From gymnastics to jam sessions, Jordan Fisher aims high

Jordan Fisher and fans at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York. [Photo from Splash News]

Actor-singer Jordan Fisher remembers the days he spent training as a gymnast, hoping to one day reach the Olympics. Those days are over, but as the 22-year-old watches the 2016 Summer Olympics, it motivates him to continue tackling another life goal: releasing his first album.

"It's absolutely inspiring because I understand the amount of work and hours that goes into that moment," Fisher says of the gymnasts competing at the Olympics. "It really makes me miss the sport. It makes me miss having chalk on my hands."

Fisher gets one step closer to his latest dream last Friday when he releases his self-titled EP. He says the gymnastic and entertainment industries are similar.

"No one really sees the hours of work you put into that moment that finally happens on television or in the theater, they just kind of see the result," he says.

Fisher is best known for his acting roles. He appeared, and sang, in the Fox special Grease: Live and starred in the Disney Channel movie franchise Teen Beach. He's also had recurring roles in the TV series The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Liv and Maddie.

He fell in love with the arts at age 10 by luck.

"There was a girl in the fifth grade that I had a crush on ... (and) my only way to spend time with this girl ... was to join the drama club," he says, laughing. "Thank god that happened because I had no clue I could sing, I had no clue I could act, I had no clue I could dance."

Fisher plays piano, guitar, harmonica, French horn and drums. He says creating his four-song EP, which is mix of pop and R & B sounds, was like blind dating.

"You're in a chronic state of introduction with these (producers), constantly meeting brand-new people that have never worked with you before," says Fisher, who worked with hit makers like Oak Felder (Nicki Minaj, Miguel) and Jarrad Rogers (Charli XCX).

"You know, there were some sessions that were a little harder than others," he says. "But I definitely had way more fun, exciting, seamless sessions."

A full-length album is expected early next year, and Fisher says music is his sole focus at the moment. He says he wants to "tour and see the world and play music for a living."

Fisher has been influenced by a range of artists, from Justin Timberlake and Usher to Frank Sinatra to My Chemical Romance. His first single, All About Us, is a thumping pop tune that highlights his soulful falsetto. Other songs on his new project showcase different genres and styles.

Though he remembers going to Los Angeles at 12, meeting agents, recording in studios and going on auditions, Fisher says he's happy to be finally releasing music at 22.

"The more no's I got in my life and career only furthered that necessity for me," he says. "I was like, 'Well, no just means not right now.'"