{"id":20607,"date":"2018-07-16T15:59:22","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T20:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gigsalad.com\/blog\/?p=20607"},"modified":"2018-07-16T15:59:22","modified_gmt":"2018-07-16T20:59:22","slug":"kris-allen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gigsalad.com\/blog\/kris-allen\/","title":{"rendered":"Kris Allen | GigSalad Greenroom Interviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just days before my friend Esther Vandiver died of cancer, she told me that she thought it was funny how nice everyone is at funerals. \u201cI wonder how many people actually get to hear the kind words said about them after they pass,\u201d she pondered.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re never promised tomorrow, and that\u2019s a sobering thought, but one that should be encouraging to us if we look at it from the right angle. There\u2019s so much life to be lived, and so many amazing things to enjoy; we don\u2019t have to wait for something tragic to remind us to live well. Maybe that\u2019s why songs like, <\/span>\u201cLive Like We\u2019re Dying\u201d by Kris Allen<\/span><\/a> really hit home. \u201c<\/span>We\u2019ve only got 86,400 seconds in a day, to turn it all around or to throw it all away,\u201d Kris sings. \u201cGotta tell them that we love them while we got the chance to say, gotta live like we’re dying\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For some people, taking every moment captive means travelling more, overcoming a personal fear, or building better relationships. For Kris, it meant competing in\u2014and then winning\u2014season 8 of <\/span>American Idol<\/span><\/i>. Kris has continued to play live shows and release new music since his <\/span>Idol<\/span><\/i> success, and his latest single, \u201cWhen All The Stars Have Died,\u201d uses up-front vocals and choir-esque synth layers to promise constant devotion to the love of his life. Give it a listen <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Kris

Kris Allen\u2019s breakout single, \u201cLive Like We\u2019re Dying,\u201d peaked at #18 on Billboard Hot 100<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

GigSalad<\/strong>: Kris! How are you?<\/span><\/p>\n

Kris Allen<\/strong>: I\u2019m doing awesome, man! How are you? <\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>GS<\/strong>: Doing very well, thank you! As we start off here, can you give us a brief overview of your career so far?<\/span><\/p>\n

KA<\/strong>: Yeah! I am a singer\/songwriter. I play guitar and write music and I\u2019ve been doing this over the past 9 years. I think a lot of people know me because I came from the great show <\/span>American Idol<\/span><\/i>, and it kind of catapulted me doing this as a career. And I\u2019ve just been hitting the ground ever since!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GS<\/strong>: Let\u2019s back all the way up, even before American Idol<\/em>. How much was music a part of your life before you joined the American Idol<\/em> cast?<\/span><\/p>\n

KA<\/strong>: It was a lot. I started music when I was 8. I played in orchestras. I played viola. I played that all the way through, until I was like 18 or 19 years old. I still play a little bit. But music was always around the house. My dad had guitars and he sang and played a little bit. At 13 years old, I just picked up the guitar and started playing it. Yeah, it was a big part. I played in bars and stuff in college. Other than, like, classical music, I didn\u2019t play out for anyone or sing for anyone until I was probably 17 or 18 and finally got the courage to get out and do that thing: play in bars for 4 hours, making $25 bucks\u2014you know, just playing a bunch of covers and that type of stuff. Yeah, so it was definitely a big part of what I did for years\u2014my whole life, really. Whether I realized it or not, I think in the back of my mind, I always knew that this was what I should be doing. Whether it was the thing I thought I would do, I think in the back of my mind, I always felt that I should be playing music, because it was the thing that made me the happiest. I played in my room by myself for years and years and years, and I loved every minute. I loved learning music and learning how to play the guitar and learning how to sing, and learning new songs and singing those for people. Yeah, it was a huge part of my life. <\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>GS<\/strong>: If you didn\u2019t make it on American Idol\u2014<\/em>let alone, win American Idol\u2014<\/em>what was your plan B?<\/span><\/p>\n

