Idol Bits and Pieces: Kris Allen Visits the Kids, Anoop Desai Gets Ready For First Night, Carrie Underwood On the Peoples Choice, and More…

By On 12/29/2009 · 18 Comments · In American Idol, Anoop Desai, Blake Lewis, Carrie Underwood, Kris Allen, Matt Giraud

Kris Allen is back home in Arkansas for the holidays, and today he visited the Arkansas Children’s Hospital to celebrate a $10,000 donation from KYE-YAC International, a non-profit organization in Hot Springs aimed at involving youth in philanthropy. Prior to the check presentation, Kris visited patients in the hospital’s main playroom, Camp Wannaplay. For more info and a photo of the presentation, Check this out.   Watch a short news clip HERE.

Anoop Desai and WRAL.com’s Entertainment Editor, Kathy Hanrahan discuss the year in Entertainment in a 2-part video series. Part 1 covers celebrities we lost this year, including Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Patrick Swayze and Brittany Murphy. Check it out HERE. Part 2 will be posted tomorrow. Also, Anoop will be part of WRAL’s coverage of First Night, Raleigh’s New Year’s Eve celebration, complete with an “Acorn Drop”–whatever that is! per Kathy Hanrahan’s twitter.

Carrie Underwood is set to appear on the People’s Choice Awards, airing on CBS January 6. Carrie is up for Favorite Female Artist. If she’s appearing, there’s a good chance she won in her category. Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Daughtry, Susan Boyle and American Idol are also up for awards. AINOW.org is reporting that Kris won’t be attending the ceremony.   No word yet on any of the others.

Matt Giraud is stoked! Last night he tweeted “Just got done with the first rehearsal with my NEW BAND!! Wow. These guys are incredible. Finally hearing how my songs sound with a band!” Matt is getting ready to fly out early tomorrow morning to Oklahoma, where he’ll be singing the National Anthem before the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball game on New Years Eve.

Blake Lewis is working on some new music.   He tweeted today, “Just finished writing a song with my friends @samshrieve and Rachel Taylor of He Is We. Great song, now its time…”

Tagged with: • • • • • • •
 
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Reddit Facebook Twitter Delicious Mixx StumbleUpon Digg
  • http://twitter.com/dianeramos4real Diane

    There’s a short video here of Kris at the presentation:

    http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=96744&catid=2

    Can’t decide if I like the beard or not. I’m thinking yeah. :grin:

  • abbysee

    lso, Anoop will be part of WRAL’s coverage of First Night, Raleigh’s New Year’s Eve celebration, complete with an ‘Acorn Drop’ ’“whatever that is! per Kathy Hanrahan’s twitter.

    My daughter was reading all of the different things that cities across the US drop on NYE. I thought it was a rather rare thing, obviously not. Folk drop peaches, frogs, cougars, possums, pickles, etc. Thank God I live in NY we’ve had either a ball, or an apple. Acorns? LOL!

  • larc

    Also, Anoop will be part of WRAL’s coverage of First Night, Raleigh’s New Year’s Eve celebration, complete with an ‘Acorn Drop’ ’“whatever that is!

    Raleigh is the “City of Oaks,” so a giant acorn is dropped at midnight on NYE. :D

  • smartcookie

    It was a watermelon (thrown off a building on New Years Eve) in Mpls-St. Paul when I lived there. We thought it was hilarious because it was so random.

    Not sure I like the scruffy beard on Kris, either. I think he said somewhere else that it was a holiday thing and he’d be shaving as soon as he went back to work.

  • larc

    It was a watermelon (thrown off a building on New Years Eve) in Mpls-St. Paul when I lived there. We thought it was hilarious because it was so random.

    LOL! I hope the choice of a watermelon was random and not where they threw it. ;)

  • alison8701

    THANKS for posting! It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen an Anoop interview. I’ve missed him. He’s looking pretty buff. And handsome. But the glasses? They’re so big. It looks like he’s doing a parody of something.. but there’s never a punchline. He doesn’t look bad in them, it’s just kind of a weird accessory.

