Gonna make a difference, gonna make it right.
Okay, so I'm supposed to be working on my West Wing S2 picspam. That one's huge and daunting and more than halfway through, but then this happened. So I abandoned one fangirling activity for another. :P How does anyone expect me to resist Kris Allen Day?
There have been so many pictures/reports/videos coming in from all over the place, and this is my futile attempt at consolidating everything that's happenend in the last 24 hours. I'll probably be adding more stuff (pictures, video) as I find them. For now, though. Here:
(Spoilers, I guess? If you don't want to see any of the homecoming stuff before the edited version airs on Idol next week. No song spoilers under the cut, though.)
01. Let's Throw Kris Under A Bus
Before any of the sheer joy and celebration of Kris Allen Day, this happened.
The Worst Idol Episode ever. Also known as the night I broke up with this stupid, stupid show for good. There are no words for how angry/sad/rage-y this whole thing made me, so I just refer to these excellent posts (flove Slezak's URL) that list very eloquently all the reasons why I hate it so much. UGH. I'm never going to forget it, never going to forget how it made me feel, but let's move on to happier things, yes?
02. Favorite moment ever
Then followed this bittersweet episode. I mistakenly woke up at 8 in the morning on Thursday just to watch this, and had to wait painstakingly for another hour before Rickey's live stream began. At approximately 9:38 AM, I let out the loudest scream in the world (uncannily similar to Rickey's reaction):
HIS FACE. HIS FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE. :D
Here, have a gif. Hee.
Oh, come on. Who can resist the bromance? I have so much love for the faceplant hug.
In gif form!
Yes, he hugged Danny too.
I love Ryan for asking him if he's alright and kind of assisting him to the stools. That beautiful grin at the end is my faaaaaavorite. ♥
BONUS KRADAM! LOL Kris is tiny, tiny, tiny. I flove the tippy-toe hug too. :)
(Yay gifs!)
Yeah, so that was pretty much my favorite moment of the season, mostly because of all the buildup and anxiety of the past week. And it's Kris. Come on. Take a look at my second favorite moment of Season 8 in gif form:
You can't fake that. You just can't.
Hee. I love my Pocket Idol and his seriously adorable "OMG!" faces. His genuine reactions kill me. ANYWAY. Back to the episode. Kris getting into the Top 3 was a freaking miracle, and I was so ready to call it the best day ever. I was shaking and crying and basically freaking out. Unfortunately though, this happened too:
UGH, ALLISON. :( WHAT A TRAVESTY. I will never understand how Danny freaking Gokey survived after that train wreck of a performance. I hate this show for depriving me of what could have been the most kickass (not to mention adorable) Top 3 ever. Saaaaaaaaaaaaadness.
03. At the FOX16 studio
Look at him! So tiny, surrounded by giant bodyguards. And LOL one of the security guys is holding a digital camera too.
"It's okay, I'm an Adam fan too."
Kris just plotzed at the crowd waiting for him at the airport and at the studio, and was all adorably sheepish about the whole thing. He didn't expect any of it. Love. ♥ He was interviewed by two anchors (Donna was fangirling all over the place, she was getting so tongue-tied, it was hilarious), took part in pretty cute banter especially at the end, and then he performed a pretty kickass acoustic version of "Come Together" (Download the ripped audio from here - thanks to LedZeb99 from IDF):
I love this, and I wonder if this is what he wanted to do during Rock Night. I figured Slash wanted the contestants to do straightforward rock, didn't want anybody to play around with anything. Oh well, at least we get this today. :) So after the performance, these official-looking types stood gave Kris the Keys to Jacksonville and Little Rock. I love his reaction when the mayor said that Kris Allen Day was officially declared. :) It's a running theme for the next day - he's just constantly overwhelmed and surprised by all the love that's getting thrown at him. Like he had no idea just how awesome he is.
