College Show | Kris Allen to play Snowcoming at Fontbonne University in St. Louis on December 6, 2019

For those of you who attend Fontbonne University in St. Louis, you've got the last Kris Allen show of 2019 (and one of only two Christmas concerts) on December 6! So you better go to Snowcoming 2019!

Updated December 13 with some videos:

10 Years, 1 Night Tour | Kris Allen plays a hometown show in Conway, Arkansas on December 5, 2019

Rumor had it that Kris had slotted an Arkansas show during his 10 Years, 1 Night tour but the original venue fell through. Not to worry though, his hometown of Conway stepped in and organized a free show on December 5 so Kris could bring the tour to his home state.

The basic 22 song set list Kris followed for the tour is in this post. Kris has added Written All Over My Face to that set, and has dropped in a few surprises occasionally (Parachute and Paul Simon). Even more awesome, he's occasionally performed a few new songs (More Machine, We Will Change and Whenever You Are Here).

Updated December 13 with a complete playlist from the show!

10 Years, 1 Night Tour | Kris Allen's 10th anniversary acoustic tour concludes with Michigan stops, November 21-23, 2019

Kris Allen finishes up the 10 Years One Night tour with a swing through Michigan. He plays Ann Arbor on November 21, Orion Charter Township on November 22, and ends the tour with a show in Grand Rapids on November 23. Hoping his old Idol friend Matt Giraud is there for that one!

The basic 22 song set list for the tour is in this post. Kris has added Written All Over My Face to that set, and has dropped in a few surprises occasionally (Parachute and Paul Simon). He's also getting brave with doing songs he NEVER does in VIP, like Turn the Pages! Even more awesome, he's occasionally performed a few new songs (More Machine, We Will Change and Whenever You Are Here).

Come back after the shows as I'll put the highlights from these final stops in this post!

Updated November 23 with whatever I found from Grand Rapids plus a few more videos from Lake Orion. Lake Orion earns #gavegoodlist.

10 Years, 1 Night Tour | Kris Allen brings the tour to Indianapolis and Chicago, November 19-20, 2019

After a quick Christmas show in Virginia (thanks, Kris!) and a few days off, it's back to the road for Kris Allen, who heads to Indianapolis on November 19 and Chicago on November 20.

The basic 22 song set list for the tour is in this post. Kris has added Written All Over My Face to that set, and has dropped in a few surprises occasionally (Parachute and Paul Simon). He's also getting brave with doing songs he NEVER does in VIP, like Turn the Pages! Even more awesome, he's occasionally performed a few new songs (More Machine, We Will Change and Whenever You Are Here).

Come back after the shows as I'll put the highlights from these two stops in this post!

Updated November 22 with video from Chicago (including one of his Christmas songs - I suspect his Christmas music will now find its way into set lists), and a fantastic Out Alive from Indianapolis.

Christmas Show | Kris Allen comes to light our Christmas Tree in NoVa again on November 15

Tysons Corner Tree Lighting

Tysons Corner, Virginia

November 15, 2019

Free! 6 - 9 PM EST

So true confessions, I didn't go to the local DC area tour stop this year for various reasons. I felt kind of guilty about missing it! Flash forward, I was searching Facebook and local event blogs for some fun and free things to do this month, and I stumbled on this event before the mall announced it! Kris is returning to light up Northern Virginia's nicest mall's Christmas Tree. So I get a Kris show after all!

The photo above is mine from the last time he did this. It was a great way to kick off the holiday and I'm glad he's going to do it again for us. Hopefully the weather will be good, as it is an outdoor event. Hope to see many of you there! It's free, you can take the metro there, and having gone a few times, I can say it is a lot of fun. You can find all the information here. Keep an eye on the mall's IG account too. Last time they had a meet and greet contest.

Updated November 16 with Kira's photos and Eric's video of five songs from the set from this event after the break! Plus bonus review from Mr. KAL who saw Kris for the first time last night. 

10 Years, 1 Night Tour | Kris Allen plays shows in the southeast November 7, 8 and 9

After a break, it's back to the road for Kris Allen, who heads to the Southeast for his next run of shows. Kris plays Shelby, North Carolina on November 7 (Charlotte area), Bluffton, South Carolina on November 8 (Hilton Head area), and returns to Eddie's Attic near Atlanta, Georgia on November 9. He did an interview with Shelby's local paper to promote the shows.

The basic 22 song set list for the tour is in this post. Kris has added Written All Over My Face to that set, and has dropped in a few surprises occasionally (Parachute and Paul Simon). He's also getting brave with doing songs he NEVER does in VIP, like Turn the Pages! Even more awesome, he's occasionally performed a few new songs (More Machine, We Will Change and Whenever You Are Here).

Come back after the shows as I'll put the highlights from the southeastern stops in this post!

Updated November 9 with videos from South Carolina:

Concert | Kris Allen plays the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, November 2 and 3, 2019

Epcot International Food and Wine Festival

America Gardens Theatre at Epcot World Showcase

November 2 and 3, 2019

Kris takes a break from the 10 Years 1 Night tour and heads to Disney World in Florida for the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. (He's told the meet and greet crowds during the tour he'll be in Disney with the family over Halloween too.)