KA<\/strong>: The plan was never to win. Once I\u2019d gotten through on the show, the plan was to get as far as I could to hopefully get some sort of eyes on me, then let something happen through that. I had heard of that happening. If someone believed in me in the music industry, then I can count on them to sign me or whatever. I didn\u2019t have an education on the music business at all at that time. Before I was on the show, I was playing at my church a little bit, doing that thing. But I don\u2019t think that I realistically saw music as the end-game. It was kind of a dream. It was this idea of, \u2018Oh, I love music, but is that really what I <\/span>could<\/span><\/i> do with my life? I might have to get a desk job and then play music on the side.\u2019 That kind of thing. I will say, I have amazing parents and they always pushed me in the best way possible to play music. They loved that. I think they saw something in me. They never let me believe that I couldn\u2019t do it, which is amazing. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a lot of people\u2019s stories. Their parents are like, \u2018You know, this is fun, but is this really going to amount to anything?\u2019 And my parents were not that. They always wanted me to do it.\u2026 it was 10 years ago or more, and it was hard to get your stuff out there at that time. The internet has changed everything: YouTube, and Spotify, and iTunes and all of that stuff has changed everything. You can do so much on your own now. At that time, those things weren\u2019t available. You were counting on someone finding you and believing you and signing you\u2014that type of thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Kris

Click here<\/a> to listen to Kris Allen\u2019s latest single<\/p><\/div>\n

GS<\/strong>: So you won American Idol<\/em>, jump-started your career in a major way, and as you were being thrown into that world, how similar was it to what you expected of life as a full-time musician?<\/span><\/p>\n

KA<\/strong>: Again, I don\u2019t know if I had any expectations of what the workload or what that life would be like. But it was a lot. I mean, especially something like that\u2014it wasn\u2019t like, \u2018Oh I just got signed by a label and now let\u2019s go.\u2019 It\u2019s like, \u2018You won a TV show and you won a singing competition and you also get a record deal.\u2019 I\u2019m doing a lot of these TV shows and doing these photo shoots, going on tour for the first time, and the first tour you do is an arena tour. It\u2019s just not your typical \u2018get into the music industry\u2019 curve. You get shot [from] a cannon into the clouds. And it was good, but it was a lot. I also had to learn a lot about myself and learn how to make music and learn how to write music and record music, and also try to find what I wanted to do\u2026 I learned a ton and I feel like it\u2019s been really valuable to me.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GS<\/strong>: How did you pick up on the skill sets of writing, recording, stage presence, and other things that <\/span>American Ido<\/span><\/em>l<\/em> doesn\u2019t necessarily touch on? <\/span><\/p>\n

KA<\/strong>: I think the writing and recording thing was something that I really needed to learn. I think stage presence is something that you learn just through experience. And sometimes you either have it or you don\u2019t. But I feel like for me, it was one of those things where I just try to be really genuine on stage and always have been. And I think that, as far as \u201cstage presence\u201d, it\u2019s grown over the years. But I think that just comes with doing it and getting a confidence in yourself. But the writing and recording process was something that I really had to learn\u2026. And also, when it comes to recording as well, recording is such a huge part of music, and the details and stuff that go along with that: how you\u2019re strumming your acoustic or how you\u2019re singing the vocal. People don\u2019t want to hear you just sing a song, they want to hear you emote and you\u2019re like really saying something. So I\u2019ve learned a ton over the past nine years, just about making music.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GS<\/strong>: If you had to boil it down, what do you think are the common threads between the best songs that you\u2019ve written so far? <\/span><\/p>\n

KA<\/strong>: I think honesty\u2026 when I\u2019m honest with myself and searching in my own life, going, \u2018What would I actually say here and how am I actually feeling?\u2019 Not what I think other people want to hear, but what is really going on. And it could be something funny. It could be like a joke. It doesn\u2019t always have to be serious. I think that\u2019s when my favorite stuff comes out is when I\u2019m just honest with myself.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GS<\/strong>: You\u2019ve also done a lot of covers, like on <\/span>American Idol,<\/span><\/i> when you did a cover of \u201cHeartless\u201d by Kanye. I want to know how you take these songs and turn them into your own memorable version of that other artist\u2019s work. <\/span><\/p>\n

