Kris Allen spoke with Newsweek magazine about his love for Michael Jackson’s music and how the other Idols reacted when they heard the news of Jackson’s death. Kris, a huge fan of Jackson, helped some of the Idols with their song choices for MJ week. It was Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror that catapulted him into the Top 13 as a dark horse contestant from the semi-final round. Excerpts:
Where were you when you heard news of his death?, “We were at rehearsal for the tour. Actually, Adam was on stage. He was almost done, and I was about to go up. We heard the news and we stopped everything and we canceled the rehearsal.”
Why? Out of respect?, “I’d like to say that was part of it. More than anything, it was weird. The weird thing was he was in the room next to us probably a couple weeks before that. We all knew people that worked on the tour and everything. It was just weird. No one could really feel right. It was one of those moments in life when you’re like what the heck just happened. I remember thinking I hope this isn’t real, but if it is, Wow this is a sad day in music.”
The first song you sang live on Idol was “Man in the Mirror.” How did you pick that song?, “Funny story, I actually picked a song and someone else picked it. So I had to search at the last minute for another song. I was going through, they gave me a list of 1, 000 songs, and it was crazy. I couldn’t find one song on there that I wanted to sing. Then I took two seconds and thought: if I had to sing one song right now, what would I sing? That popped in my head. I said you: know what, I’m going to run with it. So I did.”
Do you remember the first time you heard a Michael Jackson song? “I was probably 7 or 8 years old. The Dangerous album came out, and I bought it. It was a tape. It kind of stayed in my tape player forever.
What is it about Michael Jackson that appeals to you? “Every time you listen to this music you get this feeling and you always feel good. And as a kid, that’s a captivating thing. His music was so easy to get lost into. I remember being 8 years old and dancing in my room to his music. Trying to dance like him, as well. It was ugly, but it was fun.”