This is a huge, fall-long, festival that features international food and wines at the various Epcot neighborhoods, paired with concerts by many entertainers. Kris takes his turn on November 2 and 3. There are three shows. Saturday the 2nd, the shows are at 6:30 p.m., 7:45 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. On Sunday the 3rd, the shows are at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Visit the official site for more information!

Updated November 9 with another great full length video from Epcot plus some more video that's been shared... thank you to all the fans who are passing on these links!

Music | Kris Allen's new song Whenever You Are Here

Our third new song of the tour! Kris premiered this one, which we'll call Whenever You Are Here in Portland. It was inspired by the movie Coco. A fan in Denver gave us a fantastic video from which we can figure out the lyrics (thanks, Christi)! Kathy (@kheilig) has taken a shot at them, but she advises some of the lines might need a little crowd-sourcing, so please weigh in with your thoughts on the lyrics. (Updated: Thanks to @AuntyCJ, @shoshpd and Christi, we updated some lyrics.)



(Whenever You Are Here)

What if I’m always late to the party?
What if I never sing like McCartney
Just a couple of my fears
But they seem to disappear
Ohhhh, Whenever you are here.

What if the mirror is a liar?
And what if my future doesn’t look brighter?
Just a couple of my fears
But they seem to disappear
Ohhhh Whenever you are here.

Baby don’t you go because you don’t know what it’s like
Whenever you’re away all of these thoughts run through my mind
And I’m not proud to say I’m not alright, I’m not alright, noooo

What if I take a bite from the fruit tree?
Why does the devil never feel sorry?
Just a couple of my fears
But they seem to disappear
Ohhhh Whenever you are here.
Ohh woahhh

Baby don’t you go because you don’t know what it’s like
Whenever you’re away all of these thoughts run through my mind
And I’m not proud to say I’m not alright, I’m not alright, I’m not alright, nooooooo

What if I’m always late to the party?
What if I never sing like (probably same word as first verse)?
Just a couple of my fears
But they seem to disappear ohhh
Whenever you are here.
Whenever you are here
Whenever you are here
Whenever you are here.

News | Kris Allen and David Cook are going to tour Europe in 2020

Well this is welcome and exciting news! Many of us have long wanted Kris Allen and David Cook to do more collaborations. They've shared the occasional billing or stage, but this is an honest to goodness tour, and even better, it's Kris' first tour in Europe (beyond the USO tours).

Here are the dates, locations and ticket links for the tour!

Updated March 19, 2020: Sad news. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour is postponed. I'm leaving the dates/links up so fans can get updated information on refunds or rescheduled dates.

04/11 – Luxor, Cologne, Germany
04/12 – Frannz, Berlin, Germany
04/13 – Knust, Hamburg, Germany
04/15 – Whelan's, Dublin, Ireland
04/17 – Bush Hall, London, UK
04/18 – The Deaf Institute, Manchester, UK
04/19 – King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, UK
04/21 – Hotel Cecil, Copenhagen, Denmark
04/22 – Skive Theater, Skive, Denmark
04/24 – Nalen, Stockholm, Sweden
04/26 – On the Rocks, Helsinki, Finland

Hoping they bring this tour to America! And continue to bring us wacky videos like this tour announcement!

DCO | (VIDEO) David Cook @thedavidcook & Kris Allen @KrisAllen Go to Europe Acoustic Tour 2020! https://t.co/b9ym1AenVb

— David Cook News/Info (@FoolsApril64) October 23, 2019

Updated December 6: The guys have just announced a show in Utah on March 28. Hmmm, US tour in the works or just getting prepped for the Europe tour?

10 Years 1 Night Tour | Kris Allen plays Colorado cities October 24, 25 and 26, 2019

It's on to the state of Colorado for Kris, who plays Denver on October 24, Boulder on October 25, and Fort Collins on October 26.

The basic 22 song set list for the tour is in this post. In subsequent sets, Kris has added Written All Over My Face to that set, and on one occasion, Parachute and Paul Simon. He's also getting brave with doing songs he NEVER does in VIP, like Turn the Pages! Even more awesome, he's been performing a few new songs (More Machine, We Will Change and most recently, Whenever You Are Here).

Come back after the shows as I'll put the highlights from the Colorado stops in this post!

Updated October 26 PM with videos from Fort Collins' show! All of the Colorado cities earned #gavegoodlist.

10 Years, 1 Night Tour | Kris Allen brings the 2019 tour to the Pacific northwest on October 21 and 22

The tour continues, moving from California to the Pacific Northwest with stops in Portland and Seattle. I feel like it's been quite awhile since Kris played Portland and Seattle, so I checked and it was not actually as long as I was thinking... he played both cities during the Letting You In tour (just click their names in the post tag to see the posts).

The basic 22 song set list for the tour is in this post. In subsequent sets, Kris has added Written All Over My Face to that set. He's also done some songs just once: Parachute and Paul Simon.

