A lot of people have called Josh Gracin crazy. Crazy for starting a family at a very young age. Crazy for joining the Marines. Crazy for thinking a country singer had a shot at making the finals on 'American Idol.' And, most recently, crazy for waiting four years in between albums. But Gracin is out to do what he's always done -- prove those people wrong.

'We Weren't Crazy' is the fitting title of the 'Idol' alum's much-anticipated sophomore album. It was supposed to be released under a different name in 2006, but Gracin halted production to make some big changes.

"I wasn't 100 percent comfortable with it," he tells The Boot. "So I switched producers. Brett James took on the project, and he helped me put some great new music on there. And I was able to write some stuff of my own. So the title explains everything. There have been several trying times throughout my life and changing times -- moments that changed my life, where people told me I couldn't do something. They called me 'crazy,' and I proved them wrong."

But the proof that Gracin needs is whether the fans have stuck by him through his hiatus from the album charts. He was well aware of the risks in waiting so long to give them new music.

"They grow older, their tastes change; they're in between jobs ... You never know what's going on," Gracin says of his fans. "But we definitely got some good indication from iTunes and the Internet, and things are looking good! So, from this point on, I've gotta have confidence in the music and confidence in the album -- that people who initially went out and bought it, they're gonna spread it to their friends and families. Now, the music has to stand for itself."

Much of that music was written or co-written by Gracin, including the title track. And even the songs penned by others help shape this album into an effort he says is "much more me" than his first CD.

"Each song ties into me somehow personally, whether I've gone through it, or helped somebody go through it or watch it happen around me," he says. "I wanted that, because I really wanted everybody to see why I sing the kind of music I sing, why I choose the kind of songs that I do and what's been going on with me on a personal level."

The most personal song on the album, Gracin says, is the last track, 'Unbelievable (Ann Marie).' It's a song he wrote for his wife just two months ago. He added it to the album at the very last minute, and his record label is already looking to make it the second single, following the title track.

So what's next for Gracin? He says he's excited to get back out and greet those fans who've stuck by him, shaking every hand and signing every autograph.

"It's when they don't come up to you, that's when you start worrying," he says.

But it doesn't look like Gracin has much worrying to do.

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