Kris Allen - The Ultimate Interview Part 4
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Kris Allen: The ultimate interview, Part Four
In the final part of this four-part interview, "American Idol" winner Kris Allen reflects talks about the "Idol" tour and discusses what's next in his music career. Read Part One here. Read Part Two here. Read Part Three here.
Before you auditioned for “American Idol,” was there ever a point where you were ready to give up music and get a 9-to-5 job?
I don’t know if there was a time when I was going to give up music completely. I was going to give up trying so hard, because whether it would be playing at a church or playing at weddings or anything like that, I felt like music would always be a part of who I was, but yeah, I was totally ready. I was going back to college and was going to finish and hopefully get a decent job so me and my wife could have a comfortable life together, which would have been fine. But things worked out this way. I’m really happy.
And now you’re working on your first album for a major label. What is your vision for this debut release?
I think the vision that I have for the first album is so hard to put into words. I know that it’s going to be music that people like and something that is hopefully different than maybe people have heard in a while or maybe ever. I hope that it’s something that grabs people lyrically-wise, subject matter and even musically as well, but something that’s different from what people are doing right now.
Are you writing songs for the album?
I pushed for that. I wanted to be part of the writing process. I don’t know if I can. There’s so much going on right now with the tour and all that. But yeah, we’ve done a lot of co-writing sessions and it’s been an experience because you learn from people who have been writing songs for a long time.
Are you happy with how it’s going so far?
The first session I had went well, but the song didn’t end up as something I wanted to do on the album. I was intimidated, so I didn’t put my two cents in as much as I should have, and then the next one went really well and I got more comfortable. Same thing with the song though. Closer to what I wanted, but not completely there. And then I was with somebody yesterday and it was weird, but it went really well and I think it’s getting there. I really do. I’m excited.
Before the summer tour started, what was the biggest audience you had played for?
I played for 20,000 at the home visit [to Conway, Ark., during top three week on “American Idol”]. That was definitely millions of percent bigger than anything I’ve ever done and it was very cool to sing in front of that many people. And then I sang at the Wal-Mart shareholders’ meeting and I think there were 16,000 people there. I did the national anthem at the Lakers’ game. I don’t know how many people were there. But before all that stuff, maybe like 200, 300.
Is there a different energy playing for 20,000 people instead of 200?
It’s a completely different energy. I had a best friend that I’ve been playing music with and we always talked about what it would be like to be playing in front of arenas of thousands and thousands of people. When you’re singing in front of that many people, the energy they give you is so captivating that you want to give them something to cheer about.
How do you feel about spending the summer on the road and living on a bus?
I live for that stuff. I feel like I’m a gypsy at heart. I like traveling a lot and especially with people that you become really good friends with over the year. I’m really excited about it..
Your parents were very visible on “Idol” and were clearly giving you a lot of love and support. How important was that to you?
They came out for a lot of the shows, which was very supportive and it was nice to have family there. They’ve been amazing. I went home the other day and everything was the same and that’s how they can support me the best, being the same, and it’s nice to know that that’s going to be there.
We didn’t see a lot of footage of you in the early part of the season. Do you think that helped you or hurt you?
I don’t know if it helped me or hurt me, but that’s the way I do things, I fly under the radar. All my life, I’ve never been one to show off, so I don’t know if it was a strategy, but it obviously worked.
Being on “American Idol” brings incredible fame and celebrity. How does the actual experience compare with what you thought it might be like?
I don’t know if I ever had any expectations about it. It never crossed my mind. Being a star or being famous was never the intention, so it’s definitely weird. People yelling outside of their cars while you’re walking down the road. It’s one of those things you never expected. It’s flattering and very humbling too. It’s nice to know that people care about you. It’s great.
There’s no place where you can have privacy anymore - not at an airport or a restaurant …
Well, there’s probably a couple places, but yeah, when we go somewhere, people usually notice, but people are really nice.
Through the missionary work you did when you were younger, you’ve already been all over the world. Do you enjoy traveling?
Love it. I would like to do more stuff like that and the opportunity is bigger now to help people, to go to different places where people are having a hard time. I went to Thailand after the tsunami and helped with that and it’s nice to get to know people from different countries, because they’re different but they’re also the same. And the coolest thing that I learned from all those trips is that I’ve been to a lot of places where people don’t have much and they’re so happy to see you and they are always wearing a smile. They’ll make their best food for you and put you in their best places, which isn’t great by our standards but is amazing by theirs. So it’s nice to know that as much as we think we go through as Americans, there are other people around the world that go through way more and are living a better life. So doing that, I’ve learned about being a real person.
