Not only is there news that "American Idol" Season 8 winner Kris Allen has a new album on the way, there's a hot dance remix of an Allen song on YouTube making the rounds.
Remember the guy that won "American Idol" Season 8? No, not Adam Lambert. Kris Allen. The guy who sang the hit tune "Live Like We're Dying." Yeah, that guy. Well, after a little over two years since his major label debut, he has a new album in the works. He stopped by Clevver News in Hollywood and dished on his upcoming new CD and some tentative release dates.
"We don't know an exact date yet," Kris told Clevver. "We're kind of looking at end of May right now, early June."
That will see it coming out in the wake of Adam Lambert's (his runner-up in Season 8) second major label recording, Trespassing, which is scheduled for a March 20 release date, and about the same time as Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood's fourth set, which is tentatively scheduled for a Spring release.
Allen told Clevver News that a new single from the upcoming album should be released in February.
Seemingly in anticipation of the release, a remix of an unreleased Allen recording, "Vision of Love," hit YouTube this week as well. Brian Mansfield posted a long version (over six minutes) of the dance remix on "Idol Chatter" but the video was removed due to copyright complications. However, a shorter edit by Maison & Dragen, is still available at YouTube. "Vision of Love" is expected to be one of the songs that make the final cut on the album.
Allen won the Season 8 title of "American Idol" with his boyish good looks and solid reworked arrangements of classic tunes like Kanye West's "Heartless" and Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine." Although it was assumed by most that he would lose to the flamboyant Lambert, he prevailed in the end, landing a recording deal with 19 Entertainment and Jive Records.
His eponymouns major label recording (he already had a self-produced album, 2007's Brand New Shoes, on the market) was released in November 2009, charting at No. 11, where it peaked. It didn't sell as well as expected, falling well short of Lambert's For Your Entertainment (which sold over 825,000 copies to Allen's 329,000 to date). Still, Allen became a constant generator of songs and new material between the first release and his upcoming compilation.
Some of the songs he wrote have television connections (not unlike his own music career), like "Still Got Tonight," which appeared on the self-titled debut album by Matthew Morrison ("Glee"). In fact, Morrison sung the song on the final episode of the hit Fox Television show to end Season 2.
Allen co-wrote "Blindfolded," a song recorded by the South African Idol winner, Heinz Winckler, for his debut album 24/7/365 and performed by Winckler on the season finale of 2011 South African Idol.
The Season 8 winner also co-wrote a song that appeared on the debut major label release of Javier Colon, Come Through For You, the first season winner of NBC's "The Voice."
It is as yet uncertain as to what the title of Kris Allen's forthcoming album will be.
(photo credit: Annalee Barclay, Wikimedia Commons)
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#1 Billboard recently reported
Billboard recently reported that Kris sold 340,000 albums. His debut single "Live "Like We're Dying" went platinum selling 1.7 million downloads and was nominated for a Billboard award. It had been in the top 10 on radio for months. He was also the first male Idol winner to be in the top 10 in three different radio formats at the same time.
#2 Kris is the tortoise in the
Kris is the tortoise in the story...The Tortoise and The Hare. He'll win in the end and where it counts the most. Looking forward to his new CD. His last CD was excellent.