Come back after the shows as I'll put the highlights from these stops in this post!

Updated October 25 with fantastic full-length meet and greet video, joining the fantastic full-length concert video from Portland featuring another new song from Kris! Portland thus earns #gavegoodlist

Music | Another new song by Kris Allen - Title TBD but we'll call it "We Will Change"

So Kris debuted another new song last night during his show in Novato, CA. Kris doesn't know what he's calling it yet. Until he decides that, I'm calling it We Will Change. Thank you @kheilig for transcribing the lyrics and providing a nice clear video (embedded below). We still need a little help with some of the lines, so give it a listen and let us know what you think!

I don't know if I'm a gypsy , but I can't seem to stay in one place
Everything upon your shelf, you'll replace it with something else
And the green that I have loved in my life has a turned a different shade
And you've gotten every ? ___in your eye
Wonderin when they're gonna fly away 

Honey, you and I, we will change, change, change
It's just the way it is, nobody ever stays the same
You and I, we will change, change, change
For worse, or for better, but I love changing

I used to have a dream of flying
Now I wonder how I'll dream in the sky
(stumbled here- started wrong lyric then quickly fixed it) Try to find a place on your heart to put another permanent scar
We erased all of the letters in my name to start a brand new life
(he forgot next lyrics here)

Honey, you and I, we will change, change, change
It's just the way it is, nobody ever stays the same
You and I, we will change, change, change

Cuz I'm not who you fell in love with, and you're not who I remember
Cuz I'm not going anywhere, and I hope that you aren't either
Well I'm not who you fell in love with, and you're not who I remember
But I'm not going anywhere, and I hope that you' aren't either

ohhhhh

Honey, you and I, we will change, change, change
It's just the way it is, nobody ever stays the same
You and I, we will change, change, change
For worse, or for better, but I love changing together.

I don't know if I'm a gypsy , but I can't seem to stay in one place
And everything upon your shelf, you'll replace it with something else.....

Music | Kris Allen's new song More Machine

So.... we weren't sure after a few shows of the 10 Years 1 Night tour whether the new song Kris is performing was "More Machine" or "War Machine."

I asked Twitter for help...

You guys always are great! Most people thought it was "More Machine" but A+ to Kathy (@kheilig) who took the time to watch the videos and transcribe the lyrics... it's definitely More Machine! I've put her transcription below. Give it a go! (I'll embed the video below the lyrics.) Thank you Michelle (@summerdaze_) for fleshing out the 2nd and 3rd lines.

More Machine

Spider on the windowsill has more to say than me
and at least my grandma's sugar pills keep her mind at ease 
cause I can't even find the words to fill up my own feed
it’s times like this I feel less a of a man; more machine

The earth keeps slowly turning in an eternal microwave
And after all these years it hasn't changed its pace
Yesterday my lover came to tell me I should breathe
It’s times like this I feel less of a man; more machine

I want to feel, feel, feel something
I want to feel, feel anything at all

The Christmas decorations are sitting patiently
‘Cause they know there’s a smile that they can't wait to bring
But lately I've forgotten who I was really meant to be
It’s times like this I feel less of a man, and more machine

I want to feel, feel, feel something
I want to feel, feel anything at all
I want to feel, feel, feel something
I want to feel, just feel anything at all

Ohhhh
Anything at all

So these days I've started drinking to oil up my soul
Thinking maybe there's an answer in the art of letting go
But the only thing it's done is help me fall asleep
It’s times like this I feel less of a man; more machine

10 Years, 1 Night Tour | Kris Allen finally returns to California for solo live shows October 15 - 18

It's been a long while since Kris Allen played regular (non-Christmas) shows, and played them in California. Those fans have waited awhile, and the week of October 15, 2019, Kris returns to play Los Angeles, Berkeley, Novato (Marin County near San Francisco) and Winters (near Sacramento).

The basic 22 song set list for the tour is in this post. In subsequent sets, Kris has added Written All Over My Face to that set, and on one occasion, Parachute.

Come back after the shows as I'll put the highlights from these stops in this post! In the meantime, here's a nice interview with Kris from the Winters, CA local paper.

Updated October 24: Added some links to all the awesome stuff that @krismicklin posted from the Winters show!

10 Years 1 Night Tour | Kris Allen plays New York, Connecticut and Washington, DC, October 3-6

This week Kris plays Cambridge, MA, Pawling, NY, New York,NY, Fairfield, CT and Washington, D.C. This post will contain the highlights from the New York, Connecticut and Washington, D.C. shows after the break. (We're covering the opening date in Cambridge in this post, where you can see the full 22 song set list!) Come back for updates after each show.

Updated October 7 with even more videos from the DC show! New York City, Fairfield, and Washington DC all received the coveted #gavegoodlist tag.

10 Years 1 Night Tour | Kris Allen opens his fall 2019 tour on October 2 in Cambridge, MA

Kris Allen follows up the release of his album "10" with a fall tour starting on October 2 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and winding up on November 23 in Grand Rapids, MI. You can find ticket links and more information for all shows here.

