Kris Allen on fame, family and life after 'idol'

CEBU, Philippines -   During his recent whirlwind visit to Cebu, the reigning American Idol champ Kris Allen sat down with The FREEMAN for a five-minute one-on-one. The interview, albeit brief, was a welcome treat and teaser to his concert here dubbed as MusicFest 2010, wherein he played songs that particularly reminded local AI fans of the glories of last season.

After his Philippine trip, the singer-songwriter from Arkansas in the US also traveled to the neighboring countries of Malaysia and Singapore, performing inside jam-packed venues. Then, doing what he could to help, Allen also joined the UN Foundation in Haiti in its efforts to help clean up the earthquake-devastated nation.

And, by the way, in between gigs, he’s also rocking it out in cyberspace via Twitter with several tweets devoted to his recent Philippine tour. He tweeted about a Filipino dish—balot—which he tried, liked, but wouldn’t try again, and on his shows in Cebu and Manila: “Cebu was a killer… Thank you Cebu and Manila for an awesome couple of shows! Hope to make it back pretty soon.”

In this chat, Allen also expressed his appreciation for Cebu’s reception to him. That, and his thoughts on fame and family; of being happy with the pace of his career despite reports that his first album, “Brand New Shoes,” made the slowest debut for a winner in AI history; and his words of advice to the current crop of AI hopefuls.  

The FREEMAN: Do you have an idea that American Idol has a big fanbase here?

Kris Allen: I do have an idea that American Idol is big in the Philippines. In fact when I was still in American Idol, I would get fan mail from the Philippines. And I get a lot. I remember just being in awe of that, because Philippines is just so far away and I didn’t know that the show aired here. It’s really cool.

TF: Is fame what you expected?

Allen: I really did not have any expectations of fame. Life really throws things at you, and you kind of just have to run with them. So I feel like I’m just running along with it, and I feel like it’s a good thing.

TF: How’s your family?

Allen: My wife, and my family are great. They treat me the same, although my hometown is kind of different. Am I treated like a star? A little bit. For me, it’s just nice to be a role model for those people back at home. And I really feel that I now have a connection with those people.

TF: You had a slightly controversial win over the flamboyant Adam Lambert last year. So, now a year after your American Idol stint, do you feel you have proven your worth?

Allen: It has not been about proving my worth. Any of these people on Idol could be in my position. I just happen to make that far. And so, for me, it wasn’t about proving myself. There was lot of pressure [to do well] after AI, but I decided to turn that pressure into a good thing. I was actually talking to Melissa Etheridge the other day, and she said do what you love and just really do that.

TF: Are you still in touch with your AI batchmates?

Allen: Absolutely, I keep in touch with a lot of them. I just spoke and hung out with Adam (Lambert) the other day, and Alison Iraheta, and a whole bunch of other guys. 

TF: Are you happy with the pace of your career?

Allen: Everyone has these expectations of Idol winners. And for me, this is my first time in the music industry, and the single sales now are really good, and the album sales are pretty good. For me, this is the most that I’ve ever done, and I think it can really go up from here. So it’s a good place to be.

TF: Advice to the current crop of AI hopefuls?

Allen: My biggest advice would just have to be: Just take everything that the judges say with a grain of salt. Just be yourself, find out what you’re best in, and do it. Just go out there and do it with the best of your ability.

TF: We hope you have a great stay in the country.

Allen: Absolutely. People here are really nice, welcoming and I would definitely come back here. – NMT