KA<\/strong>: I try to strip the song down to melody. I try not to mess with the melody because I think that\u2019s what people memorize in a song: the melody and the lyrics. But if I can change a chord here and there, or if I can change the tempo or just the way that I\u2019m singing it or something like that, anyone who\u2019s a fan of the song can relate to it. So usually the songs that I\u2019m covering, it\u2019s not something that I think, \u2018Oh, everyone\u2019s going to love this because it\u2019s a popular song.\u2019 It\u2019s a song that I\u2019m a fan of and so I can relate to it in some way. I try to put that into the arrangement of the song\u2014the emotion that I\u2019m singing with while I\u2019m singing the song\u2014and just try to make it my own and make people go, \u2018Did he write that song?\u2019 I think that\u2019s what people want! Believe me, I\u2019ve spent a lot of time singing covers at bars just to sing them. And it can only go so far. But if you sing a song that is someone else\u2019s and you really make it your own and you put a different twist on it in some way, or something like that, it can really change the way you listen to the song or make you hear the lyrics better, or something like that. A lot of times I hear these massive pop songs, but when you dissect them, sometimes the lyrics are really sad or really poignant, or something like that. And I try to bring those out and bring out the best things about the song itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GS<\/strong>: Do you have any advice for someone who\u2019s aspiring to be a performer or just now trying to break into the entertainment industry?<\/span><\/p>\n

KA<\/strong>: I think first of all, find out what you want to say. I think a lot of people get into the music industry and they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m talented.\u2019 But there\u2019s a lot of people that are really talented, and the people that are doing this that I respect and that I love and that people follow, are the people that really have something to say. It doesn\u2019t matter what it is, but you have to search down deep and go, \u2018What is it I\u2019m doing this for? Am I doing this to gain fame or am I doing this because I have to do this because this is everything that makes me happy: music and performing and writing songs for people. I think that\u2019s probably first and foremost. Then second of all, don\u2019t rely on your talent. Again, there\u2019s so many people that I hear on the streets that can sing and that can play really well. But you have to work at it. You have to get better than everybody else and you have to work at it every single day to become a better player, become a better singer, become a better songwriter, because it\u2019s in those times that you get better that all of the good stuff happens. All of the great songs come out of like 10 other awful songs. I\u2019ve written so many bad songs that I would be mortified if people heard. But that\u2019s the process, you know! And I\u2019ve learned over the years that it\u2019s everybody\u2019s process\u2014the greats, that it\u2019s their process as well. There\u2019s a lot of trial and error and you just have to work at it, no matter what. It will not come to you. No one is going to follow the person who is waiting for things to come to them. You have to go and get it, especially nowadays. It\u2019s so much easier for people to go and get it now. You can create your own fanbase. You can cultivate that fanbase. You can make your own music at your house. It\u2019s just a different time, and I think a lot of that is happening, which is great.<\/span><\/p>\n

To hear more of Kris Allen\u2019s music and see a list of upcoming tour dates, just click <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Subscribe to the GigSalad Greenroom Interviews to hear stories from celebrities, entertainers, and industry leaders.<\/h3>\n

<\/i>Subscribe<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just days before my friend Esther Vandiver died of cancer, she told me that she thought it was funny how nice everyone is at funerals. \u201cI wonder how many people actually get to hear the kind words said about them after they pass,\u201d she pondered. We\u2019re never promised tomorrow, and that\u2019s a sobering thought, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5305,"featured_media":20615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1558],"tags":[4,84,1556],"class_list":["post-20607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-interviews","tag-musicians","tag-podcast"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKris Allen | GigSalad Greenroom Interviews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Singer\/Songwriter, Kris Allen, talks about his experience on American Idol and offers advice to aspiring artists. 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