Kiwi popstar Stan Walker is taking a break from acting to get back to his first love - singing.
He's hitting the road in New Zealand later this year, starting in Invercargill November 3 and finishing in Auckland a few weeks later, with various stops in between.
"I want to get back to the fans. I know that's a clichéd thing for an artist to say, but I genuinely want to get back to the fans," he told Paul Henry on Thursday.
"I haven't toured here in so long and I feel like now's the time… My fans get hungry. I've got to feed them!"
Accompanying Walker on his New Takeover Tour will be Australian singer Fatai and his mother, April. She's not his manager - they butt heads too much for that - but he likes having her around.
"Sometimes I just put myself in there, you know? Make sure everything's running smoothly," says April.
Since finding fame on Australian Idol in 2009, Walker has rarely been out of the charts across the ditch and at home. He's picked up numerous New Zealand Music Awards, including highest-selling New Zealand single in 2010 for 'Black Box' and airplay record of the year in 2011 for 'Choose You'. He's had five albums hit the top 20, most recently with last year's Truth & Soul.
But success hasn't gone to his head.
"No, he's just Stan. Especially at home," says mum April. "If he did step out of line, he'd get a clip across the ears."
Stan Walker (Getty)
The New Takeover Tour stops in his hometown of Mt Maunganui on November 16. Walker says he's looking forward to seeing his whanau in the audience, but can't afford to give away "50,000" tickets.
"I'm pretty blessed to have the family that I do, because not many people get those kinds of families."
Stan Walker's New Takeover Tour
Newshub.