CELEB MAGAZINE

AN INTERVIEW WITH TRISTAN

Recently, Tristan Granleigh took some time out from his busy schedule to sit down and chat with Celeb Magazine reporter, Darla Hansen, about what’s happening in his life.

Celeb: Thank you for talking with us today, Tristan. 

Tristan: Thanks for having me.

Celeb: Your career is really soaring right now. How does that make you feel?

Tristan: Wow, it’s mind boggling. I never imagined I could be so busy.

Celeb: You’ve won numerous awards. You're an EGOT recipient, winning all four major awards, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. You also have a Golden Globe, a People’s Choice, and even a mirror ball trophy from Dancing With the Stars. You also have a number of gold records. That has to feel incredible.

Tristan: (paused for a moment with wide eyes) Yeah, it’s amazing. I never set out with the intention of winning awards. I just wanted to perform. I love music, I love the stage, I love the audiences. I just had the need to perform. The awards are a very pleasant residual that I never expected.

Celeb: You started on the stage, doing some phenomenal productions such as Phantom of the Opera, Les Mis, Jykell and Hyde and numerous others.

Tristan: Right. I attended a performing arts academy in London and focused mostly on acting. I enjoyed portraying characters. Pretending to be someone else and getting paid for it (laughter).

Celeb: Many of those productions are musicals. Your voice is magnificent. It seems like that’s your domain.

Tristan: I didn’t start out with musicals, I actually did some Shakespeare, although I’ve been singing since I was a child. Not for an audience, but in school and church, or for my mother’s lunch gatherings. I trained for classical theatre, but when the musicals came along, I was encouraged by my agent to audition for them and the rest is history, I suppose.

Celeb: Which transitioned you into the  recording world. You have six CDs with eight of the songs going number one on the charts.

Tristan: (grins and shrugs modestly) I have only my fans to thank for that. They're awesome.

Celeb: You go professionally by your single first name of Tristan. How did that come about?

Tristan: That’s my agent’s idea. There aren’t many Tristans out there, at least in the industry, and he felt it would generate interest from fans.

Celeb: Speaking of fans, how do you deal with all the fan attention? I mean, you have thousands of fans, possibly millions, attending your concerts, screaming your name, trying to get close to you. Is it difficult for you to go out in public without people constantly recognizing you and approaching you for autographs or selfies?

Tristan: I try to comply with people as much as possible. I know of celebrities who shun their fans, won’t give autographs or even smile and say hello to them. They treat their fans as if they were an annoyance. That’s not right. My fans provide me with a living. In essence, fans are celebrities’ bosses. They buy CDs, concert tickets, merch such as tee shirts, photos, everything with their picture on it. Millions are spent every day on those celebrities and it’s just a total lack of gratitude when they turn their backs on the fans.

Celeb: But it can get a bit overwhelming sometimes, can’t it?

Tristan: Yes, of course, and sometimes after a long day I’m tired, but I won’t be rude to anyone. If I have fifty fans stampeding at me suddenly, that’s a different story, but that’s usually at an event where there’s a large group of attendees and there are venue security staff who help with crowd control.

Celeb: You were accosted by a fan at a concert one time.

Tristan: He wasn’t a fan. His girlfriend was a fan, and he was apparently jealous. He came at me and pushed me back against other people. Security was there in an instant and took him away.

Celeb: It is also reported that you were bullied as a child?

Tristan: Yes, in school. This older kid took a disliking to me and started harassing me in the halls.

Celeb: That’s all too common nowadays, but back when you were younger, was it as common?

Tristan: I think it was, but not as violent as it is now. This kid just got in my face and made life miserable for me. One time, he shoved me against the wall, stole my book bag, and ran off with it, right in front of one of the school administrators. He ended up getting expelled from the school.

Celeb: And you ended up becoming an international super star. I wonder what his thoughts are now.

Tristan: I have no idea. I don’t really care to know.

Celeb: If someone approached you at, say, a restaurant and interrupted your meal for an autograph, how do you handle that?

