Kris Allen Speaks to the Press

By On 05/23/2009 · 28 Comments · In Uncategorized

  

Check out quotes from Kris Allen’s satellite interview with the press Friday afternoon.

Why he said Adam Lambert deserved the win after he won, “You know, I still feel that way. Adam deserved it just as much as I did. He was the most consistent person all year, he’s one of the most gifted performers that I’ve ever met. He’s really just a great guy and we told each other that day “You deserve it.” America could not have gotten it wrong.”

All of the judges thought the key   for “No Boundaries” was too high.   Why wasn’t that changed or adjusted?   “I mean, it is a high song but I had done it that morning and it sounded great. I think both of us just got tired. There were also some sound issues, we couldn’t really hear ourselves very well. We were just both getting so tired by the end of the night.”

Does he have any plans to change up “No Boundaries” to make it fit his style? “The track is out for sale right now, so there’s not much we can do for it. The track actually sounds really good; I listened to it. But doing the live performances, I’ve kinda been doing them just acoustically, just on guitar and maybe piano. It fits me a little bit better. The song is good. They kind of have some stipulations on what they’re supposed to do with these songs. They have to write the words a certain way. It’s supposed to be this nice feeling. To have your first single not be something you were a part of writing, it’s a little bit weird, but I can’t complain.”

Sources: MTV, Zap2it, USAToday

How did you decide to rework Kanye West’s “Heartless”? “We got to do whatever we wanted to do, as long as it got cleared. I was listening to the Kanye album, because I think it’s great, and the song came across, and I was just like, “What if I did this song and made it my own?” And I was just like, “You know what? I’m not gonna ask anybody about it, I’m just gonna go for it and be bold and be risky.” I did it, and I think it got a lot of good reviews. I was really excited that I got to do something like that, because I think it showed people what I could do.”

Did he hear anything about Kanye’s response to your version? “I haven’t heard from him, obviously. But I have heard some other people say that he blogged about it and put the video up of me on his blog. That really meant a lot.”

About the performance with Adam Lambert and Queen in the finale, “We had met Queen the night before. They were really, really great. We went through it twice. And then we just did it. Seriously, it was probably the best moment of the year for me. It was like the exhale of everything. I mean, how can you not have a great time singing and Brian May is right next to you?”

Was he frustrated by his lack of exposure in the audition and Hollywood rounds? “I think there’s a little bit of, “Wow, they’re not showing me.” But it was more shock than anything, because I felt like I had done my thing and a lot of other people had gotten shown. For me, that’s kind of the way I live my life. I’m kinda laid-back and low-key, and every once in a while, I’ll stick my head out. So that’s kind of how I did the competition, and it seemed to work out, so I can’t be mad at that”

After Tuesday’s performance, did he feel the judges were giving consolation prize comments?
“Well, after we sang the last song… that was a hard song to sing, I don’t think me or Adam was happy with our performance at all, so I think they were just trying to judge us based on the year and not what we did on that song.”

Considering his awesome duet with Keith Urban, would he consider singing country? “You know, I was actually afraid of that. For me, I don’t feel that I would go the country way. It’s not my type of music, but we had a great time together and I respect him so much as an artist and as a musician.”

What kind of music would he like to put out? “For me, I felt like I did exactly what I wanted to do on the show that I would want to do on a record. … When I went on the show and did “Ain’t No Sunshine,” I felt like that’s the kind of stuff I wanted to do, stuff that kind of has that feel, stuff that kind of moves people.”

Was his wife upset when Simon made the comment about “pulling her out too early? “Absolutely not, she had already been saying, “I don’t know if you should mention me.” She was looking out for me as well.”

What did you learn from your experience on the show? “I’ve always been a procrastinator. On the show, I felt like the times that I worked the hardest were the times that I did the best and that the best things happened. The biggest thing I learned was that the harder you work for the thing that you love the most, then everything that you want is going to come true.”

 
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  • gingerly

    He’s got the interviewing thing down already. Very smart and very good answers. Me thinks he’s studied David Cook interviews because of the exhale comment (hee, maybe David studied somebody earlier for that comment…)

  • poporange

    The judges were right the live AI preformance the song was too high and showed off his limited range which is not a bad thing..Kris seems like a humble guy just no Excuses every contestant is tired including DC…

  • Victoria

    He’s good at interviews. At the beginning of the season he seemed kind of shy, so I thought he might be a little Jason Castro-esque in his interviews, but he’s not! He seems like such a sweet guy.

  • taran33

    Aww Kris, I think you are slowly becoming my favorite idol.

  • JJ123

    I’m becoming so impressed with his interviews!! I think he was just in a bit of a haze right after the win and that came across as him being bad at interviews…that or he’s got himself some good peeps giving him advice now!! He’s been tweeting quite a bit and even those are great!! When I stop and think about it, it really is absolutely amazing that he won given the lack of exposure….he won people over week by week with his talent and charm. I remember coming here and reading the spoilers for the Top 36 and thinking “who is Kris Allen?” and clicking the link to see his picture cuz I had no clue haha…wow, seems so wild now!!

