by Gina Scarpa

 

A little more than a year ago, Kris Allen was just a regular guy from Arkansas but all of that changed in May of 2009, when he was crowned the season 8 winner of American Idol. He went on to release two successful singles - first, "Live Like We're Dying" and most recently, "The Truth". Now, he's out on the road, playing packed venues around the country and opening up for artists such as Barenaked Ladies and Keith Urban. We caught up with Kris today in an exclusive interview about his music, his tour, and life after Idol.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What were your expectations after winning American Idol? Did your journey afterwards match up with what you were expecting?
A. Kris: I don't know what I was expecting. I'm one of those people that doesn't expect a whole lot. It's exceeded all expectations. When you come off the show, you're really busy afterwards. You do too many interviews and then you're on the road with the Idol tour and you're making an album at the same time. All that time was pretty crazy until the wintertime of last year. We put the band together and started going on the road a little bit and that felt like the most right. That's been great. When the first single came out, it exceeded all my expectations.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You seem to be a pretty private person. How have you adjusted to the fame?
A. Kris: I still stay pretty private. I stay out of the tabloids, not that I have anything to hide. I'm not into that scene, I guess. That's not my thing.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You're opening some shows with Barenaked Ladies and some shows with Keith Urban. They're so different musically. What has that been like for you?
A. Kris: It's been really cool. The music that we play, I think people are gonna love it. We played one show with Keith and it was awesome. We were in Vegas and there were a ton of people there. Keith is such a really cool guy and he embraces everything. We played a few shows with Barenaked Ladies too, and they have a great following. Being in the opener spot is great because you get to play for a bit and get the crowd excited.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What have you learned from being around them?
A. Kris: The times we've been around the Barenaked Ladies have been really scarce. They're funny guys. Keith handles himself really well. He's just a guy. He's one of the biggest country stars, or music stars in general, out there. He loves doing what he does. People forget that he's just a regular person, a regular guy.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What is your show like now, in comparison to what you were doing on the Idol tour?
A. Kris: I think people that come to the shows now don't really know what to expect. They've never been to a Kris Allen show. They've been to an Idol show and they've seen me on tv but they've never come to a Kris Allen show. I think they come away really surprised. I have an awesome band that makes me sound better than I really am, I'm sure. They're really great. We work really well together and we've become really tight and that shows on stage.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Tell us a little about your new single, "The Truth".
A. Kris: The song was written by the lead singer of Train, Pat Monahan, and it's a great, great song. It's a pretty emotional song so every time we do it, I try to convey that.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you have anything else big planned right now?
A. Kris: No, we're just on the road until September. The tour itself is pretty big!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What do you want to say to your fans that are supporting you and your music?
A. Kris: The fans are the reason that we're here, whether they're Idol fans or fans that came to the show, had no idea who I am, and became fans. That means everything and we're going to keep doing what we're doing.

 

 

For tour dates, music info, and more, check out Kris's official website here.

 

(Image courtesy of Kris Allen's official website)

 

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

For more American Idol links, visit SirLinksALot.net