Tyler Hilton
Photo: Getty Images

Tyler Hilton loves being on the road, and for the last several months, the traveling troubadour has barely left it, taking part in no less than three separate treks, including his current gig opening for Hilary Duff on her Still Most Wanted Tour.

It's certainly a step up for the 21-year-old singer/songwriter, who is used to playing for much smaller, more intimate crowds.

"I've never done a tour like this before," Hilton said recently. "My friend [Butch Walker] who's opening for Avril Lavigne said it's so crazy doing arena tours, because it almost feels like you're in a rock and roll prison — you're surrounded by concrete hallways all day long. It's true!"

Hilton was in the midst of his first headlining tour when he was tapped to open Duff's summer excursion, and he says he's had to adjust to playing for a different audience than he's accustomed to.

"It's a very young crowd that doesn't seem to have crushes on boys yet, so it's not like you can rely on, say, raw sexual energy," the singer laughed. "It's more like, 'Hey, let's have a lot of fun!' but it's cool. That's what changing up your show is all about. It keeps it fresh and challenging."

To mix things up even more, the singer and his band recently booked an impromptu gig at a club in Columbus, Ohio, that held only 100 people. "We just book these small things and play for hours and hours," he said.

Once the Duff tour wraps on September 3, the singer-turned-actor plans to head back to North Carolina to start a new season of the WB teen drama "One Tree Hill," where he has a recurring role playing cocky musician Chris Keller. "They've been great because if I don't have a tour booked, they'll let me come back and do new episodes," Hilton said.

Soon, the singer will head back into the recording studio to lay down tracks for the follow-up to his 2004 major-label debut, The Tracks of Tyler Hilton, but he says he still has no idea what kind of sound it will take. "It could be an acoustic folk album, or it could be a full-blown rock album. All I know is that it's been keeping me creatively satisfied," he said.

Hilton said he's been able to write some new songs on the road, although the pace of this particular tour has made the process more difficult. One new track he hopes to see on the new LP is "Just a Girl," an ode to a lifelong love who leaves for Nashville to pursue her dreams of becoming a country singer. "The song is just about knowing someone as a kid and telling her that she'll never be anything to me but that girl that I knew."

Another track, "Your Company," is a thank-you note to his fans. "I wrote it for them, saying I don't know why you come out every night to see me. There's a million different places you could be and a million singer/songwriters to see, but for some reason you think I'm special enough to pay the money. It's beyond me, but I'm way appreciative of it," he said.

Hilton's star seems likely to remain on the rise, as he preps for the release of his first feature film role as a young Elvis Presley in the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk The Line," out November 20 (see "Tyler Hilton Took Elvis Role So He Wouldn't Be Jealous").

"It's really hard to see myself as Elvis, because he's someone I admire so much. But it was novel for me to see myself in a movie playing him, with girls swooning around me — I had the hair, the entourage, it was so cool," he said. "It was like wearing one of the greatest Halloween costumes ever."

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Tyler Hilton (file)
Photo: Peter Kramer/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES — Tyler Hilton has some big shoes to fill — and they're blue and covered in suede.

The singer/songwriter, who has a recurring role on the WB's teen drama "One Tree Hill" as cocky musician Chris Keller, will be starring as a young Elvis Presley in the upcoming Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line." "I didn't even know I was going in to audition for it, so it blindsided me a bit," Hilton recalled recently. "They just wanted to audition musicians for the movie and I went in and played a Johnny Cash song. Then they said, 'Do you know any Elvis songs?' which I did because he's one of my favorite musicians from when I was a kid."

So the 21-year-old singer-turned-actor busted out a couple of Presley's tunes and landed a callback for the coveted role of the music legend. "Afterwards, the casting lady said, 'You know, I think we'll have you come back and read some of Elvis' lines,' " Hilton said. "I was like, 'Elvis's lines? That's crazy! I don't know if I can do Elvis. I'm not an Elvis impersonator.' "

Hilton dabbled a bit with acting in high school until he made the choice to focus on his music. Taking the plunge back into acting was not something the singer had anticipated. "I was really nervous about it," Hilton said, admitting he nearly walked away from the role. "But the more I thought about it, I'm such a big Elvis fan, and I would have been bummed if anyone else got this part. I would've been so jealous. So I was happy to take it and I had a good time, too."

The biopic, directed by James Mangold, tracks the early years of country music icon Johnny Cash and his steady climb to fame, with Joaquin Phoenix playing the Man in Black. "It was very easy for me to just be quiet and observe [Joaquin] and just follow him around and be like, 'What's he doing?' " Hilton said. "I kind of got an idea to know what it's like to be a professional, so that was really nice to be around."

