Kris Allen Interview with Ryan Seacrest, Plus More Co-Writes!
On the heels of Kris Allen’s “Live Like We’re Dying” digital release, the Idol winner interviewed with Ryan Seacrest for his KIIS-FM radio show. Ryan also played the single for his listeners.
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Ryan, your questions kinda sucked, and what was with the interruption to talk with fans waiting for Michael Jackson tickets? And Kris, have some coffee before you interview! (When Ryan asked, he couldn’t remember what he wrote in a songwriting session last night Duh!)
Kris says the album is still untitled–the name will depend on the songs, which he’s still in the midst of writing. (Ha. It’ll probably end up self-titled like most Idol albums). According to Kris, the deadline to finish the album is October 15.
More interesting deets on the album come our way via twitter. Last night from Kris @KrisAllen4Real:
Just hung with @jonathanforeman and mike Elizondo writing some sweet muzac. Both these guys are crazy talented.
Jonathan Foreman is from the Christian/crossover band, Switchfoot. Mike Elizondo has produced for Eminem and Dr. Dre, Fiona Apple, Alanis Morrisette, Maroon 5 and written with Carrie Underwood.
Alex Band, of The Calling, is still writing songs for Kris:
@Alex_Band: @KrisAllen4Real got some more songs coming your way man!
Also collaborating with Kris: Mat Kearney, Joe King of the Fray, Dan Wilson of Semisonic, Claude Kelly, David Hodges, Salaam Remi and Chris Daughtry. Soon, he’ll be heading to London to work with “Live Like We’re Dying” producers, Andrew Frampton and Steve Kipner.
Kris’s CD is set to be released November 17.
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Here’s my best guess on this situation. From what I can tell Kris is a perfectionist and possibly an idealist. They may very well have enough good songs, but they’re still in the writing process and he hopes for better. I’m sure with this situation it’s difficult to put an exact number or amount on how far along they are. There are so many aspects to making an album. I do think they will working right down to the wire though, which will be difficult, but I’m still hoping for goodness in spite of this. We’ll see.
That is what I have been trying to say, folks on this board may not know The Script, but they are not obscure.
And let me also clarify that when I posted the link to the overlaid tracks on the other thread last night it wasn’t because I hate Kris or wish him ill. It was a discussion about the song and the cover aspect was applicable to that discussion.
The overlaid tracks were done by a Script fan (at least someone who has a lot of Script music on their channel) so I don’t think they were trying to fuel any AI fan war either. I found the link when I was doing a google search of info about The Script.
No, The Script never recorded the song, “Written All Over Your Face” at least its not on the list of songs on their website. But the Daniel and Mark of the list of writers you mentioned are two of the three Script band members and the other two men are their frequent producers and often times co-writers.
(Just BTW The Script do have a song called “Before the Worst” which is about a relationship break-up but I don’t think they use the phrase “before we come undone” in it.)
I think its great Kris will be singing other Script material. I said last night that I could easily hear him singing any of the Script songs I have heard, but I hoped any future selection of their music was something they had written for him.
No, The Script never recorded the song, “Written All Over Your Face” at least its not on the list of songs on their website. But the Daniel and Mark of the list of writers you mentioned are two of the three Script band members and the other two men are their frequent producers and often times co-writers.
(Just BTW The Script do have a song called “Before the Worst” which is about a relationship break-up but I don’t think they use the phrase “before we come undone” in it.)
I think its great Kris will be singing other Script material. I said last night that I could easily hear him singing any of the Script songs I have heard, but I hoped any future selection of their music was something they had written for him.
I’m moving some of my comments on the earlier Kris thread here since the discussion has seemed to move here (and it might be to late here too, since this subject is flying fast and furious!).
The biggest problem I see for Kris is that he’s starting out with a sound that is too similar to another band that is also out there and already familiar to many. Kris has not carved out his own unique distinctive sound which is critical for a new artist just starting out. Meanwhile, The Script have already begun to establish their sound in the US with ‘The Man Who Can’t be Moved’. They are not some obscure band. Maybe to some AI fans, but to most radio listeners (and MTV viewers), they’re very familiar with the group. And now, Kris is going to go head to head with them on Top 40 radio, with a The Script song. What?
The Script are dropping their new single, Breakeven, some 2 weeks before LLYD is officially released to radio (Sept. 29 compared to Oct. 13). Listeners will soon be exposed to both songs on the radio with very similar sounds. With all the songs being released, Program Directors are not likely to green light two songs with the same sound so they will be competing for which one gets up there on the charts. The one thing Kris has going for him here is that Idols do get preferential exposure, at least to start out.
It just seems absolutely baffling to me that Kris and his label (whoever made this decision) would choose to make a carbon copy of a contemporary group looking to make it big in the US, for their first debut single. Does not make any sense at all.
Compound this with the fact that Kris has a very chill demeanor and quiet, subtle style. If anyone needed a big splash with an unmistakeable distinct sound for a debut, its Kris Allen. But what did they do? They go out of the gate with a cover that sounds just like the Script, down to the vocal inflections, with the equivalent of a brown paper bag for cover art. Yikes!
It all came down to what I’ve been saying. Logic and common sense prevails in the end.
This thread, if anything got the lurkers to listen to Kris’s song and The Script’s song as well as other music. They didn’t show The Script’s current U.S. realeased CD cover on Realitie, but Slezak and Kris gave them a pretty big shout out. Again win-win.
If people watched AI, they would know Kris is not big on talk. He let’s the songs speak for themselves. When he had the “pimp” before song interview with Ryan and was asked why he picked SWHFTM? He said it’s got a good message, but when asked what it was about, Kris merely said “it’s about a woman who works hard …” The lyrics are pretty self-explanatory and tells a story.
