by Levi Gilbert Walker

Kris Allen hit the ground running after winning Season Eight of American Idol on May 20, signing a record deal with 19 Entertainment and rehearsing for the American Idol Tour.

Between preparing for his album and rehearsing for the tour, Allen has made public appearances across the country. He performed with Smokey Robinson in Bentonville at Wal-Mart’s annual stockholders convention on June 5, and performed the National Anthem before Game Two of the NBA Finals in Los Angeles on June 7.
Allen will be back in the Natural State on July 25 when the “American Idols Live” tour comes to Central Arkansas. Season Eight’s Top 10 will headline the tour. It will be the 501’s first chance to see Allen perform live since his Top 3 homecoming visit back on May 8.
“I’ll be with my friends having a good time,” Allen said about the tour in a recent Associated Press interview. “I’m really excited. The energy is going to be better on tour. No one’s judging you.”
In an interview with Lyndsey Parker of Yahoo’s music blog, “Reality Rocks,” Allen revealed he would be doing five songs on tour. The songs will consist primarily of Allen’s American Idol performances, but one song will be The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” – a song Allen wanted to perform during “Rock Week,” but couldn’t get cleared by the Idol producers.
Allen celebrated his 24th birthday on Father’s Day – June 21 – and celebrated with his fellow Season Eight contestants.
Allen’s first album post-Idol is set to release this fall under Jive Records. Allen has worked with guitarist Joe King of The Fray; keyboardist David Hodges, formerly of the Little Rock band Evanescence; hip-hop producer Salaam Remi; and singer-songwriter Claude Kelly, who has worked with Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis, Akon and Lady GaGa.
“I’ve been writing a lot with a lot of different people, and it’s going well,” Allen said in a June interview with Billboard.com. “Each writing session has been a learning experience … I’m really excited about [the album]. I can’t wait.”
Allen is working with a wide range of producers, leaving fans questioning what style of music they will hear on his album this fall.
“Everyone’s been asking me what it’s going to sound like,” Allen said in a statement released by 19 Entertainment in June. “It will be very similar to what you heard from me on the show – definitely in the pop/rock genre.”