Well, Pocket Idol, I hope you do now. :)
04. Radio interviews
Nice ride there, Allen. ;) I caught the last two interviews through live streaming, and downloaded the first two from KrisAllenation.com here. Kris is freaking hilarious in these. He seems like he's so easy to talk to, is so down-to-earth, still a normal guy and has no celebrity vibe whatsoever. He handled all the DJs' gushing and rambling pretty well, and was just very humble and grateful for all the compliments. :) On a shallow note: I find it extremely cute that his accent keeps getting more and more pronounced as the interviews go on. Hee.
Some great Kris Allen quotes:
05. Governor's mansion
The governor had nothing but nice things to say about him. :) "He's well-grounded. He's a fine young man with his head on straight, and it's exciting for everybody."
00. Commercial break: spot the nail polish!
YOU GUYS. IDK, I think I've gone completely insane, but the black nail polish on Kris's right thumbnail has been driving me crazy. I had a good laugh over it during the Rock Week performance and results shows, but to see it still there while he was giving interviews and performing all over his hometown? That's a completely different deal. And weirdly enough, during his FOX16 studio interview, he keeps his right hand in a fist the entire time, basically hiding the thumb. Gah, I'm so obsessed. It's just the idea of straight-laced, Southern gentleman Kris Allen having his nails painted black - even if it's just one... if that's not related to Adam, I don't know what is.
I've been tracking it for days, but because of this picture, I think it's chipped off completely; therefore rendering all my speculation void. LOL. Whatever, I had fun with it. Who knows, maybe we'll see it again next week. ;)
06. At the AT&T store on Shackleford
That picture with small children? KILLED ME. ♥
This was where he announced to everybody what the judges' song choice is for this week, and apparently was told that he'll be getting free cheese dip forever at his favorite restaurant. LOL. I won't post the song choice here in case some of you don't like being spoiled, but it's over at MJs. But anyway, yeah. More adorableness! Unfortunately no video has surfaced yet, and I'm really not sure what he performed here.
Have some more gorgeous Kris, taken by Jason Hawkins from Little Rock:
HE'S PERFECT.
07. Live at the Riverfest Amphitheater
LOOK AT THAT CROWD. And LOL FOREVER at some of these signs: "Kris is our substitute teacher" (because they skipped school). "In Arkansas, we eat ice for lunch!" "Keep Rockin' Idol Send Gokey Home!"
FOX16 estimated 15,000 people in the audience, and he entered the stage amid chants of "We eat ice!" LOL. He was majorly, majorly overwhelmed and overflowing with gratitude to "the best fans in the world". WHEE. Apparently they started chanting "We like ice!" while waiting for him. Bwah. I love Arkansas. ♥
He performed "She Works Hard For The Money", "Falling Slowly" (including messed up lyrics, heh) and "Ain't No Sunshine" on acoustic guitar (I've very quickly flailed about it here), and was generally a pretty marvelous guy. He just kept thanking the crowd over and over, still overwhelmed by all the support, just all the people.
Take a look at my newest wallpaper. :) He's so beautiful.
08. Live at the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA
SO. PRETTY.
Tickets were given away on a first-come first-serve basis because the theater is pretty tiny. Most of the kids there cut school to see him, some were waiting as early as 5 in the morning. Just. I love Arkansas so much for supporting him, for giving this day to him. ♥ Here's a video of his intro/entrance; again, he performed "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Falling Slowly" on acoustic guitar.
09. Parade through downtown Conway
Kris gets a hero's welcome in his hometown. ♥ There's a short video of it here, mostly people screaming. I can't wait to see footage of this on the video package next week. Thousands of people lining the streets, I love it.
10. Live at Simon Park, Conway
AWESOME CROWD.
He's such a tight, squeeze-y hugger - definitely one of my favorite things about him. :)
He closed everything out with a performance at Simon Park in Conway. Daniel (Kris's younger brother) introduced him (this video is a MUST SEE, he is hilarious and so so proud), and after that I finally got my teary!Kris caught on video when the mayor was telling him how proud the entire city - the entire state - was of him. ♥ I guess the day and all the emotions finally caught up with him. Aww Pocket Idol, everyone loves you!
