Kelly Hansen, lead vocalist for the rock band Foreigner, is ready to put away the microphone – only after the band’s farewell tour.
Hansen, who has been the lead singer of Foreigner since 2005, opened up to Fox News Digital about “wild” fan interactions, “very dangerous” concert trends, and becoming part of the band after Lou Gramm’s exit all those years ago.
“With the internet, there’s a lot of wackos and crazies out there,” Hansen explained. “And I’ve kind of backed off my social media because it was causing me so much stress. Because I had a lot of people who… were saying that, you know, I was their husband or that they were traveling to the United States because the imposter who said it was me told them to fly to L.A. to meet with me. And I just got so stressed out about that kind of stuff, it kind of freaked me out.”
Kelly Hansen and the rock band Foreigner are touring for the final time. (Getty Images)
“The really wild stuff is like weird fan stuff sometimes,” he added, before clarifying that he’s also had some “really, really great” interactions with fans.
“I’m 62 and these [songs] are in the high tenor range and every year gets a little bit harder, a little bit harder, and I have to give up a little bit more of something to kind of maintain my status quo,” Hansen told Fox News Digital.
“I don’t want to be one of those bands that goes out there and does the songs less than they should be,” he added. “It’s very important to me. I don’t want to go out there with tapes in the background or all kinds of, you know, fake stuff.”
The members of Foreigner, Thom Gimbel, Paul Mirkovich, Kelly Hansen, Jeff Pilson, Mick Jones and Jason Bonham. (Getty Images)
Throughout the years, Foreigner has released nine studio albums and sold over more than 50 million records worldwide, according to Billboard. However, Hansen’s key to success is knowing your limits.
Kelly Hansen spoke to Fox News Digital about Foreigner’s final tour, which kicked off July 6. (Getty Images)
Foreigner’s final tour is accompanied by a collector’s album, “FAREWELL – The Very Best Of Foreigner.” The album features songs produced by Mick Jones with Jeff Pilson and only 5,000 albums were made.
For Hansen, he’s going to miss the audiences but also the “camaraderie” he built with his fellow Foreigner musicians. He is joined by Jones, Pilson, Michael Bluestein, Bruce Watson, Chris Frazier and Luis Maldonado. Jones is the only original member of the band.
Foreigner performs on the “Fox & Friends” Summer Concert Series at FOX Studios on July 22, 2022. (Getty Images)
“We enjoy each other’s company,” Hansen said. “We’ve we’ve all been around the block a few times. We all understand how amazing an opportunity this is, and we’re all very, very grateful for that. So that’s not lost on us.”
Hansen, who has been a part of the music industry for nearly 50 years, had been an established musician when he took the leap of faith and joined the band.
“Coming in… it was not lost on me that I had to have a discussion with myself, basically, I said, ‘You know, some people aren’t going to dig you, and you have to be prepared. Are you prepared for that?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I am,’” Hansen recalled.
“And I said to myself, ‘You know, you haven’t been on the road in almost 15 years. Are you prepared to go on the road and do that?’ And I said, ‘Yes’. And I knew with my experience I’d know how to take care of myself and do that. So, I kind of had to have that conversation with myself about your whole world is going to change.”
Hansen admitted it took “many months” for him to feel like he fit into the songs musically despite getting “really great feedback” as the vocalist for Foreigner almost right away. “It takes a while to really get yourself inside the skin of the songs and to where you feel like you really understand them.”
WATCH: FOREIGNER’S FRONTMAN EXPLAINS WHY NEW CONCERT TREND IS ‘VERY DANGEROUS’
Throughout his years on the road, Hansen has dealt with the increasingly popular concert trend of throwing items at performers. The singer explained to Fox News Digital why it’s “very dangerous.”