Jason Mraz Kicks Off North American Leg of Tour with Christina Perri Tonight

Facebook.com/ChristinaPerriMusicJason Mraz kicked off his Tour Is a Four Letter Word trek back in June overseas, but he's finally bringing the fun to North America starting Thursday night in New Orleans.  As an added bonus, his buddy Christina Perri is along as his opening act.

Jason's tour comes in support of his latest album, Love Is a Four Letter Word, and he says it's a mixed blessing to have so many albums to pull material from when he's making up his tour set list.  "It is difficult," he tells ABC News Radio, "Especially because between every song, they're shouting requests, and I know I've only got two and a half hours to play music and I've got way too much music now for that."

However, Jason admits, "It's a luxurious problem to have and, hopefully, through the tour I'll be selecting songs that people are digging."

One song that fans are sure to hear is Jason's biggest hit, "I'm Yours."  But considering the number of times he's performed that song over the last few years, it must get a big boring for him to sing, night after night.  How does he keep it fresh? 

"Well, that's an easy one," Jason laughs, "Because the audience sings the heck out of [it] and so once you start, it takes off on its own.  I don't even have to do anything anymore.  I just participate in this giant, you know, celebration where people are connecting through rhythm and elation."

Overall, though, Jason says the non-stop grind of touring and playing the same songs over and over doesn't bother him, because his songs always lift his spirits.  "All my songs include some kind of message to bring you back to the light, so I get a little healing night after night," he explains.  "You know, I've started many a show not feeling great or in a sour mood and by the third song, I'm just back, and higher than ever."

Christina Perri joined the tour because she and Jason have the same manager and also because, last year, they got a chance to sing together at a concert, and they both knew it was something special.  "We had this magical moment," she tells ABC News Radio.  "I think everyone felt it.  The audience wasn't breathing.  We weren't breathing...It was like 'Whoa!'  And then when our same manager was sitting down booking his tour and booking my tour, it was kind of like a 'duh' moment."

Because Christina and Jason plan to perform together on stage during the tour, Christina says its "really feels like a joint thing," rather than her just being the opening act.  What also makes it more of a joint project, Christina says, is the fact that she and Jason share similar fan bases.

"I didn't realize how similar our fans are 'til it kinda started to all come together with the tour and everybody was so excited about it," she tells ABC News Radio.  "And I started to realize that it was a really good fit.  Which is nice 'cause you always have that worry as an opener like, 'Are people gonna enjoy this?'  But I really think there's gonna be a lot of people there that know my music and like my music.  So, I'm not as nervous as I think I would be on some other tour." 

Jason and Christina will be on the road together through October, and then Jason heads off to Europe.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio