While Adam Lambert took a brief break from singing in order to talk shop with other musicians on the Grammy red carpet, his American Idol cohorts Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta performed some of their singles for AOL Sessions. Catch Kris singing “Live Like We’re Dying” after the jump.
“Live Like We’re Dying” is really growing on us, and we’re not alone: the song is slowly but surely climbing the charts, and now sits at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. And we’re just glad the gravel-voiced Allison, who came in fourth place, hasn’t vanished into Idol obscurity.
The two singers will reunite on-stage this Friday with Lambert (who recently tweeted about his own upcoming AOL Sessions) in Ryan Seacrest’s Ryan, Rock My Town concert at the Highline Ballroom in NYC. For now, watch Kris and Allison perform a few other tracks from their debut albums over at AOL Sessions.
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Grab your chance to meet American Idol Kris Allen who will in Kuala Lumpur today.
He has been dubbed the “most successful underdog” in American Idol history. In the beginning, no one remembered who Kris Allen was – he just managed nine seconds of screen time during the audition stage while his opponent, Adam Lambert, dominated the screen. And yet, he won.
And now, he’s right here in Malaysia!
The soft spoken, guitar-playing Arkansas sweetie is in Kuala Lumpur for one day to meet fans, sign autographs and sing in a showcase at the Gardens Ballroom, The Gardens Hotel, today.
Since his mind-blowing win on Idol, Allen’s been on his toes – he’s been on tour with the rest of the American Idol crew (the top 12), he’s had countless TV appearances on American talk shows like The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Late show With David Letterman, Access Hollywood, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live With Regis And Kelly and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and he’s recently released his debut album, Kris Allen.
How’s he been coping?
“It’s been crazy. My life has changed completely. I live in a different place now … my wife and I just moved into a place in LA and I’m never at home.
“I get to come to the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia … it’s really been crazy and exciting at the same time,” said Allen in a telephone interview with The Star last Friday.
It certainly has been a whirlwind for Allen. After winning the Idol title last May, he embarked on the Idol tour with his fellow Idol mates (the top 12) and then started work on his self-titled debut album.
“I feel like I should be catching my breath, but sometimes my mind doesn’t allow me to do that,” he said.
Despite the hectic pace, Allen is happy in the direction his career is going.
“I feel pretty good about how everything is happening, you know. I have a lot of creative freedom and that’s great. I’m not saying that I haven’t had help from anyone because I have had a lot of help from a lot of people. I am new to the industry and so, I do need a lot of help,” shared Allen.
Allen’s first single, Live Like We’re Dying (produced by The Script’s Andrew Frampton, Steve Kipner, Danny O’Donoghue and Mark Sheehan) is a catchy track about making the best of the time we have.
The single, Allen explained in an earlier interview, is an indication of the kind of songs he loves to do.
Allen explains: “This first single is a really good introduction to what the rest of the album is going to sound like. It’s raw and has an organic feel. Sometimes we forget that we have one life. This is it. At times, we forget about the nicer things that make life worth living – like relationships or nature. It’s a great message.”
Breaking away from tradition, Allen’s Idol “coronation song”, No Boundaries (written by Idol judge Kara DioGuardi), is not included on his major-label debut. However, a newly recorded version of Kanye West’s Heartless, which he covered on Idol, is included as a bonus track.
Allen has writing credits on nine of the 12 tracks on the album, including one solo credit for Red Guitar, a song that he wrote prior to participating in American Idol.
In an interview with popeater.com Allen shared: “I bought a red guitar for my wife for her birthday and she never played it (laughs), so we ended up sticking it on the wall in our house – it was a horrible guitar, just like a US$50 guitar but it was a good house decoration.
“And one day, I picked it up and tuned it and started playing it, and this song just became kind of a metaphor for how I feel about my wife. It was nice to get that one on the album because it was something from before the Idol stuff and I feel like it’s an amazing song. It shows who I am as a songwriter and as a musician.”
The album, Kris Allen, sold over 80,000 copies in its first week, entering the Billboard 200 at No.11. It has sold around 245,000 copies to date.
On writing his own music, Allen says: “It feels really good. When I tried out for American Idol, my goal was not to win. It was to go out and hopefully do well enough that I could have the opportunity for a music career.”
