‘American Idol’ Winner Chayce Beckham on Luke Bryan Presenting Him ’23’ Gold Record on Live TV: ‘That Caught Me so off Guard’ (Exclusive)

American Idol Season 19 winner Chayce Beckham got a big surprise on a recent episode of American Idol. After performing his new single, “Till The Day I Die,” judge Luke Bryan and host Ryan Seacrest surprised Beckham with a gold record for his hit song “23.” PopCulture.com had an opportunity to speak with Beckham about the exciting moment, and he revealed to us that it genuinely caught him “so off guard.”

“I thought they were going to bring me out the American Idol trophy that they never gave me,” he quipped, reflecting on the big honor. “I’m like, ‘Sweet, I’m finally getting it!” He then added, “No, I give them a hard time all the time. I’m like, ‘You guys used to give out a trophy, you guys should bring that back where you give the little gold microphone, you get something to take home, show the kids…’ put it on the mantle. They didn’t have that. It was a gold record.”

Beckham continued, “It wasn’t what I expected at all, but the gold record, it’s honestly such a great accomplishment and for the show to incorporate that into my performance. They’ve just done such an awesome job of rallying behind me. Even though I’ve been off the show for two years, the support that they continue to show for me and just to keep me even where I can come back and perform my new songs and then to let me have a big moment like that on live TV, man, it’s just so awesome.”

The singer added, “I’m super grateful for everybody over there and just for that whole process. Ryan and Luke and Katy [Perry] and Lionel [Richie] have been huge parts of everything that I’ve done, and I feel they’ve been there for all those big moments. It’s cool to get another one in the books there on the Idol stage.”

While he didn’t have too much time to spend imparting Idol to the current contestants, Beckham explained, “The best advice I can give anybody on that show or just doing music, in general, is just go. As soon as you get off the show, it’s foot down on the gas pedal looking for opportunities, taking every one of them, and there’s no time to slow down. Now is the time to just really give it all or nothing. You find out pretty quickly whether or not if this is really what you want to do once you really do the nitty-gritty stuff… you’ll be like, ‘Oh, this isn’t for me’ or ‘This is awesome.’”

He went on to say, “Then on top of that, you get to start touring. You got to pay your band, you got to hire a tour manager. I mean, there’s so much stuff that goes into it. I’m like, now’s the time. You don’t get to go home and just hang out with Mom and Dad for three weeks and then be like, ‘I think I’m going to move to L.A. or I’m going to move to Nashville. It’s like, ‘No, you got to go pack your s— and go.”

Beckham is aware that “it sounds like pretty hard advice” but he maintains that “it’s true” nonetheless. “Since I’ve been off the show, we’re coming up on the second winter now since I’ve been off,” he noted. “There’s two more people who are coming to chomp up the ladder and take your spot if you don’t want it. You know what I mean? That’s what I try to tell them, as soon as you pull your foot off the gas, you got 50 other artists right behind you who want your spot just as bad… chomp, chomp, chomp…”

Elaborating on his “hit the ground running” philosophy, Beckham offered, “It’s one of those things where it’s like, you get off the show and it’s just like, ‘Okay, back to reality and now let’s figure out how to turn this thing into a business and make some money and make a career out of it.’ Because it’s all fun in games until you’re out in the middle of it and you’re running and doing shows and you’re up for two days straight and you’re like, ‘Oh.’”

Beckham also compared what it’s been like to work as a full-time country musician after working “blue collar” jobs for his “whole life.” He explained, “It takes so much of your energy and so much of your time. But when you love something and you get the chance to do that for a career, I think the people who really love it, they take that and run with it. I think that’s the only option.” Finally, Beckham offered, “That’s my advice to them and I tell everybody that it’s pretty straightforward. Just foot down, go. Run as fast as you can and don’t stop.”