Kris Together

A few fans began with the thought that it would be nice to make a donation to charity in Kris’s name for his 25th birthday. Maybe they could even collect enough money to donate a cow through Heifer International for a family in need. It was sort of short notice and there was no solid plan but, hey, something is better than nothing, right?

Fast forward ninety-six hours, a Heifer blog post, a Bill Gates’s “Daily On Twitter” spot, a FOX 16 Little Rock news spot and hundreds and hundreds of tweets and retweets.

Just four short days after the Alright With Moo team page began, Kris fans from around the world have come together to raise over $25,000 for Heifer, over fifty times the original goal. That’s enough money for fifty cows to families that could desperately use the help, fifty communities in need which will immediately benefit, and countless more who will see their lives improve as the self-perpetuating nature of Heifer’s program reaches further and further out.

And doesn’t that just seem perfect? Not just because the donation total cracked $25,000 just as the clocks turned to midnight (and thus, Kris’s birthday) in Arkansas, but because, well, a large charitable gift fits Kris. After all, this is a guy who has gone to lend a hand in Morocco, Thailand, South Africa, Haiti and Rwanda both before and after Idol and has been associated with more charity events and organizations in the past year than can be listed. Even through his low key demeanor, it’s easy to hear his passion when he’s talking about the things he’s learned in life from those who seemingly have less.

All in all, this was some birthday present. I think it’s safe to thank Kris, on behalf of all of his fans, for inspiring this and so many other great deeds. Wish him a very happy 25th birthday. He sure as heck deserves it.

Check out forum poster Hazel89′s video which accompanied the present.

Donations are still open, and will remain open indefinitely, for the Alright With Moo team fund for Heifer International here.

Okay, not really, but Kris’s long-awaited 2nd single is now available on Itunes. “The Truth” revamped and now featuring Pat Monahan of Train is a pretty nice addition to any itunes library, if just for the pretty new single cover alone. Kris sounds pretty good, and Pat Monopoly is a hot mista, soul sista.  So get on it! Buy it for yourself, your friends, your family, your neighborhood cat lady, etc, etc.  The elephant compels you.

The Truth (Featuring Pat Monahan) on Itunes!

During his appearance on American Idol last night, Kris reminded viewers of the devestation in Haiti.  While sharing footage of his recent trip, he performed a charity single, “Let It Be,” which is now for sale on iTunes.  Buy it here and support the relief efforts.

Kris also spoke with Ryan Seacrest more about his time in Haiti, being back on American Idol, and making marriage work for him.  You can check it out on KIIS-FM’s site.  (Thanks, ImSoBlue!)

Look for more chances to support Haiti on Wednesday, April 21st, when Idol Gives Back airs.

Kris’ passion for service and giving to those in need has not been hampered by the life changes he’s experienced in the last year.  While his time may not be as flexible to share, he does have unique resources and opportunities now to participate in helping others.  Last Friday, Kris spent the day in Haiti with the UN.  His trip is was both to raise awareness and to “help out in any way he can.”  Kris helped register Haitians in a new program to increase efficiency in The Salvation Army meeting their needs.  He also spent some time helping with breaking up and cleaning wreckage, distributing food, and also had a chance to sit and play some music for Haitian mothers and their babies.

Kris shares a performance of Amazing Grace

Picture from aidwkr on Twitter

You can read more about the details of Kris’ short trip via MJ’s Big Blog.  She has a transcript here.

Kris will be on American Idol’s results show this Thursday night to perform.  Footage from his trip will be shared and viewers will be given the opportunity to donate towards the relief efforts in Haiti.  Check out the show on FOX at 8 EST/7 CST.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I (with the invaluable help of our very own media ninja taks) have compiled all of the reviews of KRIS ALLEN worthy of your reading.  Kris fans are used to making a feast from crumbs, but that’s unneccesary in this case.  Critical reception for Kris’ debut album has been positive–at least with those reviewers who have really *listened* without preconceived notions and given some real consideration to the quality of the music. Even some who went in prepared to hate the album have changed their tune and couldn’t deny the bottom line–Kris has made some great music. He’s a talented songwriter and genuine artist with enormous potential, his voice is strong and pleasing, and he is a musician with a natural gift and strong musicality.

Okay, without further ado, I present to you the words of the “taste-makers”:

Disclaimer: TL;DR and crappy html.

Read more »

The video for “Live Like We’re Dying” premiered on the VH-1 Top 20 Countdown this morning and you can now vote for it to be part of the Top 20 HERE . Kris will be a guest on the show on November 21st so let’s show him lots of love and vote for his video to debut while he is there.

Also if you’ve got time to kill, don’t forget to continue to vote for Kris for Favorite Breakout Music Artist at the 2010 People’s Choice Awards.

And most importantly, pick up a copy of his debut CD, “Kris Allen” when it hits the stores this Tuesday, November 17th.

Kris has been nominated in the category of “Favorite Breakout Artist” at the 2010 People’s Choice Awards.
The winner is selected by the fans and you can cast your vote HERE .Voting is unlimited so vote as often as you’d like!

The People’s Choice Awards will air on January 6, 2010.

Congratulations, Kris and good luck!

Kris Allen’s self-titled debut album is up for streaming on AOL Music now!!!

Here’s the album tracklisting again (* denotes writing credit):

1. Live Like We’re Dying
2. Before We Come Undone *
3. Can’t Stay Away *
4. The Truth
5. Written All Over My Face
6. Bring It Back *
7. Red Guitar *
8. Is It Over *
9. Let It Rain *
10. Alright With Me *
11. Lifetime *
12. I Need To Know *
13. Heartless (bonus)

Just one more week to album release on Nov 17!

Check out the Live Like We’re Dying video on VH1. Kris will be a guest on their November 21st countdown.

The music video for Live Like We’re Dying just premiered today on AOL Pop Eater. Set in the desert with a giant digital clock countdown, it features Kris rocking the mic stand, playing the guitar as well as the piano. Very cool video, check it out here!

Kris also chatted with Pop Eater about the video. Here’s the excerpt of the interview:

Tell me about the video for ‘Live Like We’re Dying.’
It was cool because we actually shot it in the desert in L.A. in the middle of nowhere in this junkyard and we had this set, it was this huge digital clock which was really cool and it was kind of raggedy looking and we shot it from 8PM to 8AM in the morning. That was crazy, with no breaks at all. The video is really cool … It looks great. The idea behind it is that I plug in the clock and I’m pulling the big cord through the junkyard and through all these other things and then I plug in the clock and it starts counting down to zero and there’s performance stuff in there. I’m playing the guitar and playing the piano and singing, too. In the end when it hits zero, it’s kind of like the song, it’s like we only have so much time so we gotta do what we want to do.

How much input did you have with the whole production?
We had people submit stuff first and it was a little frustrating because I felt like people weren’t getting it … and then we were like “what if it was something like this?” and then another person came back with a great idea that with this idea it kind of intertwined with ours as well.

Don’t forget to vote for this awesome video on the VH1 Top 20 Countdown!