While there are a slew of artistes he would love to collaborate with, Allen singles out British singer Adele as a top choice, should he be given one.
“It would be fun to write with Adele, actually. She seems like a fun girl to write with. I’m still new in the music business – it was funny, they would be like: ‘You’re going to write and produce with this guy’, and I’d be like, ‘OK!’ I didn’t know who it was, so I would look them up on Wikipedia.
“When I went to work with Mike Elizondo, I had no idea who he was. I went on the Internet and it was like Dr Dre, Eminem, Switchfoot, Maroon 5, Fiona Apple and a bunch of people (associated with him), and I was like, ‘What’s he doing with me?’
“I ended up going to his house many, many times and working on a lot of songs with him,” he told popeater.com.
Allen is also aware that he is still “in competition” with his Idol compatriot Adam Lambert with albums that came up almost back-to-back. However, it’s not something that he is worried about.
“I’m just really happy for Adam and I know he’s happy for me, too. Even on Idol it was never really a competition between the both of us. We were just doing our own thing, you know,” said Allen.
For his Malaysian fans, Allen is looking forward to putting on a great show they’ll remember for a long while.
“In a showcase, it’s really quite hard to show people what a concert of mine will be like, but it will be fun. I’m going to have a little fun and put on a great show.
“I have a great band backing me up and it’s going to be a good show. My fans will have fun,” said the extremely polite Allen.
Meet Kris Allen at the Centre Court (ground floor), Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur, at 6pm today.
Source: star-ecentral.com
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Kris Allen and his band wrapped up their second concert in the Philippines a few hours ago. The band performed at the McKinley Hill Concert Grounds in Manilla.
Manila setlist: (same songs as Cebu but he tweaked the order) 1. Heartless / Gangsta’s Paradise; 2. Can’t Stay Away; 3. Written All Over My Face; 4. Before We Come Undone; 5. The Truth; 6. Man in the Mirror; 7. Is It Over; 8. Red Guitar; 9. Falling Slowly / With or Without You; 10. Alright With Me; 11. Live Like We’re Dying; encore 12. ANS; 13. Come Together
After the jump, check out videos from today’s performances: Plus Kris eats Balut! Some awesome HD Videos HERE. More high-quality vids HERE.
Kris eats Balut (duck fetus!)
Heartless/Gangsta’s Paradise
Kris Allen in Manila – Heartless from melvel on Vimeo.
Can’t Stay Away
Kris Allen in Manila – Can’t Stay Away from melvel on Vimeo.
Written All Over My Face
Kris Allen in Manila – Written All Over My Face from melvel on Vimeo.
Before We Come Undone
Kris Allen in Manila – Before We Come Undone from melvel on Vimeo.
The Truth
Kris Allen in Manila – The Truth from melvel on Vimeo.
Man in the Mirror
Kris Allen in Manila- Man in the Mirror from melvel on Vimeo.
Is It Over
Kris Allen in Manila – Is It Over from melvel on Vimeo.
Red Guitar
Kris Allen in Manila – Red Guitar from melvel on Vimeo.
Falling Slowly/With Or Without You
Kris Allen in Manila – Falling Slowly/With Or Without You from melvel on Vimeo.
Alright With Me (Part 1)
Kris Allen in Manila – Alright With Me from melvel on Vimeo.
Live Like We’re Dying
Ain’t No Sunshine
Come Together
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Kris Allen just wrapped up the first of two concerts he has scheduled in the Philippines. The concert, which took place in Cebu also featured Boyce Avenue and Jabbawockeez. Tomorrow, Kris is headed back to Manila to perform at McKinley Hill Concert Grounds.
Here’s the setlist, put together from various tweets:
1. Heartless, 2. Can’t Stay Away, 3. Before We Come Undone, 4. The Truth, 5. Man in the Mirror, 6. Written All Over My Face, 7. Red Guitar, 8. Is It Over, 9. Falling Slowly, 10. Alright With Me, 11. Live Like We’re Dying, ENCORE: 12. Ain’t No Sunshine, 13. Come Together
Now time for some videos:
001. Heartless
002. Man In The Mirror
003. Falling Slowly
004. Come Together
005. Before We Come Undone
006. Live Like We’re Dying
007. Partial Alright With Me (Kris Invites the Audience on stage!)
008. The Truth
009. News Report
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