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According to his site, hit producer Toby Gad spent six days in the studio with Kris working on material for his new album. Gad is the genius behind Beyonce's hit "If I Were a Boy", and Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry." He's also worked with Shakira, Jordin Sparks, Keke Palmer, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Natasha Bedingfield, Wynter Gordon, Brandy, Selena Gomez, Robin Thicke, Leona Lewis, The Veronicas, and Taylor Momsen.
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USA Today Article
Rolling Stone Article
A wonderful review of the tour and Kris from "On Portland"
Excerpt:
Kris Allen emerged from the floor in the center of the stage to the screams of the fans. They dropped a curtain behind him and the rest of the band (an odd move) and he held silent with his acoustic guitar in hand, for just a little too long. What followed though was one of the highlights of the entire show. Allen performed Kanye West's "Heartless" in a way that made it clear that he's made it his own. The song sounded even better live and is the corner stone of Allen's success. Kris Allen was pitch perfect with his performance of "No Boundaries", which isn't my favorite song, but Allen finds hooks in it to make it into something much more beautiful and strong than the source material. Allen's emotion and connection to the audience peaked with "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. I think it's Allen's humble honesty in his performance that really wins the audience over. If Kris Allen came out with the ego of Matt Giraud I don't think it would work nearly as well. Kris Allen went for the trifecta on Matchbox 20's “Bright Lights” singing, playing guitar and piano, a truly versatile performance. He closed his set with a fantastic performance of "Hey Jude", with the other 9 Idols joining him for the end of the song.Read more...
Just so you know, last night LIl Rounds "Put A Ring On It" Lol! As I had that early in the competition as her contestant's choice pick, Unfortunately she didn't make it that far. But with that out of the the way, the LA times wrote a review of the show and called it "better", "cooler" and more contemporary.
Megan Joy's set showed her soulful, bluesy side, often eclipsed during the season taking up Amy Winehouse's "Tears Dry on Their Own." (Brian Mansfield has the complete set list here.) Scott MacIntyre was looser and more engaging than he had ever seemed on the Idol stage, opening his set with a very strong version of Keane's "Bend and Break."
Whatever doubting Lil Rounds' struggles may have aroused during the season were entirely put to rest tonight by a fantastically fun set culminating with Beyonce's "Put a Ring On It."
Kris Allen comes to the stage facing a bundle full of questions - namely, could his soft-spoken, low key style stand up as the headline act of an arena show? To all appearances, it could, handily. The show very astutely didn't try to make Kris top Adam in volume, but stripped down the production for his numbers to a minimalist, intimate feel through which his strong vocals on "Heartless" and others did manage to turn the stadium into a little theater or nightclub, a feeling his set kept coming back to until the crowd-pleasing singalong finale of "Hey Jude." In the end, one can't but feel that Kris' is the right note for the concert to end in, that of all the Idol's his likable,sweet style delivered the feel-good close that had the departing crowds still humming with good will towards mankind.
In this article, Kris talks about his new album, production, and what fans can expect.
Kris Allen hasn't settled on a producer for his album, but he's narrowing the choices. "It's down to a couple," he says. "Either one of them, they're amazing."
One thing he does know: He'd like to break Idol tradition and work with one producer for the entire project. "That's what we're shooting for," he says, "just to get a continuity throughout the album.
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"I know it's tough to do with the Idol albums. It's so hectic that it's hard to get one producer for the whole album, but that would be my preference. The albums that I listen to and really appreciate, they all have that one-producer thing. Every song sounds different, but they still have that something about them that sounds the same."
Idols invariably say that the show rarely manages to convey their true musical personalities, and Kris agrees with that -- "not musically, no." So what can Kris' fans expect? "I did a lot of acoustic stuff, and I played the piano, so having that organic feel, not a whole lot of production on the CD, I think they can expect that.
"On the other hand, I like a little bit of production. It just depends on the song. I think you can expect a little bit of that."
