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 |  Subject: Idol wows fans  11.02.10 3:14 | |
| - Quote :
- SOME one thousand enthusiastic fans of American Idol winner Kris Allen (pix) crowded the ballroom at The Gardens Hotel & Residences in Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur on Monday to watch their idol in action. The winsome Allen, who was the US hit reality show’s season eight champion, did not disappoint them.
At his 45-minute showcase, the singer, who is on a three-city Asian tour to promote his self-titled debut album, entertained his audience with nine songs (and two during the encore). Just before his show started, Emcees JJ and Ean of Hitz FM’s The Breakfast Show regaled the crowd in the standing room only venue for almost half an hour before Allen took to the stage at 9.10pm.
He kicked off with Fearless, and went on to sing The Truth, Red Guitar, Alright with Me, Live Like We’re Dying and the finale, the Beatles’ Come Together. Surprisingly, the song No Boundaries, written by American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, was omitted from his song list.
In between his songs, Allen thanked Malaysians for supporting American Idol, saying that he and fellow contestants have received a lot of letters and emails from Malaysia. He exclaimed: “We know Malaysia cares. We love Malaysia!”
Despite an initial technical glitch when Allen took to the stage due to a faulty microphone, things went along smoothly and fans had the time of their lives.
When Arkansas-born Allen, 24, won the American Idol (season eight) title on May 20 last year, he was the subject of quite a bit of controversy. No doubt he was endowed with good looks, school-boy charm and undeniable talent, Allen was a dark horse in the competition as there were other contestants who arguably had more talent and also stood out with their personalities.
Nevertheless, his renditions of Bill Wither’s Ain’t No Sunshine and Kanye West’s Heartless at the American Idol final were outstanding.
Allen’s Asian tour, organised by television network Star World, took him to Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. He is the first American Idol winner to perform in Malaysia. Previously, season seven runner-up David Archuleta performed here.
Allen, who created a niche for himself with his soul-pop-rock style, released an album called Brand New Shoes in 2007. Since that got him nowhere, he signed up for American Idol and the rest is ... history.
Following his win, his version of Heartless and No Boundaries hit the Top 20 of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
His debut self-titled album came soon after and it peaked at number 11 on Billboard 2000, while the lead single Live Like We’re Dying is enjoying good radio airplay here.
Allen is no stranger to this part of the world as he had travelled to Myanmar and Thailand when he served as assistant director of the non-denominational New Life Church in Conway, Arkansas.
Married to Katherine O’Connell whom he had dated since high school, Allen sports the clean-cut image of middle America.
At a press conference before the showcase, Allen said he found winning American Idol weird. “I don’t think anybody can explain it in a word. A couple of years ago, I was in a small apartment not doing anything. Then I got on a talent show and was lucky to get as far as I did.”
Asked why he seems to be generally low key while the more flamboyant Adam Lambert (first runner-up in last year’s American Idol) seems to be garnering good publicity having performed at the recent American Music Awards show and even gracing covers of magazines such as Rolling Stone, Allen simply replied: “This is me, this is just the way I am. I would rather just hang out with my wife then go on a red carpet thing.”
He said he is happy he is not hounded by the paparazzi, adding that most of his fans are generally respectful of him but there have been a couple of fans who have crossed the line and threw themselves at him. “I’m happily married and I want the world to know this.”
On his debut album, Allen said it has 12 songs, nine of which were either written or co-written by him. “I’m excited about that (writing) and I feel like it is a good thing. It means a lot to me that I was able to do that. In the future, I hope to do more.”
As one of the perks of winning the American Idol title, Allen has signed up with artiste management company 19 Entertainment and he seems pleased with this arrangement. “They tell me to go somewhere and I just go.”
Asked if his contract with 19 Entertainment is due to end soon, he quickly replied, “I hope (it) never (ends)! I work with great people at the management company and record company (Jive).
I’m so happy there and I’ve built a really good relationship with these people.”
The obviously contented singer still keeps in touch with Lambert and other contestants, saying they are all his good friends.
Allen also pointed out that he does not see himself getting involved in film and theatre anytime soon, like previous Idol contestants.
After his Asian tour, Allen plans to go to Haiti to help the victims of the recent killer earthquake, and hold a few shows in the US. http://news.google.co.uk/news/url?sa=t&ct2=uk%2F0_0_s_0_0_t&usg=AFQjCNEA0uOvn7BDz1tcKlg_Ap9M1dQcfg&cid=0&ei=mXRzS8i6OOC5jAfWi-6oAw&rt=SEARCH&vm=STANDARD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesundaily.com%2Farticle.cfm%3Fid%3D43387 | |
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