-- Fred Bronson
Kris Allen: The ultimate interview, Part Four
In the final part of this four-part interview, "American Idol" winner Kris Allen reflects talks about the "Idol" tour and discusses what's next in his music career. Read Part One here. Read Part Two here. Read Part Three here.
Before you auditioned for “American Idol,” was there ever a point where you were ready to give up music and get a 9-to-5 job?
I don’t know if there was a time when I was going to give up music completely. I was going to give up trying so hard, because whether it would be playing at a church or playing at weddings or anything like that, I felt like music would always be a part of who I was, but yeah, I was totally ready. I was going back to college and was going to finish and hopefully get a decent job so me and my wife could have a comfortable life together, which would have been fine. But things worked out this way. I’m really happy.
And now you’re working on your first album for a major label. What is your vision for this debut release?
I think the vision that I have for the first album is so hard to put into words. I know that it’s going to be music that people like and something that is hopefully different than maybe people have heard in a while or maybe ever. I hope that it’s something that grabs people lyrically-wise, subject matter and even musically as well, but something that’s different from what people are doing right now.
Are you writing songs for the album?
I pushed for that. I wanted to be part of the writing process. I don’t know if I can. There’s so much going on right now with the tour and all that. But yeah, we’ve done a lot of co-writing sessions and it’s been an experience because you learn from people who have been writing songs for a long time.
Are you happy with how it’s going so far?
The first session I had went well, but the song didn’t end up as something I wanted to do on the album. I was intimidated, so I didn’t put my two cents in as much as I should have, and then the next one went really well and I got more comfortable. Same thing with the song though. Closer to what I wanted, but not completely there. And then I was with somebody yesterday and it was weird, but it went really well and I think it’s getting there. I really do. I’m excited.
Before the summer tour started, what was the biggest audience you had played for?
I played for 20,000 at the home visit [to Conway, Ark., during top three week on “American Idol”]. That was definitely millions of percent bigger than anything I’ve ever done and it was very cool to sing in front of that many people. And then I sang at the Wal-Mart shareholders’ meeting and I think there were 16,000 people there. I did the national anthem at the Lakers’ game. I don’t know how many people were there. But before all that stuff, maybe like 200, 300.
Is there a different energy playing for 20,000 people instead of 200?
It’s a completely different energy. I had a best friend that I’ve been playing music with and we always talked about what it would be like to be playing in front of arenas of thousands and thousands of people. When you’re singing in front of that many people, the energy they give you is so captivating that you want to give them something to cheer about.
How do you feel about spending the summer on the road and living on a bus?
I live for that stuff. I feel like I’m a gypsy at heart. I like traveling a lot and especially with people that you become really good friends with over the year. I’m really excited about it..
Your parents were very visible on “Idol” and were clearly giving you a lot of love and support. How important was that to you?
They came out for a lot of the shows, which was very supportive and it was nice to have family there. They’ve been amazing. I went home the other day and everything was the same and that’s how they can support me the best, being the same, and it’s nice to know that that’s going to be there.
We didn’t see a lot of footage of you in the early part of the season. Do you think that helped you or hurt you?
I don’t know if it helped me or hurt me, but that’s the way I do things, I fly under the radar. All my life, I’ve never been one to show off, so I don’t know if it was a strategy, but it obviously worked.
Being on “American Idol” brings incredible fame and celebrity. How does the actual experience compare with what you thought it might be like?
I don’t know if I ever had any expectations about it. It never crossed my mind. Being a star or being famous was never the intention, so it’s definitely weird. People yelling outside of their cars while you’re walking down the road. It’s one of those things you never expected. It’s flattering and very humbling too. It’s nice to know that people care about you. It’s great.
There’s no place where you can have privacy anymore - not at an airport or a restaurant …
Well, there’s probably a couple places, but yeah, when we go somewhere, people usually notice, but people are really nice.
Through the missionary work you did when you were younger, you’ve already been all over the world. Do you enjoy traveling?
Love it. I would like to do more stuff like that and the opportunity is bigger now to help people, to go to different places where people are having a hard time. I went to Thailand after the tsunami and helped with that and it’s nice to get to know people from different countries, because they’re different but they’re also the same. And the coolest thing that I learned from all those trips is that I’ve been to a lot of places where people don’t have much and they’re so happy to see you and they are always wearing a smile. They’ll make their best food for you and put you in their best places, which isn’t great by our standards but is amazing by theirs. So it’s nice to know that as much as we think we go through as Americans, there are other people around the world that go through way more and are living a better life. So doing that, I’ve learned about being a real person.
-- Fred Bronson