He performed "She Works Hard For The Money", "Falling Slowly" (awesome glory note) and this absolutely kickass acoustic version of "Man in the Mirror": (Download the ripped mp3 here care of yours truly!)
Can I just say how much I love this version? It's not just his superb singing, not just his beautiful voice, not just this amazing encore of his Top 13 song... but it's also just Kris. He just put so much of himself into this performance (and all the others he did that day), so much emotion, and he is so comfortable to be up on stage with nothing but his guitar and a microphone. Just. This. This is why I love him so much. Seriously, is there anything this man can't do? His sheer amount of talent floors me.
I admit I got a little lot teary during this one, because I remember his shaky (but still awesome) rendition during Group 2 night, and the joy on his face when Simon said he liked it, I remember the semi-finals and think of just how far he's come since then. I'm so proud of him, and I know that's weird, but I just am. I'm so happy to be rooting for such an amazing person. I just love this guy so much, nobody deserves all of this more than he does, and I'm so so so happy he was given the chance to do this. ♥ This homecoming is all that I wanted for him, and here's hoping that all the love and support thrown at him all day pumps him up for this week's performances, inspires him to do the best he can, to continue to be the most genuine and humble contestant AI has ever seen.
We love you, Pocket Idol. And I'm so happy that you finally got the chance to see a little bit of just how much. Just wait until you get bombarded on tour. ;)
Photo credit:
FOX16.com
Kris-pics.net
KrisAllenation.com
ashleighl from IDF for most of the Simon Park pics
LedZeb99's photo stream on Flickr
There have been so many pictures/reports/videos coming in from all over the place, and this is my futile attempt at consolidating everything that's happenend in the last 24 hours. I'll probably be adding more stuff (pictures, video) as I find them. For now, though. Here:
(Spoilers, I guess? If you don't want to see any of the homecoming stuff before the edited version airs on Idol next week. No song spoilers under the cut, though.)
01. Let's Throw Kris Under A Bus
Before any of the sheer joy and celebration of Kris Allen Day, this happened.
The Worst Idol Episode ever. Also known as the night I broke up with this stupid, stupid show for good. There are no words for how angry/sad/rage-y this whole thing made me, so I just refer to these excellent posts (flove Slezak's URL) that list very eloquently all the reasons why I hate it so much. UGH. I'm never going to forget it, never going to forget how it made me feel, but let's move on to happier things, yes?
02. Favorite moment ever
Then followed this bittersweet episode. I mistakenly woke up at 8 in the morning on Thursday just to watch this, and had to wait painstakingly for another hour before Rickey's live stream began. At approximately 9:38 AM, I let out the loudest scream in the world (uncannily similar to Rickey's reaction):
HIS FACE. HIS FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE. :D
Here, have a gif. Hee.
Oh, come on. Who can resist the bromance? I have so much love for the faceplant hug.
In gif form!
Yes, he hugged Danny too.
I love Ryan for asking him if he's alright and kind of assisting him to the stools. That beautiful grin at the end is my faaaaaavorite. ♥
BONUS KRADAM! LOL Kris is tiny, tiny, tiny. I flove the tippy-toe hug too. :)
(Yay gifs!)
Yeah, so that was pretty much my favorite moment of the season, mostly because of all the buildup and anxiety of the past week. And it's Kris. Come on. Take a look at my second favorite moment of Season 8 in gif form:
You can't fake that. You just can't.
Hee. I love my Pocket Idol and his seriously adorable "OMG!" faces. His genuine reactions kill me. ANYWAY. Back to the episode. Kris getting into the Top 3 was a freaking miracle, and I was so ready to call it the best day ever. I was shaking and crying and basically freaking out. Unfortunately though, this happened too:
UGH, ALLISON. :( WHAT A TRAVESTY. I will never understand how Danny freaking Gokey survived after that train wreck of a performance. I hate this show for depriving me of what could have been the most kickass (not to mention adorable) Top 3 ever. Saaaaaaaaaaaaadness.