This post will capture the set list and all the action from the first show.  I'm planning regular highlight posts for the other show, grouped by region. 

Updated October 3: The fabulous @ameeliu got the very long (set list (22 songs, including one brand new song) and videos. We've also heard some good banter stories. I notice her videos do include the banter. Kris played acoustic, it's a solo show (no band) and it lasted over two hours. Everything after the break!

News | Kris Allen releases new album "10" on Friday, September 20, 2019

Exciting news recently from Kris! He's releasing an album on September 19 called "10" to celebrate his ten years as a recording artist. The album will contain remakes of many songs from his earliest albums re-imagined as he would do them now. You can find out more about his thought process in this video below.

But first and more important, here are the links to stream and buy:

Kris Allen Official | Spotify | Apple Music | iTunes | Amazon | YouTube Music | Deezer

I am excited to announce that my new album “10” is coming out this Friday, 9/20! “10” is a look back at the last 10 years. I wanted to shed some new light on some older songs of mine. I can’t wait to share these new versions with everyone!

~kris pic.twitter.com/KIq4qaAgve

— Kris Allen (@KrisAllen) September 18, 2019

College Show: Kris Allen plays Angelo State University's Ram Jam on September 14, 2019

Ram Jam
September 14, 2019
Angelo State University (open to public)
San Angelo, TX

We didn't get much lead time on this, but it was open to the public and hope some of you saw my tweet or this post on Facebook and checked it out. I'm still on vacation, but a little rain means you get a little post right now as Ram Jam is happening!

Here's some videos the always awesome @krisjonin found (after the break):

College Show: September 6, 2019: Kris Allen plays Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton

Florida Atlantic University
Bonfire
Boca Raton, FL
September 6, 2019

Kris joins Waka Flaka Flame to play a back-to-school traditional party at Florida Atlantic University in the pretty town of Boca Raton. That's all we know!

Photos and videos after the break. Sorry for the late update! I was traveling. Many thanks to @krisjonin for picking up my slack.

College Show: Kris Allen plays Manhattan College, August 30, 2019

Photo by Manhattan College

Kris played back to school show called "Quadchella" at Manhattan College on August 30, 2019 in Riverdale, NY. Videos after the break.

Concert: August 31, 2019: Kris Allen opens for Matthew West in Tennessee

Concert
The Caverns
Pelham, TN
August 31, 2019

Doors 6 PM CDT
Show 7PM CDT

Tickets and information

Kris Allen opens for contemporary Christian music artist Matthew West at an unusual venue located in a cavern at the base of Monteagle Mountain in Tennessee. This is going to be Kris' first concert in quite a few months. (He did a college show last night.)

Set list and videos from this show after the break. Many thanks to Linda @krismicklin for grabbing them! And to Jonins for always grabbing the best stuff from IG and IG stories!

Appearance August 16, 2019: Kris Allen joins David Cook on stage in Nashville

Photo by Jordan Burger

Got a little surprise yesterday! I thought that Kris was firmly in new dad mode and so I wasn't paying attention to Twitter or IG, but then suddenly my friend at the David Cook show in Nashville posts a photo of Kris on stage with David. I checked Twitter and people were already looking for video! David Cook fans are fantastic videoers and streamers and sharers, so there's tons of posts already out there, but here's a video of the two guys performing In My Eyes by Peter Gabriel last night. Since David Cook fans did us a good turn, we'll return the favor and share this mp3.



And here's more photos taken by their booking agent:

Kris Allen performing with David Cook at The Basement Nashville for Summer Sessions / The Fall Sounds Tour

Photos: Jordan Burger @jo2thabu pic.twitter.com/yGFSxBeZF3

— KrisAlleNation PH 🇵🇭 (@KrisAllenPHL) August 17, 2019

2009 Lookback | Kris Allen does NY media appearances in August 2009

Continuing with our lookback at Kris Allen's 2009, we've reached August. August 2009 was a wonderful month, with a cell cast of an Idol tour stop almost every night and the media bonanza that was the New York City area stops. This post will include the New York media. Read on for the videos, mp3s and memories!

2009 Lookback | Kris Allen headlines Season 8's American Idols Live Summer Tour

It's summer, it's hot, and it's time to lookback at a happier time - Summer of 2009, when Kris Allen and his fellow season 8 American Idols went on tour! Devoted fans of the season logged on their computers for each show's cellcast. (Yes, that's right, back in 2009 we listened to someone at the show sharing the garbled audio from their cell phone.) A few of the shows were livestreamed thanks to some intrepid Adam Lambert fans who started a UStream account (gotta give credit when credit is due! The Adamcast as it was called was much better quality than the cellcasts.) People had nice cameras in 2009 and where livestreaming was off and on, pretty much every show featured spectacular live videos, which made the Idol tour 2009 easy to follow.