  • Lu

    Kris said when asked if he’d want to change up No Boundaries “it’s out for sale now so there’s nothing we can do for it”. HAHAHAHA If that isn’t the understatement of the year! Kris is a good arranger but there aint nothin anyone could do for that mess!

  • david90531

    Great person, immense talent, the new American Idol is killin it! xD

    Here’s the acoustic version of No Boundaries Kris did on Ellen:
    http://ellen.warnerbros.com/videos/?autoplay=true&mediaKey=e7cf845e-b5c4-484b-8cbb-ac5ce66b740e
    Absolutely beautiful :wub_tb:

  • jammasta

    I don’t think I would’ve expected Kanye to actually put Kris’s performance on his blog. I thought that was pretty cool of Kanye, but I hope he did it on good terms (I don’t think he appreciated Randy’s comment, but I don’t Kris is very odious even for Kanye).

  • chicksineggz

    Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been tweeting quite a bit and even those are great!!

    Really?! What’s his twitter account name?

  • hollygo9

    Aww Kris, I think you are slowly becoming my favorite idol.

    Does that mean you are ‘Falling Slowly’?

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/iamthepurplewalrus purplesmile

    I think it was kizgold who pointed out that I had not heard Kris’s pre-Idol album yet (when I dared say that Mraz has better vocals than Kris) so I promptly got a copy of Brand New Shoes. I have to confess that when I first listened to it in the car driving to the office, while I liked Beautiful Moon (I didn’t recognize his voice there at once) and Wastin’ Time (which I had already heard previously), I almost fell asleep at the wheel. Of course, I later realized that it must have been just my lack of sleep the night before that almost made me doze off, heh, because when I listened to the album again on my way home, I found I enjoyed it a lot. Be My Lady and Land of Smiles are also nice. I actually didn’t think Kris’s music is much like Mraz’s at all based on that album…I thought it had more of a John Mayer (I don’t have a lot of Mayer music, though, so I could be off) and/or Justin Nozuka vibe (I already thought this the first time I heard Wastin’ Time). I do know that I would definitely listen to the music of Kris. I hope he gets to put out a good album.

    By the way, have you folks seen this? lol

  • chicksineggz

    I actually don’t really like Kris’s pre-idol album. I mean, it’s okay, but I like the stuff he did on Idol so much more. I hate Adam’s pre-idol stuff, but like some of the things he sang on Idol.

    I heard Kris’s No Boundaries that he did on Ellen. Definitely his best yet!!! I think I’m actually starting to like this song (:

  • annabelina

    Aww Kris, I think you are slowly becoming my favorite idol.

    Does that mean you are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Falling Slowlyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢?

    Okay, I almost spit out my tea when I read that.

    I’m convinced that Kris’ past interviews (during the show and directly after) were due to nerves and/or shock ’cause for the longest time I thought his interview skills were crap. In a way I felt like they were worse than Archie’s ’cause at least I get a good chuckle out of Archie’s randomness, but Kris used to come across as dull as a rock, and it was a big reason I didn’t want him to win even though I love him, but apparently I was totally wrong ’cause he’s doing surprisingly very well. :blink_tb: No one will ever top Cookie as my favorite Idol, but Kris comes in a close second. :)

    To have your first single not be something you were a part of writing, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a little bit weird, but I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t complain.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

    Oh Kris … I’m really glad that you won, but this is another reason why I originally didn’t want you to win. None of David Cook’s singles thus far (the the exception of the rock radio released “Bar-Ba-Sol”) have been written or even co-written by him. :shuteye_ee:

  • cookcricket

    david90531 May 23rd, 2009 at 11:41 am

    Great person, immense talent, the new American Idol is killin it! xD

    Hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the acoustic version of No Boundaries Kris did on Ellen:
    http://ellen.warnerbros.com/videos/?autoplay=true&mediaKey=e7cf845e-b5c4-484b-8cbb-ac5ce66b740e
    Absolutely beautiful :wub_tb:

    Wow! Thank you for posting this!!!

  • hollygo9

    I love BNS as a whole. I’m not nutz about some of the tunes as stand-alones (Land of Smiles for example) but some songs I really really enjoy. I think the Idol experience will expand Kris’s musical universe in a good way. So looking forward to KATR (kris allen the record)

  • cookcricket

    By the way, have you folks seen this? lol

    Sorry, Kris and DA are not alike at all…it was funny though. :)

    ETA: LOL, “So looking forward to KATR (kris allen the record)”

    Now there’s a DCism if I’ve ever heard one! ;)

  • Lera

    I didn’t know Kris has a pre-Idol CD. I just listened to them all on Youtube and let me say this as not a die hard fan of Kris, nor any idol this year. Kris, may think his music isn’t country or he doesn’t like country but if he puts out music like his pre-idol CD…he will have a very big cross over on the billboard charts to hit pop, country, and maybe indy.

    He isn’t country, but a very big cross over song style/voice/music.