03. At the FOX16 studio
Look at him! So tiny, surrounded by giant bodyguards. And LOL one of the security guys is holding a digital camera too.
"It's okay, I'm an Adam fan too."
Kris just plotzed at the crowd waiting for him at the airport and at the studio, and was all adorably sheepish about the whole thing. He didn't expect any of it. Love. ♥ He was interviewed by two anchors (Donna was fangirling all over the place, she was getting so tongue-tied, it was hilarious), took part in pretty cute banter especially at the end, and then he performed a pretty kickass acoustic version of "Come Together" (Download the ripped audio from here - thanks to LedZeb99 from IDF):
Click to viewI love this, and I wonder if this is what he wanted to do during Rock Night. I figured Slash wanted the contestants to do straightforward rock, didn't want anybody to play around with anything. Oh well, at least we get this today. :) So after the performance, these official-looking types stood gave Kris the Keys to Jacksonville and Little Rock. I love his reaction when the mayor said that Kris Allen Day was officially declared. :) It's a running theme for the next day - he's just constantly overwhelmed and surprised by all the love that's getting thrown at him. Like he had no idea just how awesome he is.
Well, Pocket Idol, I hope you do now. :)
04. Radio interviews
Nice ride there, Allen. ;) I caught the last two interviews through live streaming, and downloaded the first two from KrisAllenation.com here. Kris is freaking hilarious in these. He seems like he's so easy to talk to, is so down-to-earth, still a normal guy and has no celebrity vibe whatsoever. He handled all the DJs' gushing and rambling pretty well, and was just very humble and grateful for all the compliments. :) On a shallow note: I find it extremely cute that his accent keeps getting more and more pronounced as the interviews go on. Hee.
Some great Kris Allen quotes:
- [During a radio phone contest] "Hi how's it going, sorry you lost!"
- [Who's taller, Ryan or Kris?] "Man, you need to put some other shoes on. You make me look tiny on this stage!"
- [On Katy] "She’s dealing with it all very well. I couldn’t ask for a better wife." ♥
- [On Katy again] "[She] definitely did not fall in love with the singing. She’s asked me to stop singing before. I’m serious."
- [Grew up listening to Michael Jackson] "Dancing in my room as a kid, with my hat on, trying to moonwalk unsuccessfully."
- [On Adam being overpraised] "He's my friend, and he's super talented. And he'll tell you he probably gets more than he deserves. But he really is amazing."
05. Governor's mansion
The governor had nothing but nice things to say about him. :) "He's well-grounded. He's a fine young man with his head on straight, and it's exciting for everybody."
00. Commercial break: spot the nail polish!
YOU GUYS. IDK, I think I've gone completely insane, but the black nail polish on Kris's right thumbnail has been driving me crazy. I had a good laugh over it during the Rock Week performance and results shows, but to see it still there while he was giving interviews and performing all over his hometown? That's a completely different deal. And weirdly enough, during his FOX16 studio interview, he keeps his right hand in a fist the entire time, basically hiding the thumb. Gah, I'm so obsessed. It's just the idea of straight-laced, Southern gentleman Kris Allen having his nails painted black - even if it's just one... if that's not related to Adam, I don't know what is.
I've been tracking it for days, but because of this picture, I think it's chipped off completely; therefore rendering all my speculation void. LOL. Whatever, I had fun with it. Who knows, maybe we'll see it again next week. ;)
06. At the AT&T store on Shackleford
That picture with small children? KILLED ME. ♥
This was where he announced to everybody what the judges' song choice is for this week, and apparently was told that he'll be getting free cheese dip forever at his favorite restaurant. LOL. I won't post the song choice here in case some of you don't like being spoiled, but it's over at MJs. But anyway, yeah. More adorableness! Unfortunately no video has surfaced yet, and I'm really not sure what he performed here.
