Idol 2 - Kris Allen

2. Kris Allen
Season 8, Winner

After Kris Allen was crowned the American Idol of Season 8, I typed this sort of catchphrase on my old - now, non existing - blog, Have No Fear, The Underdog Is Here. Haha. Seriously. This was the most appropriate thing to say at that moment. Kris, to me, was the first dark horse to ever win American Idol and even beat everybody's heavy favorite, Adam Lambert. Crazy no?

Of course, I'd be lying if I say that I was already rooting for Kris Allen from the get-go. I mean, he clearly had roughly 10 seconds during the audition rounds and in Hollywood week, he was barely featured - aside from the awesomeness during the group round that was White Chocolate. So, coming into the semifinals - with a new format to boot - I completely written him off the competition.

Yes, he performed a serviceable performance of Michael Jackson's Man In The Mirror but I absolutely didn't expect him to sneak his way into the Final 13. Group 2 was, arguably, the most competitive group of that season with Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert, Matt Giraud and Megan Joy in it. I'll even throw in a couple of amazing vocalists such as Jesse Langseth, Mishavonna Henson and, yes, I have to mention her, Jasmine Murray. So, aside from the gorgeous boy-next-door look and decent performance, I didn't know how he managed to stand out. Well, he proved me dead wrong as he was able to beat both favorites Giraud and Megan Joy.

Going into the Final 13, I obviously still had doubts - I even predicted him early on to be eliminated eight or seventh. He just screamed cannon fodder to me. But somehow along the way - with a surprising string of amazing performances - he won me over. I mean, I have to hand it to Kris, in a talent show that more often than not favors big voices, he made the most out of his limited range by making up for it with his immense musicality and emotional connection.

Let's be honest, other contestants demanded the viewer's attention with flash, pizazz, and glory notes, while Kris, on the other hand, just drew people in with his simplicity and, to some extent, quiet confidence. Heck, some even had fancy lighting and glamorous outfits, and all he had were jeans, a t-shirt - sometimes those plaid polos he likes so much - and his guitar or sometimes a piano.

Now, the other thing that I really liked about Kris Allen was the way he recreates the material into something of his own. He may not have been the pioneer of song arrangement on the show, but he managed to make me listen to all of his performances. Look, Kris took pleasantly dull numbers like Remember the Time and How Sweet It Is and infused them with his funky, fresh style. He turned the overdone Donna Summer and Bill Withers ditty into something refreshing and modern. Oh, and during the Movie theme, he picked a beautiful, yet obscure indie track, Falling Slowly, and made a moment out of it. He even arranged a Kanye song that was undeniably better than the original. And when he was saddled with that crappy single No Boundaries, he shockingly made it not just listenable, but emotional and infectious, to a point where I'm not even embarrassed anymore to admit that I love it. I love that trite Idol coronation song - even better than Jordin Sparks' This Is My Now. Haha. Do you see what he has done to me?

But all that being said, I still went into that Season 8's Finale completely ready to embrace Adam Lambert as the next American Idol. It's not that I didn't have much confidence on Kris winning the whole thing, it was just that the odds were definitely against him that time given the way the producers and judges seemed to want Adam to win. But yes, Surprise! Surprise! Kris Allen won and obliterated the concept of a Chosen One on Idol - well, Chosen Three during that season, Gokey, Rounds and Lambert. So, whatever other people say, I most definitely think that he earned it and he was a completely worthy winner.

People criticized him for being a mediocre singer but seriously, just because someone's voice isn't huge, or octave-scaling, or range-y, doesn't mean it can't be fantastic. No, this is not a dis against Adam Lambert, it's just an acknowledgment that there are all kinds of voices worth getting worked up about. And Kris, who obviously hailed from the less-is-more school of singing, undeniably put down some stellar, show-stopping performances that season. Enough said.

As for his post-Idol debut album, I think it's pretty strong. I actually felt vindicated after I heard the whole record because it's so much better than what I've expected. The record seems very high-quality, and doesn’t seem overproduced, unlike most of the post Idol’s debut albums. The album flows effortlessly from song to song and there is a cohesiveness and somewhat of a story line going on. Oh, and there is a bunch of higher register and falsetto in the album and he sounds gorgeous in parts. I actually had no idea that he had so many shades/levels to his voice. Dare I say, the best debut album of any Season 8 finalist.

Album Review: Kris Allen

Favorite Performance(s): It goes without saying that Kris Allen delivered a pretty good list of amazing performances. I think his version of Heartless was, arguably, the biggest showstopper of Season 8. His take on the classic, Ain't No Sunshine, was also phenomenal and so was the Donna Summer re-arrangement of She Works Hard For The Money. Other favorites were Falling Slowly and Make You Feel My Love.

Heartless

Ain't No Sunshine

She Works Hard For The Money

Falling Slowly

Make You Feel My Love

Live Like We're Dying

The Truth

*ugh! how come there's no decent live performance of Kris on YouTube?