  • lavender1960

    Lu
    May 23rd, 2009 at 11:20 am
    Kris said when asked if heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d want to change up No Boundaries à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s out for sale now so thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s nothing we can do for ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . HAHAHAHA If that isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the understatement of the year! Kris is a good arranger but there aint nothin anyone could do for that mess

    But one can certainly rearrange thing live! Cookie had rearranged even some of his own album songs for the live concert.

  • helaena

    Oh “No Boundaries” accoustic version is actually good….Kris has definitely improved that song a lot…. way to go Kris!

  • KenzTK

    Hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the acoustic version of No Boundaries Kris did on Ellen:
    http://ellen.warnerbros.com/videos/?autoplay=true&mediaKey=e7cf845e-b5c4-484b-8cbb-ac5ce66b740e

    Great link thanks! That song isn’t exactly ‘Heartless’ like it says on the title ha! But still amazing!

  • TwigLA

    This is what struck me most in his press interviews …

    Closing remarks?
    Thank you for asking questions and wanting to know more about me and I appreciate you guys just as much as anybody else.

    Doesn’t it break your heart how the media is making his win all about Adam’s ‘loss’?

    With that said, I’m glad that at least some reporters did ask Kris questions about him and his music, as well as those about his wife, Katy.

    Bonus is this cool article from Jim Cantiello of MTV and his surprise interview with Kris. Only the Ellen people were supposed to get an interview. But Kris is a fan of American Idol in 60 Seconds.

    http://newsroom.mtv.com/2009/05/21/kris-allen-is-a-fan-of-american-idol-in-60-seconds/

  • drea

    Those of you who don’t check out the USAToday link are missing out:

    Q: There was this really funny thing you said that if there was one thing you could change about yourself, you wish you had chest hair. Are you going to be getting transplants now that you’re going to be making good money?

    A: Well, you never know. I’m just kidding. Seriously, I do have a little bit. This is the weirdest question, by the way. It’s really patchy and nasty-looking. I want man chest hair.

  • ShariG

    I agree with gingerly, Kris has got the interview thing down pat. The thing I noticed was that as tired as he was when he went on Leno, he depended simply on his own personality and sense of humor and it came through loud and clear that he is a really great person. There is just no artiface.

    I don’t think he was dissing country music in this interview, just not that is where he sees himself heading, not the vibe he is going for. I agree with the earlier poster though that his early recording does have a country feel to it. Plus Keith Urban is really a country/soft rock sort of guy. His music crosses borders, so to speak. No boundaries??? I think it may be because Kris’s early music tells a story much like country music it feels on the country side. I love it either way. Can’t wait for his first album.

  • taks

    I’m worried that Kris might get pushed, musically, in a direction he doesn’t want to go with his first album. Kris doesn’t seem like the super-assertive type and might get lost a little in the production of the album.

    To his credit, the one thing he does seem to feel strongly about is his own musical identity. I think he knows pretty solidly who he is as an artist and that will definitely help him out.

    I know I can’t wait to buy his first album. (Well, second I guess. I love his pre-Idol album and listen to a few of those songs ad nauseum).

  • awilliams

    People comment on Kris being laidback, comparing him to Adam. There’s nothing wrong with being mellow and laidback… James Taylor was huge in the 70s and was labelled back then as “country-rock.” I see Kris as being similar to that group: Kenny Loggins, James Taylor, Dan Fogelberg, Cat Stevens, etc. Perhaps THAT is what resonates with us older (non teeny bopper) listeners when we hear Kris.

    I think Kris also has innate musical arranging talent and he will really shine in the studio and production area. Hope his business courses prove helpful in the music industry too.

  • drea

    I think Kris’ musicality would be good for collaboration and the album-making process. The question is – will 19E let him play multiple roles in this process, or will he just be fed songs to sing? I have (futile?) hope that he will be given some time and opportunity to personalize his music. But he will be so busy this summer with the tour and press, plus will be working on his album during that time. Somehow, he needs to have the time to put his artistic stamp on this album – with arranging, song writing or something.

    If anyone can quickly work out a 19E album to be his own, it would be Kris. He did not ever seemed stressed by the song selection/arranging process and even had time to help others with their choices and practicing. The stage presence thing might have been his Achilles heel, but when it comes down to the music alone, he is highly gifted and can handle whatever comes his way (unless it’s from 1985).

  • chicksineggz

    LOL @ the chest hair comment.

  • butte009

    Considering his awesome duet with Keith Urban, would he consider singing country? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“You know, I was actually afraid of that. For me, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t feel that I would go the country way. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not my type of music, but we had a great time together and I respect him so much as an artist and as a musician.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  :clap_tb:

    Thank God! I’m praying that 19E doesn’t make him do it. I hate Country Music. That “twang” is just like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. Actually… I prefer fingernails on a chalkboard. While I can appreciate Carrie’s immense talent I will never download any of her music. It’s funny… that season (against Bo) I also didn’t care who won because I knew I would never listen to either Carrie or Bo post-Idol. This year I didn’t mind who won (Kradam) because I knew that I would listen to both when all was said and done. :thumbup_tb: