Pop Star Kevin Quinn on the Pressures of Being a Celebrity and the Mental Health “Journey” It Took to Find Himself

Taking a mental health break in Arizona’s Santa Catalina Mountains a couple years ago may have saved actor/pop star Kevin Quinn’s life. At least, his creative one. For Quinn, 26, who auditioned for American Idol just two weeks after his 15th birthday and rose to fame thanks to his work as an actor on the Disney Channel, it was a chance to get out of the public spotlight and change and reframe his future.

While checked into a facility in Arizona, Quinn says he was able to wake up free of professional responsibility, go for jogs, take in the air and witness the majesty of the mountains. Now, that recent refresh has helped him write his new EP Real Me, which is out Friday (January 19).