Hilton remains modest about his attempt at capturing Presley's larger-than-life persona. "I don't think I ever would have done a good enough job where I would have watched the movie and been like, 'Yes, that is Elvis,' " the singer admitted. "But I do watch it and I'm like, 'That was a noble attempt, young warrior. That was a noble attempt.' "

Reese Witherspoon, who ditched her famous blond locks for her role, will play Cash's longtime love, June Carter. Robert Patrick, Ginnifer Goodwin and singer Shelby Lynne are also featured in the film, set for a November 18 release.

Hilton, who signed a deal with Maverick Records at age 18, released his major-label debut, The Tracks of Tyler Hilton, in November. The first single, "When It Comes," is still gaining momentum at radio, and has consequently delayed the release of the album's second single.

"We've speculated on when it might come out but I think it all depends on how [the single that's out now] is doing and how touring's going," he said. Hilton will perform on the "One Tree Hill" Concert Tour throughout March (see "Gavin DeGraw, Michelle Branch Play For 'Hill' Fans in L.A."), but don't look for him to decide which one of his tracks he'll release next. "It's tough for me to choose because I like all my songs. That's why I wrote them. It's tough for me to say one's so much better than the other ones."

The singer, who will remain on the road for the rest of the year, said he will largely rely on the crowds' reactions and some online polls to help him determine the next single. "I think we've narrowed it down to a few to see which one it might be, but I'm as excited to find out as anybody else."

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Tyler Hilton in San Francisco on the "One Tree Hill" Concert Tour
Photo: Getty Images

LOS ANGELES — Forget about "As seen on TV." Wednesday night the folks behind the WB's "One Tree Hill" showed there's plenty of demand for "As heard on TV."

At the Wiltern LG stop of the "One Tree Hill" Concert Tour, fans of the show (and, assumedly, nonfans as well) turned out to hear Gavin DeGraw, Michelle Branch and others whose music has been featured on the teen drama.

(Click to see photos of the concert at the tour's stop in San Francisco.)

Actress-turned-musician Bethany Joy Lenz, who plays Haley James Scott on the show, kicked things off with the upbeat song "Crazy Girls." Wearing a multicolored pastel dress and a guitar, the actress easily jammed onstage with her fluid folk-rock tunes. Later slipping behind a piano, Lenz delivered her ballad "John and Junior" as well as some advice.

"So often we think we know what we want, but if you wait, really there's something so much better," she told the crowd. "It's inspiring. Just wait. Wait to be the best."

She brought out co-star Tyler Hilton for their duet, "When the Stars Go Blue," a song originally recorded by Ryan Adams. The two recorded a cover specifically for the "One Tree Hill" soundtrack.

"Bethany and I started talking about doing a rock and roll version of it, and bringing in some of our influences," Hilton said recently. "We just went in the studio and had a great time with it."

Hilton later teamed up with co-star Brian Greenberg for a cover of Oasis' "Wonderwall," which garnered a rousing response from the crowd. Before heading out for the night, Hilton closed his set with "When It Comes," the current single off The Tracks of Tyler Hilton.

One non-musical highlight of the evening involved emcee Sophia Bush, a "Hill" alum who's engaged to the show's Chad Michael Murray. "Would you guys be cool with it if we called and left him a message?" Bush asked the eager crowd as she dialed up her honey on a cell phone. "Hi, honey, some people want to say hi to you!" As the actress gave the signal, the Wiltern LG was filled with deafening screams.

"He's going to go crazy when he hears that," Norris laughed. "He really wanted to be here tonight."

Later, the night's other emcee, actor Lee Norris (better known to "Hill" fans as Mouth), recalled his experience meeting the concert's next act. "These young women coming out are beautiful and talented," he said. "They stopped by 'Tree Hill' and they sang for us and they blew everybody away."

"Everybody that wasn't supposed to be working that day came into work just to see them," agreed Bush.

The Wreckers — Michelle Branch and partner Jessica Harp — came out and switched up the momentum by using banjos, mandolins and fiddles. Branch, in a white fitted tee, showed off her five-month-pregnant belly. Harp, meanwhile, preferred to make her way to the front of the stage, nearly mixing in with the crowd, as the two debuted songs off their upcoming album, due in June.

Branch also performed some of her own songs, like "Are You Happy Now?" and "All You Wanted," and teamed up with Harp for a new version of her Grammy-winning "The Game of Love," originally featuring Santana. It was easily a crowd favorite.

"I'm feeling very nostalgic this evening," Branch revealed halfway through their set. "The last time I was performing here at the Wiltern was the night that I got my record deal."

As the evening wound down, Bush and Norris invited some fellow cast members back to the stage as well as "One Tree Hill" creator Mark Schwahn. "I want to thank my partner, executive producer Joe Davola, who came into my office two years ago and said, 'There's this guy named Gavin DeGraw and you gotta hear him,' " recalled Schwan, introducing the evening's headliner.

Finally, DeGraw came out, opening with "Just Friends" and ending the night with his hit "I Don't Want to Be," the show's theme song.

The "One Tree Hill" Concert Tour will wind its way through North America through the end of March before ending March 31 in Minneapolis.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

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Photo: MTV News

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