As for this blog's subject? Kris Allen, having won Idol, got to close the show.  I'll have a few more posts about the 2009 summer tour coming up that will focus on some specific fun things (the NY shows, the show I went to (Philadelphia) and the tour finale in Manchester, NH). This post, however, will focus on the overall tour and also contain Kris' setlist and some favorite videos from the starting shows of the tour (including the now hard to find official Bright Lights video). Enjoy the memories from a far more innocent summer ten years ago!

10 Years One Night Tour | Fall Tour 2019 Announced by Kris Allen

Exciting news: Kris Allen announced a fall tour! It will be a small venue, solo acoustic tour and to quote one of the venues (NYC's Cutting Room), "Celebrating 10 years from his monumental American Idol win, platinum-selling singer/songwriter Kris Allen is taking his stories and career-defining songs out on the road in a rare, intimate solo-acoustic performance."

Sounds wonderful! We'll cover this tour as always, but in the meantime, tickets for most shows are available! Go to Kris' official website for all the dates and ticket links!

2009 Lookback | Kris Allen signs with Jive and does Idol-related appearances and tour rehearsals, June 2009

So much to cover in this post! In June 2009, Kris signed with his first record label and continued his press and appearances as the newly crowned Season 8 winner. This post will have the highlights, and for those of you who have never watched some of these, maybe some new things! Included: an appearance with Smokey Robinson at the big 2009 Walmart shareholders meeting, the NBA Finals anthem, the Huckabee show and the 5-part Idolatry interview. Lots of videos and some mp3s for the completists! Read on after the break...

Festival | Kris Allen plays a round at a Bonnaroo stage on June 16, 2019

Sunday, June 16
4:00 PM CDT

Bonnaroo - Live from the Ville Stage (The Barn - Plaza 7)

Manchester, TN

Festival information

One small frustration I've had as a Kris Allen super fan who's also into lots of other artists and music genres is watching said other artists (including many who are managed by Kris' management) play all these cool festivals. Sadly, Kris doesn't really do many of those and I've never been able to figure out why not. 

So I was thrilled to see an announcement pop up that Kris will play a round at Bonnaroo. For those who don't know what that is, it's a fantastic annual music and arts festival in Nashville. While Kris is not one of the main stage performers (on the day he performs, those will include Cardi B, Brandi Carlile, Phish and the Lumineers), it's great to see him play a legitimate festival and get that exposure. Kris' performance will be in the Barn at Plaza 7 if you go.

Updated June 20: I've added all the IG stories that the amazing @krisjonin found! After the break...

Concert | Kris Allen joins Delta Rae in concert on May 31 in Louisville

Screencap from Kris and Delta Rae's performance, October 2018

Concert with Delta Rae

Headliners Music Hall

Louisville, KY

May 31, 2019

I am so jealous of Louisville! The band Delta Rae has been on tour, and for their Louisville show on May 31, they've lined up Kris as their opening act. If you haven't already seen Delta Rae and Kris collaborate on a cover of George Michael's Freedom '90, go do that right now.

Updated June 2, 2019: Our friend Jackie (@ShouldI45) did indeed get to this show, and did indeed bring some videos home with her! Check them out after the break, plus set list too.

Concert | Kris Allen joins other artists to perform a tribute to Paul Simon on May 29, 2019 in Nashville

Graceland, a Tribute to Paul Simon

May 29, 2019

The Basement East, Nashville, TN

8 PM CDT

Tickets and information

Kris joins a line-up of singer-songwriters to perform a tribute to Paul Simon. He performed at a similar tribute in 2016, and again in 2017, so we know this will be a great event.

Updated 6/2/2019: Kris performed Graceland and joined the group to perform You Can Call Me Al and Homeless. Videos and photos after the break. (6/2 - Added high quality video of You Can Call Me Al)

2009 Lookback | Kris Allen Does Post-Idol Winner's Press, May 2009

So it's May 21, 2009, and Kris Allen just won American Idol.



Now it's time for him to do a TON of press. Back in 2009, American Idol was still a BIG thing and the finale, with its "upset" winner, got a lot of attention. In this post, we'll look back at some of those interviews... Full disclosure. May 2009 was a busy time in my life, and while I made time to watch Idol, in a lot of cases, writing this post will be the first time I watch most of these interviews! Hopefully for those of you who have seen them before, you'll enjoy some fond memories or pick up on some new items. I also have a lot of mp3s of live Heartless and No Boundaries in this post. So sit back, and check out all the media from May 2009 after the break. And if I missed anything from May of 2009, please comment and I'll add to this post!

Idol | Kris Allen wins American Idol Season 8 on May 20, 2009!

Our look back at 2009 has reached a big anniversary! On May 20, 2009, Kris Allen won American Idol Season 8. If you've been reading the Season 8 lookback posts (linked at the bottom of this post if you would like to), you might agree with me that this wasn't as much of an upset as Idol and the media like to portray it as being. While Adam Lambert certainly was a talented and extremely memorable contestant, Kris put together a solid and consistent run of great song choices and exceptional performances, coupled with an ability to straddle genres.

