or ‘Hey, this is what I want to keep private,’ it’s just listening. So, I just listen and I draw in what people are willing to let me share.”
But beyond checking in with those around him—his wife, parents and siblings as well as close friends—he also finds value in checking in with himself.
“I like having things that are just for me, too,” the 29-year-old explained. “Life as an entertainer, social media person, you’re sharing so much, and you feel like your whole life is on display. So, knowing that you have a couple things that you can come home to and not have to be for everybody else makes you feel very human. And it’s really important for me to not get swept away in my career. My career and my life can be separate things—and they can intertwine, but they can also be separate things.”