Have some more gorgeous Kris, taken by Jason Hawkins from Little Rock:
HE'S PERFECT.
07. Live at the Riverfest Amphitheater
LOOK AT THAT CROWD. And LOL FOREVER at some of these signs: "Kris is our substitute teacher" (because they skipped school). "In Arkansas, we eat ice for lunch!" "Keep Rockin' Idol Send Gokey Home!"
FOX16 estimated 15,000 people in the audience, and he entered the stage amid chants of "We eat ice!" LOL. He was majorly, majorly overwhelmed and overflowing with gratitude to "the best fans in the world". WHEE. Apparently they started chanting "We like ice!" while waiting for him. Bwah. I love Arkansas. ♥
He performed "She Works Hard For The Money", "Falling Slowly" (including messed up lyrics, heh) and "Ain't No Sunshine" on acoustic guitar (I've very quickly flailed about it here), and was generally a pretty marvelous guy. He just kept thanking the crowd over and over, still overwhelmed by all the support, just all the people.
Take a look at my newest wallpaper. :) He's so beautiful.
08. Live at the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA
SO. PRETTY.
Tickets were given away on a first-come first-serve basis because the theater is pretty tiny. Most of the kids there cut school to see him, some were waiting as early as 5 in the morning. Just. I love Arkansas so much for supporting him, for giving this day to him. ♥ Here's a video of his intro/entrance; again, he performed "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Falling Slowly" on acoustic guitar.
09. Parade through downtown Conway
Kris gets a hero's welcome in his hometown. ♥ There's a short video of it here, mostly people screaming. I can't wait to see footage of this on the video package next week. Thousands of people lining the streets, I love it.
10. Live at Simon Park, Conway
AWESOME CROWD.
He's such a tight, squeeze-y hugger - definitely one of my favorite things about him. :)
He closed everything out with a performance at Simon Park in Conway. Daniel (Kris's younger brother) introduced him (this video is a MUST SEE, he is hilarious and so so proud), and after that I finally got my teary!Kris caught on video when the mayor was telling him how proud the entire city - the entire state - was of him. ♥ I guess the day and all the emotions finally caught up with him. Aww Pocket Idol, everyone loves you!
He performed "She Works Hard For The Money", "Falling Slowly" (awesome glory note) and this absolutely kickass acoustic version of "Man in the Mirror": (Download the ripped mp3 here care of yours truly!)
Can I just say how much I love this version? It's not just his superb singing, not just his beautiful voice, not just this amazing encore of his Top 13 song... but it's also just Kris. He just put so much of himself into this performance (and all the others he did that day), so much emotion, and he is so comfortable to be up on stage with nothing but his guitar and a microphone. Just. This. This is why I love him so much. Seriously, is there anything this man can't do? His sheer amount of talent floors me.
I admit I got a little lot teary during this one, because I remember his shaky (but still awesome) rendition during Group 2 night, and the joy on his face when Simon said he liked it, I remember the semi-finals and think of just how far he's come since then. I'm so proud of him, and I know that's weird, but I just am. I'm so happy to be rooting for such an amazing person. I just love this guy so much, nobody deserves all of this more than he does, and I'm so so so happy he was given the chance to do this. ♥ This homecoming is all that I wanted for him, and here's hoping that all the love and support thrown at him all day pumps him up for this week's performances, inspires him to do the best he can, to continue to be the most genuine and humble contestant AI has ever seen.
We love you, Pocket Idol. And I'm so happy that you finally got the chance to see a little bit of just how much. Just wait until you get bombarded on tour. ;)
Photo credit:
FOX16.com
Kris-pics.net
KrisAllenation.com
ashleighl from IDF for most of the Simon Park pics
LedZeb99's photo stream on Flickr