Tristan: (shrug) I give them the autograph. No big deal, if that’s all they want. If they want to sit down at my table and chat, that’s a little bit much, especially if I’ve had a long day, but I try to find a polite way to excuse myself so I can finish my meal and they usually move along.

Celeb: On another track now, are you in a relationship?

Tristan: No, not right now. I was in a rather long-term relationship a couple of years ago, but that didn’t work out. Our careers conflicted.

Celeb: It was known that actress Sarah Beaumont was with you for quite a long time. Did you consider marriage?

Tristan: We talked about it. I don’t know. It just wasn’t meant to be.

Celeb: Are you on the dating scene right now?

Tristan: I just haven’t had the time. I just finished working on a film and immediately before that I did a north American concert tour to twenty-six cities. That’s rather exhausting, and while on the tour, I’m moving from one city to another, so I don’t have the opportunity to date. I spend most of my time with the band and the crew during tours. When your schedule is tight, you just don’t have the time.

Celeb: Who would be your ideal woman?

Tristan: Wow, that’s a loaded question. Obviously, someone who would want me for what I am inside, and not for who I am to the public. I don’t want someone who is pretentious or who just wants to be seen in public with famous people. I want someone who is down to earth, caring, fun, have a good sense of humor, someone who is kind. Not someone who is just trying to get close to a celebrity.

Celeb: Just looking for her own ten minutes of fame.

Tristan: Exactly. I guess what I want is someone who doesn’t see me just as a famous singer or actor.

Celeb: Someone who cares about you as a person, not just because you’re a celebrity.

Tristan: Yes.

Celeb: You spent some time on the soap opera Better Days.

Tristan: Yes. I did six weeks on the show.

Celeb: That's a pretty popular show. Was it fun to do?

Tristan: Yeah, I had a blast doing it.

Celeb: I'm sure there were a lot of viewers, especially the ladies, who would have loved it if you could have been on it a lot longer. You were quite a heartthrob on the show.

Tristan: (Laughs) Yeah, well, they killed me off, so.... (laughs again)

Celeb: Switching gears, here, you’re living in Los Angeles right now.

Tristan: Yes, I have a condo there. Much of my work is based there. I finished filming a movie in LA and I'm recording my next CD there. I’m also shooting a series of television adverts for my next concert tour.

Celeb: Just a condo? Not renting a home where you can have some private space?

Tristan: No, an apartment is all I need. I don't need a lot. My sister, Lissy, is visiting me and staying in my guest room right now.

Celeb: Your sister came all the way over here from England to visit you?

Tristan: Right, she’s spending a couple of months here. It’s cool. I'm showing her all the attractions when I have the free time.

Celeb: You also have a brother.

Tristan: Christopher, yes. He a solicitor, a lawyer, working with our dad’s shipping company as a legal counsel.

Celeb: Neither of them is in show business? Interesting.

Tristan: No, (laughter) I’m the black sheep in the family!

Celeb: Well, for a “black sheep,” you’ve achieved quite a lot of fame and a fan following. So, what’s ahead for you right now?

Tristan: I’m finishing up a new album which will be available next spring. After we’re finished in the recording studio, I’m off on a month-long gig on a Caribbean cruise ship.

Celeb: A cruise ship! That should be fun.

Tristan: Yeah, I’ve never performed on a ship before. It should be quite like a working holiday. I’m looking forward to it. After that, I’ll be getting ready for another concert tour.

Celeb: You’re one of the busiest men in the industry. When do you sleep?

Tristan: (Laughter) Rarely.

Celeb: Well, thank you, Tristan, for taking the time to speak with us today. Bon voyage on your upcoming concert cruise. We look forward to more of you in the future.

Tristan: Thank you for having me.

Editor’s note: This interview took place shortly before Tristan’s disappearance from the cruise ship. To date, nothing has been determined on his whereabouts. A young woman, Skye Talbot, also disappeared at the same time. It’s not known if they are together. Witnesses describe a bolt of lightning striking Tristan. When the flash dimmed, both Tristan and Ms. Talbot were gone. A search in the waters around the ship has turned up no clues to where they could have gone. Authorities have officially declared the case unsolved.