Future posts about 2009 and Kris will cover the post-Idol frenzy of media, the Season 8 Idol tour, and the making and release of KATA, but in this post, we'll fondly recall the last two Idol episodes of 2009. Onward for lots of videos, photos, mp3s and memories!

Idol | Top Three Week of American Idol Season 8 (2009): Kris Allen Goes Home and Slays Heartless

We've reached two of the best episodes in American Idol history in our lookback at Kris Allen's 2009. It's top three week and Kris, Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey visit their hometowns and duke it out for the chance to be a finalist for the title of American Idol 2009. Let's get right to it, because this post is going to be JAMPACKED with videos and mp3s!

2009 Lookback | Happy Kris Allen Day

On this date in 2009, Kris Allen made his hometown visit to Conway, AR as part of top three week on American Idol and the day became known as "Kris Allen Day."

A jam-packed post about top three week is coming your way in a few days, but it was so jam-packed, I decided to make a special 2009 lookback post at the hometown visit! Read on for videos, photos and mp3s...

Idol | Kris Allen is a renegade during Rock Week of American Idol Season 8 (2009)

We're up to the top four of American Idol season 8 in our lookback at Kris Allen's 2009! This week brings us some epic duets and epic eyerolls! Enjoy!

Charity | Benefit Concert by Kris Allen for Big Change, Blue Ridge, GA, May 5, 2019

Benefit-Big Change

Firefly Music Cabin

Blue Ridge, GA

May 5, 2019

5:00 P.M. EDT

Kris Allen returns to play the Firefly music cabin in Blue Ridge, Georgia at a small benefit concert for Big Change, "an awesome social impact accelerator that finds inspired youth with potentially world-changing ideas and helps them bring those ideas to life" according to the event's website. He's played this cabin before (shown in the photo above from their 2016 concert).

Updated 6/2/2019: Jonins is awesome as always and snagged Kris' video of the cabin for us. Pam (@granni9) went to the show and got the set list plus video! New stuff! (6/2: Adding a high quality video of Safe Harbor posted by the event's organizers)  After the break...

Promo | Kris Allen does a Reddit AMA, guest appears on a parenting podcast and gets his own Spotify playlist

Kris Allen has done a few interesting interviews recently and FINALLY got his own Spotify playlist. This post will help you catch up on some recent random things Kris!

Last week, he did his first Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) and revealed that he is indeed working on tour plans and new music! Great news! You can read the Reddit here or, if you prefer to not read people begging him to play Heartless or No Boundaries or asking him if he's still friends with the Idols, Ang did you a solid and typed up the good questions and answers. Lots of good stuff here!

He also was a guest on a parenting podcast, Don't Make Me Come Back There. Due to the nature of the podcast, we didn't get much news on a new tour or album. But we did get a lot of interesting insights into his personal life and the craziness that was the two years after he won Idol. You can access the podcast episode on Apple or Spotify.

Speaking of Spotify, it FINALLY made a "This is" playlist for Kris like it had done for every other recording artist! Years of my tweeting them about this finally paid off. So go to Spotify, hit the heart to like it and save to your Spotify account! While these aren't all my "essential" tracks - They are a really good representation of his catalog.

Idol | Blame It on The Way Kris Allen Looked That Top 5 Rat Pack Week, American Idol Season 8 (2009)

The show begins with Ryan asking, "Who will set the standard?" Whoa, the finale is three weeks and there are so many votes, they needed to add a second phone number for each of the top five! The theme is "standards from the rat pack" and the signs are out! There's a lot in store for us!

College Show | April 23, 2019: Kris Allen opens for T-Pain at ECU's Barestock Spring Concert

Barestock

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

April 23, 2019

Kris has his weirdest opening gig ever, opening for T-Pain at East Carolina University's 2019 spring concert.  I want a duet of Buy U a Drank! The student union is doing a good job of promotion via their Instagram account (with a lot of posts on both stories and the main Instagram feed). According to their IG account, Kris should be on about 5 pm Eastern Time.

Updated: We have gotten a few pictures and some great videos, but no epic duet. What we've got is after the break. Sadly Kris didn't even meet T-Pain, but did catch his show.

Idol | Kris Allen works hard for the money during disco week of American Idol Season 8 (2009)

Last week in our season 8 rewatch, "just when we thought all was lost, Idol history was made," and Matt Giraud was saved. But now the stakes just went up, because it's disco week and two contestants go home. Only people who don't know Kris would see this as a problem. Yup, he does another fantastic performance in this week's re-watch! This time "shopping in the women's department" and covering She Works Hard for the Money by Donna Summer.

So shake your tailfeather and check it out after the jump!

The Dames | New song posted by the Dames: Blue Blood

They're back! I settled into my office, put on my "Release Radar" playlist on Spotify, and what did appear but a new song from Kris' side project, the Dames! It's an acoustic ballad called Blue Blood and I quite like it! Kris and Chris Torres share lead vocal on it.

Check it out on the usual sites: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play | Amazon

If you aren't familiar with the Dames, check their music out!