  • girlygirl

    So it says in the video that Kris was announced as a cultural ambassador to the world on behalf of the state of Arkansas. Very cool (although I’m guessing he doesn’t have any specific duties in this role).

    I like scruffy Kris, but I’m betting the beard will be gone by the time he does his show in Vegas tomorrow night. He’s said he doesn’t like to shave, and since he’s basically on vacation there’s really no need for it.

  • yf7184

    Thanks for the updates, MJ! Regarding the Acorn Drop – I went to watch the Anoop & Kathy Entertainment Wrap at the WRAL site. The next video that comes on after Anoop’s video is a piece about this artist who created the acorn years ago for the drop and has since been maintining it for the yearly procession. It looks REALLY SHINEY for sure!

  • http://twitter.com/dianeramos4real Diane

    So it says in the video that Kris was announced as a cultural ambassador to the world on behalf of the state of Arkansas. Very cool (although I’m guessing he doesn’t have any specific duties in this role).

    Sounds pretty impressive regardless of any specific duties. :smile: And a concert in the Phillipines…sweet! (or whatever cool word they say these days! :lol: )

  • amc

    Thanks for sharing what Anoop will be doing new year’s eve :) Acorn drop. Very interesting haha

  • dazzleme18

    acorn-drop you say?

    http://www.wral.com/news/local/image/1118103/?ref_id=1120860

    It’s shiny for sure haha. Thanks for the updates MJ.

  • Caitlin03

    Awww, Kris is great…love him!<3 I like the scruff. :-)

  • cookcricket

    Also calling him the cultural ambassador to the world for Arkansas…I like! Ambassador simply means (at least I think) to represent. I believe he’s a great representative!

    Scruffy Kris? Not too bad really not at all, but he’ll probably shave. Not liking to shave…hmmm, he reminds me of my hubby. ;) Vaca time, what’s a razor?

    I’m a little bummed that he didn’t get the PCA. That’s okay though.

  • jga94

    THANKS for posting! It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen an Anoop interview. I’ve missed him. He’s looking pretty buff. And handsome. But the glasses? They’re so big. It looks like he’s doing a parody of something.. but there’s never a punchline. He doesn’t look bad in them, it’s just kind of a weird accessory.

    I think the glasses is temporary as he had suffered from some sort of malady causing “red eyes”—as he mentoned in twitter…and this prevented him from wearing his precription contacts….as for the style….it is kind of retro-geeky….but you’re right…he is looking buff….except that his forearms are still kind of scrawny…..read he’s been working out with p90x.

    Thanks MJ for the updates!

  • iluvai

    Good for Kris… Screw shaving…. My husband hates shaving too. He did grow a beard years ago just for fun (to match his dad). But if you have a cute face, you should not hide it!!!! So I vote for “no beard”.

  • crys

    YaY! Can’t wait to hear what Matt sounds like w/ his band. Happy to hear things are coming together for him. I hope someone can get video of his NYE performances!

  • ptslittlecomment

    Rumors about Adam joining Velvet Underground
    (really rehashing old news I think)
    http://www.antimusic.com/news/09/dec/29Velvet_Revolver_May_Hire_American_Idols_Adam_Lambert_As_New_Singer_(Top_9_Rumors_of_09_-_No_3).shtml
    I don’t think Adam wants to front an established band

  • alison8701

    I think the glasses is temporary as he had suffered from some sort of malady causing ‘red eyes’ ’”as he mentoned in twitter’ ¦and this prevented him from wearing his precription contacts’ ¦.as for the style’ ¦.it is kind of retro-geeky’ ¦.but you’re right’ ¦he is looking buff’ ¦.except that his forearms are still kind of scrawny’ ¦..read he’s been working out with p90x.

    Thanks MJ for the updates!

    Yeah I knew about that, but he also tweeted that he could go back to contacts. And this wasn’t filmed that long ago, I mean, they mention Brittany Murphy.. but maybe he’s still gotta wear them. Still. He could find better ones.