Touring on separate jaunts with O.A.R. and G. Love & Special Sauce couldn't be any more perfect for singer/songwriter Eric Hutchinson [ tickets ].

"I think they're the kind of bands, in some ways, I'm trying to mold myself after, on a business side," Hutchinson said during an interview with LiveDaily from an O.A.R. tour stop in Eugene, OR. "They're bands that just toured and toured and made fans the real way. They haven't necessarily relied on a radio hit. I feel like those are the fans that continue to support you over the years."

If relentless touring is the way to go, the Washington, DC-born Hutchinson has it down pat. Hutchinson, who dubs his music "acoustic soul," began working full time as a musician six years ago--probably five years longer than the average music fan believes.

"I'm no overnight sensation," he said with a laugh. "It's been a long road. It's been getting really exciting lately."

Hutchinson originally recorded and released his 2007 album, his third collection, "Sounds Like This," independently. But thanks to gossip maven Perez Hilton's blog entries about the effort, Hutchinson landed a deal with Warner Bros., which re-released "Sounds Like This" in May 2008. That album spawned the catchy hit "Rock & Roll," which made an appearance on VH1's Top 20 Countdown.

"I'm definitely grateful to Perez," Hutchinson said. "We've become friends through that. It gave me a bump when I really needed it. My album was made independently and right after it came out he put it on his blog, so he had all these labels calling and it went up the iTunes charts. It was exciting. He really changed things.

"I spent so much time and energy making the album I didn't really have a plan after that. [Perez's blog postings about the album] just really kick-started everything. It got people excited about the music."

Because "Sounds Like" was originally released about two years ago, Hutchinson said he has begun to write new material.

"I feel like I want to go in and record when I feel like the album is already written," he said. "I don't want to be in the studio trying to come up with stuff at the last minute to fill up an album.

"I've written probably 60 songs since I made 'Sounds Like This.' I'm very picky in particular about what I want to release."

Not only is he picky, but he realizes that music listeners are fickle as well. He understands that not everybody is going to like his music.

"I try to be thankful about what's going on and stay excited about it," said Hutchinson, who has been known to pull Justin Timberlake covers during his shows. "I think it is also kind of keeps me grounded. There's plenty of people who hate me and don't like the music or whatever. Tina Fey made a joke about it at the Golden Globes and it's so true: Any time you feel too good about yourself go ahead and look at the Internet. Whenever I'm feeling too good that's the place that'll bring me back down to earth. It's such a huge country and world, I feel there's always new people to convert to fans."