On Monday, September 1st, 2025, WUSC.FM had the pleasure of interviewing McClendon ahead of his first ever headline tour.
Freddie McClendon is a Nashville based singer and songwriter originally from Greenwood, South Carolina. His rise in recognition began after his American Idol audition aired in March 2025. McClendon’s audition touched the hearts of viewers across the world as he performed an original song dedicated to his father, who passed away in May 2023.
Since his impactful performance on national television, McClendon has signed with an independent record label, and has released one album, an EP, and five singles, the two most recent of which have become his most popular songs with over 382 thousand streams on Spotify.
What sets Freddie apart from other up-and-coming Nashville artists, however, is his willingness to create an open discussion about topics that may be considered taboo. A large driving force behind a lot of Freddie’s music has been the narrative around his father’s tragic passing.
“When my dad passed away, the narrative around him kind of swayed in a direction that I didn't like, and and when I got to see other people kind of tell his story in a way that I didn't appreciate, I really wanted to kind of reclaim the narrative for him and reclaim the narrative around his death. So I think that was kind of a big part that got me into taking music more seriously,” Freddie said.
His recent song, “King Henry,” released in June 2025, further criticizes the narrative around his father’s death, but Freddie explains that it was an integral part of expressing himself.
“With King Henry, it really felt like something, at the time, that I needed to get off my chest, you know? And I think it made a lot of people think I was this angry person that hated Columbia, that hated the government, and that wasn't necessarily true… At the time, I had this extreme anger towards the system, and at the system in South Carolina and, I wrote this song about it, and it was a really special song to me… It was one of those things where I just had a really hard go, and I needed to write something that kind of expressed my anger at this system that I felt like, in a lot of ways, was failing a lot of people,” he said.
Freddie has become a viral sensation on Instagram and TikTok after posting acoustic versions of unreleased songs that have similar themes to those in “King Henry” where he tells, as he calls them, “completely fake stories…for legal purposes.” These unreleased verses range in topics from people in his hometown, to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, and much more.
Freddie explains that the stories he tells, though unconfirmed to be true or not, is his attempt to push discussions that have often been looked down upon.
“In the south, and specifically in South Carolina, there’s a lot of things you’re not allowed to talk about. And I think, [saying], ‘completely fake stories for legal purposes’ are poking fun at that and saying… I feel like there's, there's more stuff we should be able to talk about, and… more stuff we should be able to discuss,” Freddie said.
McClendon is kicking off his first headlining tour on September 4, where he will perform five shows across Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
“I'm really excited to take these stories on the road, and I love being in front of an audience and getting to tell stories, so I'm really, really, really excited about that. Things will be fun,” he said.
WUSC.FM will be at Freddie’s show on September 13th in Easley, S.C. and will continue following the up-and-coming artist’s journey.
More information on Freddie Mclendon and his tour can be found on his Instagram.
Hi there! I'm Amelia, and I am a broadcast journalism major with minors in music industry studies and hospitality/tourism. I'm originally from Denver, Colorado, so I bring a granola and country western vibe to my show, The DJenerates. I love interviewing new and up-and-coming artists and am constantly searching for new sounds. You can listen to me and my cohosts on Fridays at 2pm! See you around :)