Private | Kris Allen returns to Arkansas for charity benefit and convention appearances

Photo by KATVAlyson

Kris returned to Arkansas this past weekend and played a gig on April 13 to benefit Alzheimer's Arkansas, hosted by Glen Campbell's widow. He reportedly sang Wichita Lineman with his father. Updated with video from Kim Allen! That's not Wichita Lineman though. Neil sounds great! The song is called Gentle on My Mind.

On April 17, he played a private gig for the Arkansas Bankers Association conventions. We do have a little video.

See what we do have for both events after the jump.

Idol | Climbing Slowly into the Top 7 of American Idol Season 8 (2009) with Kris Allen

Last week we danced with Kris Allen to top 8 of American Idol Season 8 and well, he fell slowly but survived to Top 7 week (the first of two; we'll explain in the results part). This week, he's going to croon Falling Slowly and get back on track big time! It's movie week on American Idol, so dim the lights and check it out after the jump!

Idol | All Kris Allen wants to do is never sing All She Wants to Do is Dance again (Top 8 week, 2009)

Well we've reached it. The week we all knew was coming. Kris' worst week on American Idol ever. (Top 8, Year You Were Born (which for Kris was 1985). In a year that yielded a bunch of amazing songs, Kris chose Don Henley's All She Wants to Do is Dance and well, he'll never do that again.

Someone tweeted me to ask "Do we have to do this week?" My answer: Yes, but let's have fun with it! Onward! (The results show is full of good stuff!)

Idol | Kris Allen sings Ain't No Sunshine during Top 9 week of American Idol Season 8 (2009)

It's top nine week in our lookback at Kris Allen in 2009, and the top nine idols must sing a "top download." Kris goes with the 1971 Bill Withers song, Ain't No Sunshine, and he aims to "make a moment."

This was a great week for Kris and for the show in general. It's such a good week for him this time out that he ends up reprising the song during the top two week. Check out my recap and all the videos and extras after the break!

Festival | March 29, 2019: Kris Allen Plays Tin Pan South Showcase in Nashville

Tin Pan South showcase

The Local

Nashville, TN

6:30 PM CDT

Tickets at door

Kris is playing the annual Tin Pan South festival in Nashville this Friday, March 29. He'll join his friend from Delta Rae, Eric Holljes and two other singer-songwriters in a showcase sponsored by the Tennessee Entertainment Commission.

In previous Tin Pan South appearances, he's debuted new songs (Waves in 2015 and When All the Stars Have Died in 2018), so it will be interesting to see if he does the same this time. He did tell meet and greet participants during the Christmas tour that new music would be coming out around the end of March, so hopefully!

Updated: No word of any new songs premiered. Partial set lists and some IG videos after the break

Charity | March 25, 2019: Kris Allen and Others Perform in Nashville for Cancer Charity Benefit

In 2018, Kris was named the "Man of the Year" for his fundraising efforts on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in Nashville. He's still raising money for the charity, and last night appeared at a benefit in Nashville. As with most private charity events, we've got very little media, but what we get, I'll put in this post.

Updated 4/28/2019 with some new videos the amazing @krisjonin just found

Idol | How Sweet It Is to look back at Kris Allen in American Idol Season 8's Top Ten (2009)

We're up to the top ten of American Idol Season 8 in our look back at Kris Allen's 2009. Having achieved the objective of making the summer tour, the ten finalists for American Idol now had to try to do enough to score a recording contract and hopefully, at the end, win the show. It was time to start pulling ahead of the pack. The theme was Motown week and we were in for some amazing and/or memorable performances by Kris Allen and other contestants, which you can watch after the jump (and as always in these posts, I'm including some goodies to reward those who read them)!

Idol | A look back at Kris Allen in the Top 11 of American Idol Season 8 (2009)

It's Opry week and St. Patrick's Day on Season 8 of American Idol 2009! This was a great week for Kris, bringing us for the first time his amazing cover of To Make You Feel My Love by Bob Dylan, although to get it into country week, it was technically covered by Garth Brooks. Kris' cover is more like Adele's version. Anyway! It works! Like Ryan says, after the break...

Idol | Looking back at Kris Allen during the top 13 week of American Idol, 2009

With the wild cards added, and the top 12 expanded to top 13, Idol Season 8 had selected its finalists for 2009. Now it was time for the real shows to begin and the fans of the real singers to enjoy the performances and start picking a favorite. The theme for top 13 night was Michael Jackson night, and as Paula put it, no one knows Michael Jackson songs better than Kris Allen, who had already performed Man in the Mirror for his group night semi-final selection. More behind the jump...

Appearance | March 8, 2019 (Updated with videos): Kris Allen joins other Nashville musicians for Beatles tribute

Band Together: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Abbey Road
City Winery Nashville

March 8, 2019

Tickets and information

Well this charity benefit theme certainly fits Kris well, as he is a big fan of the Beatles! Kris joins other Nashville singer-songwriters (Matthew Perryman Jones, Gabe Dixon, Striking Matches, Jason Eskridge, Paul McDonald, K.S. Rhoads, Elle Macho, The Medium, Carey Ott and Charlie Whitten) for a fun tribute that benefits Musician's Corner, a free summer concert and arts series in Nashville. Kris has been a huge supporter of, and past performer in, Musician's Corner.

