Kris Allen

Take this, gay-hating bigots!

Just a few days after he and his fellow American Idol tour mates overcame a church-sponsored protest of their concert in San Jose, Adam Lambert led season eight's top 10 artists into L.A.'s Staples Center.

Lambert was often joined in front of the crowd by winner Kris Allen, as well as Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta and other favorites. His set of songs included:

“Whole Lotta Love, “Starlight," “Mad World,” “Slow Ride” and a medley of David Bowie singles. Below, Lambert and Allen take center stage on the tour stop:

Will you purchase the debut albums of Lambert and Allen? Each will hit stores this fall.

As you ponder those additions to your iPod, click on the following photos of these rising stars in Los Angeles:

On this season's Michael Jackson night on American Idol, Kris Allen wowed viewers with an acoustic version of "Remember the Time."

In reaction, Paula Abdul said: "Kris, I truly believe no one knows Michael's catalog better than you."

Now, in an interview with Newsweek, the Idol chamopn - who started his run on the series with a rendition of "Man in the Mirror" - talks about the influence the late King of Pop had on his career.

On the first time he heard Jackson sing: I was probably 7 or 8 years old. The Dangerous album came out, and I bought it. It was a tape. It kind of stayed in my tape player forever.

On the appeal of Jackson: Every time you listen to this music you get this feeling and you always feel good. And as a kid, that's a captivating thing. His music was so easy to get lost into. I remember being 8 years old and dancing in my room to his music. Trying to dance like him, as well. It was ugly, but it was fun.

On hearing about Jackson's death: We were at rehearsal for the tour. Actually, [Adam Lambert] was on stage. He was almost done, and I was about to go up. We heard the news and we stopped everything and we canceled the rehearsal.

On his favorite Jackson song: I really, really like "Leave Me Alone." It's always been one of my favorites. But I don't know if you pick just one favorite Michael song.

Last week, readers of The Hollywood Gossip got to know Drake LaBry.

But Kris Allen, along with most of the American Idol finalists, already met Adam Lambert's boyfriend during season eight of the show. And the series champion couldn't be more excited that his friend is now open with this relationship.

"I think he's happier that he can be himself and it's nice," Allen said to People, when asked about Lambert stepping out with his LaBry last week. "Adam is who he is and he's not afraid. I support him in whatever he does."

Allen added that LaBry is "a really nice guy and that he and Lambert "click well and they're really nice together."

Meanwhile, Lambert has confirmed that the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone will reveal answers to everyone's questions about his sex life.

"At this point, I think everybody knows everything, but once the Rolling Stone article comes out, people will know everything," he said at last night's Young Hollywood Awards.

While a slew of celebrities may attend Los Angeles Lakers games on a nightly basis, how many actually take to the court and perform?

Such was the position in which Kris Allen found himself last night, as the American Idol champion performed the National Anthem prior to Game Two of the NBA Finals.

The Lakers and disloyal husband Kobe Bryant went on to take a commanding series lead with an overtime victory, but the evening's big winner was Allen. He did a great job.

Kris Allen, National Anthem

Meanwhile, Allen has landed a deal with Jive Records; his album will drop this fall.

"As exciting as the last few months have been, I'm really looking forward to what is next," Allen said in a statement today. "I'm very grateful to be working with Simon Fuller and his team at 19 Entertainment, along with Barry Weiss and Jive Records on my debut album."

Looks like Adam Lambert isn't the only American Idol finalist to go public with a new friend this week.

Kris Allen spent May 29 at Disneyworld, serenading Minnie Mouse and putting on a performance for thousands of fans in attendance.

Regarding his victory, the season eight champion told the adoring public: “It feels good, but it hasn’t completely sunk in yet.”

From there, he played his rendition of the Kanye West song “Heartless” and was honored with a celebratory parade through the theme park. Here are pictures from the event. Click on each to enlarge...

American Idol’s Kris Allen and Adam Lambert stopped in on the Today Show yesterday in New York City to answer a few questions, and more importantly, perform a few songs.

Allen went with his instantly classic “Heartless," along with “No Boundaries," while Lambert sang “Mad World.”

Both contestants laughingly denied the rumors that there was an AT&T texting scandal, and made it clear that they have remained good friends throughout the competition.

Amidst growing controversy that AT&T helped to rig this season's American Idol results, the show wants to make it clear:

Kris Allen is the champion.

Earlier today Fox, Idol producers 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia issued the following statement:

"Fox and the producers of American Idol are absolutely certain that the results of this competition are fair, accurate and verified. Kris Allen is, without a doubt, the American Idol. We have an independent third-party monitoring procedure in place to ensure the integrity of the voting process. In no way did any individuals unfairly influence the outcome of the competition."

Kris Allen won American Idol. Up next? A debut album.

AT&T also defended itself:

"Last week, countless parties were held in homes, bars, and other public places across America to watch the American Idol finale. In Arkansas, a few local AT&T employees were invited to attend two local watch parties organized by the community. Caught up in the enthusiasm of rooting for their hometown contestant, they brought a small number of demo phones with them and provided texting tutorials to those who were interested.

"Going forward, we will make sure our employees understand our sponsorship celebrates the competition, not individual contestants. That said, it's quite a leap to suggest that a few individuals could have impacted the final results."

We mean no disrespect to Kris Allen or his supporters, but might the reigning American Idol champion have unfairly earned his crown?

According to a report in The New York Times, one of the show's biggest sponsors may have played a vital role in Allen's victory.

AT&T, by its own admission, provided phones for free text-messaging services at parties organized by fans of the Arkansas native.

At a pair of gatherings in Allen's honor - held during, and immediately following, last week's Tuesday night performance show - representatives of AT&T (whose network is the only one that can be used to cast American Idol votes via text message) passed around free phones.

No such efforts were made on behalf of Adam Lambert.

No one doubts Kris Allen's talent. But questions are being raised about the fairness of his American Idol victory.

Moreover, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette states that AT&T employees actually instructed Allen fans on how to send 10 or more text messages at the press of a single button.

Will Adam Lambert actually join the classic rock band Queen?

That debate will need to be put on hold for a couple months, as the runner-up and his fellow American Idol finalists get set to embark on a nationwide tour this summer.

For now, fans wanna know what sort of album Lambert will eventually come out with.

“Labels tend to try to put one box around every artist and keep them in one genre, but I think [my album] can be a collection of different styles,” Lambert told reporters. “I don’t want to do one specific genre. I’m more about fusion. There are a lot of pop artists that are using the ‘glam’ kind of vibe in their music currently so I think I’m actually part of a wave. There just happens to not be many guys doing it right now.”

As for Kris Allen:

“‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ - that’s the kind of stuff I want to do, stuff that has that feel, that kind of moves people," he said. “I’m not a man of many words. I’m not very expressive or emotional but it comes out in my music. It’s the way I express how I feel.”

Will you buy either of these albums? Both? Neither?

We've already established that Kris Allen is a nice guy.

As fans are finding out, he's also a loving one.

Ever since his American Idol victory, Allen has been giving praise to his wife, Katy. Such talk continued today during the champion's visit with Ellen DeGeneres.

"My wife has been the [best] support ever," Allen said to the talk show host, during the taping of a show that will air Tuesday. "I seriously almost gave up a lot, and she was just like, 'You have to keep going.' She believed in me more than I believed in myself."

Would Kris Allen have won American Idol without the love of wife Katy? No, the singer says.