Spencer Sutherland Will Forever Live Off the High of His Fans: 'I'll Never Need to Take a Drug' (Exclusive)

"All my friends that were going away to college and there I was making Maroon 5 covers in my basement trying to catch traction somehow," the singer jokes to PEOPLE

Spencer Sutherland has always had a flair for the dramatic.

"I've always been into everything theatrical," Sutherland, 31, tells PEOPLE in a recent interview. "My love of music began when I heard Elvis for the first time. I would always try to dress like him when I went to school.'

At the same time, the Ohio native set his eyes on the likes of legendary performers such as David Bowie and Elton John, a trait that certainly stood out in the Columbus suburb he was born and raised in by the friends who had their eyes firmly on a future that included getting a job, getting married and getting a white picket fence.

"I just felt trapped [in Ohio] because I was surrounded by all my friends that were going away to college and doing something,” remembers Sutherland, who competed on the UK version of The X Factor back in 2017. "And there I was making Maroon 5 covers in my basement trying to catch traction somehow." He laughs, adding, "So yeah — I've always been a little different."

It’s these differences that continue to set Sutherland apart on a path that finds him at one of the most successful points of his career. In fact, things are going so well that Sutherland admits he is having a hard time believing it all. "I feel like even artists a lot bigger than me deal with that too,” admits Sutherland, who went viral in 2024 via his hit song "Alive." "I guess that comes along with being an entertainer. It happens a lot. You just never know."

It’s these mood swings that find themselves all over the entirety of his upcoming sophomore album The Drama, set for release on Oct. 4.

"This whole record is about me breaking my own heart in the music industry," he says. "There is a song called 'Modern Heartbreak' on the new album that has a lot to do with the music industry and a lot of the not-so-nice people and fake promises. The whole album has a lot of that undertone."

The soulful singer with the ever-present strand of pearls also touches on those "not-so nice-people" on his new single "Hater." "'Hater' is about people talking behind your back and you finding out," he says of the cutting song he wrote alongside Tyler Mead. "Like the song says, 'It's alright if my name's on your lips because I’m smiling with my hand on my hips like I made it.' It's all going to be good."

Certainly, there is more than one side of Sutherland, a side that becomes that much more evident on his upcoming collaboration with pop queen Rachel Platten on "Rocket," which will also find a home on The Drama.

"It's really hard to find people like her in the music industry," says Sutherland, who also collaborated with global star Meghan Trainor on the fan-favorite single "Chicken Little" last year. "I fell in love with Rachel as soon as I met her. She's the best ever. I covered 'Fight Song' at a Mexican restaurant that I used to play at when I was a senior in high school!" He laughs. '"Rocket’ just came together in the span of a week."

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Another leading lady making her presence on Sutherland's upcoming album is "Melanie." "I don't know if anybody will ever find out who or what or how or when Melanie is," Sutherland says of track six on The Drama. "That's the sweet part of that song. I think it may be a big secret."

Granted, there’s a chance that this secret will be revealed on one of the nights of Sutherland’s upcoming 2025 tour, which will have him performing overseas before embarking on a much-anticipated North American tour.

"I want to bring back the feeling of a proper '70s and '80s rock show where they didn't have phones yet, and it was all about the energy radiating from the crowd to the artist or the band," Sutherland says. "That's missing a little bit now. The live shows that I've been to… it's closed off. It's cool to look down and look away and be silent and stuff. But I don't really connect with that. I connect with a larger-than-life eye contact. I want to give you the best night of your life."

He draws in a deep breath, then adds: "To be honest, I'll never need to take a drug if I can feel what it feels like to be on stage all the time."

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