Kris Allen Takes A Stand Against Bullying in New Video, Sophomore Album Out May 22nd

American Idol Season 8 winner and the object of all my earthly desires, Kris Allen is set to release his highly anticipated sophomore album, Thank You Camellia May 22nd on RCA/19.  While it feels like it’s been at least a decade since Allen released his self-titled debut album, in truth it’s only 3 years.  Wow. Time goes by so slowly when you’re waiting for new Kris Allen music, apparently.

Lead by first single, “The Vision of Love,” Thank You Camellia features a track list of songs all co-written by Allen himself, aided by top industry producers and songwriters including Tim Pagnotta (Neon Trees); Curt Schneider (Augustana, Five For Fighting); Nasri & Adam Messinger (Chris Brown, Justin Beiber); Kevin Kadish (Jason Mraz, Rob Thomas); Boots Ottestad (Andy Grammar, Robbie Williams); to name just a few.

Co-written by Allen alongside Nasri & Adam Messinger (who serve as producers on the track as well), the album’s first single is an inspirational empowerment anthem.  Released to digital retailers March 23rd and to radio March 26th, the song received an early positive response from Adult Contemporary stations nationwide, where it debuted as ‘Most Added‘ at Hot AC.  Not a bad start, let’s just hope the single gains more traction because as of this moment, the song has yet to make any moves on the Billboard Hot 100 chart or any of the other Billboard charts for that matter.

In a bit of an unexpected move, Allen seems to be going after dance radio with his latest release, launching a remix contest on his website.  Not altogether a complete surprise, given that back in January, a HOT clubby remix by Finnish duo Maison & Dragen leaked online.  For many fans, this remix was the first taste of Allen’s new single and got people speculating what the original version was going to sound like.  I’m beyond pleased that single version of the song is up-tempo, a far cry from a majority of the drab singles taken from his debut.  Walmart is currently selling an exclusive version of the single that includes the Maison & Dragen remix edit (pick that up HERE).

Photo Credit: Adrian Sidney/PictureGroup

To promote his upcoming album, Kris will be performing at the ‘Live in the Vineyard‘ festival April 13th in Napa, CA alongside Jason Mraz, Mayer Hawthorne, Mat Kearney and more.  If you haven’t yet, make sure you check out the beautiful new video for “The Vision of Love” below.  Kris Allen does his part to speak out against bullying in this incredibly touching Lenny Bass-directed video, which tells the story of two teenagers – one insecure and lonely, the other tormented by bullying.  I like how the message of the video is subtle yet clear, without being too schmaltzy and over dramatic.  The video serves as THE perfect complement to this soaring and inspirational pop anthem.  (I will warn you, there were tears after I watched this video. Granted, I cry while watching TV commercials, so who knows what this REALLY means.)

After winning his season of American Idol, Kris Allen enjoyed moderate success with the release of his debut album back in 2009.  The album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at #11 and featured the hit single, “Live Like We’re Dying,” which has a combined digital sales of over 1.7 million to date.  While that single peaked at a respectable #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, none of Allen’s subsequent single releases would see the same success.  Follow up single, “The Truth,” featuring Train front man Pat Monahan came in in at #17 on Billboard‘s Adult Top 40 chart, missing the Hot 100 altogether, while Allen’s final single, “Alright With Me” failed to chart anywhere.  I’m cautiously optimistic that after some proper exposure (American Idol performance, perhaps?) Allen can make some big moves prior to the release of his new album.  Here’s hoping!

Download “The Vision of Love” on U.S. iTunes HERE and Pre-order Thank You Camellia on Kris’ official website HERE.

UPDATE: According to several unconfirmed sources, “The Vision of Love” has debuted at #3 on Billboard‘s Hot Single Sales Chart. Unfortunately that chart isn’t available on Billboard.com so if anyone can confirm this I’d appreciate it!

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