The fabulous @ameeliu went to this show and got us the set list and a few videos! Check them out after the jump.

TV | March 2019: Kris Allen appears in the Women That Soar Awards (Updated! Air dates inside)

Thank you @tlcde9101 for screencapping the preview!

As this blog previously reported, Kris Allen performed Live Like We're Dying at the Women That Soar Awards 2018 in November. The show was taped and will be shown in a syndicated TV program that will air throughout March on random channels at random times, starting March 1. You can view the air dates one by one on their website or for your convenience, I've got them here in a nicely organized list after the jump. #womenthatsoar #womenthatsoarawards #wtsa2019

Idol | A look back at Kris Allen in Group 2, 2009 aka the Best Idol Group ever and the one where we get to see him sing Everything

Ten years ago, the best Idol group ever appeared on our TVs. I'm talking about Group 2 of American Idol season 8 of course. This group went on to have four of the top five contestants in Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta and Matt Giraud, and adding in Megan Joy Corkery, five of the top ten. As a whole, it had a lot of favorites, and just winning the three spots from this group was a good predictor of the final outcome. It's an episode I'll rewatch pretty frequently. Check it all out after the jump (lots of goodies)!

Idol | Kris Allen's Hollywood Week, Part 2: Making the top 36, February 11 and 12, 2009

It tells you everything that I have to rewatch these two episodes to do this post! I remember a lot about them, but not Kris in them. Idol was REALLY hiding him!

Hollywood Round 3

The Hollywood Round 3 episode is an interesting recap of the selection process day. During the day, the contestants are divided into four rooms - three of the rooms will make up the top 36 and one room will get cut. You'll see Kris at 3:23, followed by packages highlighting his roommates Adam Lambert and Matt Giraud. Around 6:25, there's Kris applauding Matt's excellent rendition of Georgia on My Mind.

This is followed by packages on Danny Gokey, Scott MacIntire, Jorge Nunez, Lil Rounds and some other final 36 contestants. There's some room shenanigans, Matt praying that all the favorites being in his room means a good thing, and Tatiana! She was a crazy one but I actually thought she did sing well enough to make top 36. Then they of course have a long package on Nick Mitchell (another joke contestant, but unlike Tatiana, painfully un-entertaining.) What we don't see: Kris Allen apparently just doing the best version ever of Everything by Michael Buble. (We'll get to see a snippet in a future episode and Kara tells us this.) Kris fans have begged for years to see full video of his round 3 performance, but no luck.

Watch the full Hollywood round 3 episode to play "Spot Kris"

We do get to see Kris sweat it out when Idol producers have some fun torturing contestants by moving diva Tatiana del Toro from group room to group room, causing the entire room to think they are getting cut. She ends up in room 4, Kris's room. A few more finalist highlight videos are shown, followed by the judges breaking the good news to rooms 1 and 2 and the bad news to room 3. As for Kris, in room 4 with Tatiana, we hear Ryan intone at 38:48, "their chances of continuing have just become slimmer."

Poor Kris

Paula, Kara and Randy start their fakeout by pretending that these contestants were on their way out, Tatiana starts to freak out, and as for Kris...

I mean, c'mon, poor Kris

Matt Breitzke raises his hand to interrupt the nonsense and clarify if it's a yes or no. Paula says it's yes. They are all elated... Jackie Midkiff, Cody Sheldon, T.K. Hash, all the Idol season 8 greats... you guessed it, they show Kris but they don't say his name, although he does do a happy dance.

Top 36! The Green Mile

Idol went a little differently this time around. They needed to trim the finalists down from 54 to 36, and had some of the close calls compete directly against each other in sing-offs. Kris did a sing-off. It was not shown. You'd have no idea from this episode that Kris was in any danger at all.

The first time I watched this, of course, I was just watching to see who was in and hadn't picked a favorite yet. And of course for the Tatiana nonsense (check out Nathaniel Marshall and Matt Breitze's reaction to Tatiana making it. :))

On repeat viewings, I noticed that Kris gets very little spotlight in this. He's paired in a segment with Jeanine Vailes, Anne Marie Boskovitz and Kai Kalama, that basically shows them all getting the good news and then coming out and hugging friends and family. Kris gets picked up and spun around by Papa Allen while Mama Allen beams. It's about 1 hour and 12 minutes into the episode. Later on you'll spot Kris at the end while Ryan Seacrest announces that "this is the top 36" and then of course, the fun dance that Idol used to make the contestants do.

So watch the full episode and let's see what we can see!

And for those of you who just want to cut to the chase, here's Kris making Top 36. (Notice you see the guy he did the sing-off against in the background when Kris hugs his dad. I think his name is Kenny. If you remember him, let me know his name in the comments.)



Next time: Group 2, aka the Best Idol Group Ever.

Past Kris Allen on Idol recaps:
Audition in Louisville
Hollywood Week, rounds one and two