This is Dylan’s take on talking about the songs he writes (thanks hwc): “I got nothing to say about these things I write. I just write them. I’m not going to say anything about them.”
Again, to quote Bob Dylan — “Each of us really knows nothing, but we all think we know things, but we know nothing.” Time Mag. interview from the Dylan documentary “Don’t Look Back”
“The words didn’t mean anything before, means even less now.” — EvanJane
“The Script are dropping their new single, Breakeven, some 2 weeks before LLYD is officially released to radio (Sept. 29 compared to Oct. 13). Listeners will soon be exposed to both songs on the radio with very similar sounds. With all the songs being released, Program Directors are not likely to green light two songs with the same sound so they will be competing for which one gets up there on the charts. The one thing Kris has going for him here is that Idols do get preferential exposure, at least to start out.”– movin2thabeet
If you have heard Breakeven, you would know that LLWD and BE do not sound anything at all alike. Danny O’s vocals are closer to David Gray and Sting than they are to Kris Allen’s vocals. Top 40 radio is filled with songs with the same musical vibe. Mariah Carey has now discovered auto-tune in an effort to stay current. The music industry markets by genre. Product identification is the key. Kris Allen fits quite nicely in the current music scene. I’m quite confident about this.
Bob Dylan had recorded seven albums (the last six of which are now gold or platinum) when he told the media to go “eff” themselves. When and Idol wannabee has that record of accomplishment, they can tear into the media, too.
As for songwriters, give me a shout the next time college profeesors teach courses and write books about the meaning of American Idol song lyrics.
And, notwithstanding all that, Dylan was a masterful self-promoter, creating a public persona that has inspired relentless interest for 46 years now.
I have Breakeven. I think it sounds pretty much identical to We’re Dying except that it’s a better song to my ear.
Yes, evanjane, I have heard the Script’s Breakeven http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bp13TeFNrw which is why I posted the comparison here. To my ears, the sound is very similar. And by ’sound’, I mean the whole thing, not just picking out the singer’s voice, but the overall feel of the song.
Yes, people need to quickly identify an artist. Oh, that’s Mariah Carey, that’s the Fray, that’s the Black-Eyed Peas. Easily identifiable. Which is exactly why I expressed concerns, since its clear that this particular release sounds so much like another band that got there first. I would think that fans of KA would be concerned if his sound got muddied in with another group. Having your own unique distinct sound is critical and I don’t think this debut single established that. That’s the only point I was making here.
And please, don’t get me started on auto-tune.
Yes, but, in fact, that statement in itself is saying something. It’s saying “get out of my face. I’m mysterious. I’m way cooler than you. The songs speak for themselves. And if you somehow don’t get them, too bad for you. Dumbhead.”
Granted, some of that was said by the delivery, not the words. But I really wouldn’t call it true that Dylan has ever been diffident and shy about stating his point. He has frequently not deigned to explain things. But while he was not deigning he was also busy polishing his image, seems to me.
okay, throwing my worthless 2 cents into the pile…
I didn’t think the interview was that bad. Yes, Ryan came off kinda douchey for making the comment about arranging the song. (and what kind of DJ doesn’t preview a track BEFORE they play it on air? GMAB).
Kris seemed caught off guard but I thought he handled himself well. He’s not much of a talker.
I also suffered through the Justin bieber interview (at least until the AI talk was done). Who is he? I have no clue. He didn’t know who Adam was either honestly but did know who Daughtry was. Whatever.
Kris will be fine regardless of this interview.
No offense to Kris, but imo he never had too much of a distinct sound on the show. He has great musicality, and his arrangements were inventive and interesting, but his voice and style are VERY reminiscent of many other performers out there now. Trying to differentiate from them is not going to be easy. On the plus side, a lot of those acts are doing very well today on the radio – it is very relevant, to be sure.
BTW – heard Breakeven – and it is VERY similar to LLWD, imo.
“I have Breakeven. I think it sounds pretty much identical to We’re Dying except that it’s a better song to my ear.” — HWC
Again, I disagree having listened to The Script for the millionth time. My daughter loves them and she asks me to play three of the songs over and over. Breakeven is one of them. I hear it in my sleep. I would say Danny O’s vocals are closer to David Gray’s than I would Kris Allen’s.
Kris’s vocals are distinct and do stand out to me. If you can’t tell Danny O’s vocals are different than Kris’s, perhaps you haven’t listen to your CD enough. I would say again, Danny’s vocals are reminiscent of Sting’s and David Gray’s not Kris’s.
No offense taken, Mary102, we all like different things. I don’t think your opinion or HWC’s opinion on this matter holds any more sway than mine.
From Kris’s interview with Slezak, he knows they’re just starting out and need to work hard to gain cred in the industry. He’s got just as much of a shot as being successful as anyone else if he works hard and doesn’t take things for granted.
Also, just to point out that, even though I believe Kris’s sound is not incredibly unique, it is incredibly popular now (as in, that style of performer is doing quite well right now) – so I do believe he has that strongly in his favor.
This seems odd. I think that this thread is where I keep reading posts that say it’s hard to buy The Script’s LLWD. Of course, it could be on another site, but I don’t think so.
Anyway, at Amazon, they have The Script’s “We Cry” album listed, and LLWD is one of the sample songs.
QUOTE:
Try our music sampler to hear all song samples from this album:
1. We Cry
2. Fall for Anything
3. Live Like We’re Dying
4. We Cry [Multimedia Track]
Good to know. Someone earlier said you had to pay an import fee to get the song and I knew I couldn’t find it in US iTunes.
Thanks for checking.