Kris Allen with La’Porsha Renae at the Season 15 American Idol auditions. (FOX Photo)

“Letting You In,” his fourth post-show album, came out Friday, was sitting at number 29 on iTunes’ albums chart that evening and had dropped to the mid-50s by Sunday.

But Kris’ fans — and there are still plenty of them — are certainly embracing the new music.

Check out some of the reaction on Facebook.

* Tara Christle: “You’re one of very few artists where I am able to download a brand-new full album, having not heard a note, and love every bit of it.”

* Seth Tabitha Blankenship: Got it as soon as I could last night and I had it on repeat while I worked on my art. It was just what I needed! You never let me down!

* Carrie Staley Hromek: “Been listening all day, Kris! Such a great album! Thanks for making great music.”

* Marla Kapit: “Oh, my, what a fantastic album this is, Kris. Kudos to you. I’m so proud to be a fan. So far my faves are Faster Shoes and Moves. Love Waves as well. Love all the songs actually. You rock very well so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Marla has a point because Kris, best known for his singer-songwriter vibe, is at his best on the new album when the tempo picks up. Two of the best songs on the album are “Faster Shoes” and “Moves.”

Looking for great ballads. Kris provides those too, including “Way Up High” and the title track.

Kris has called this his most personal album yet. Hence, the title, “Letting You In.”

That said, Kris told The Huffington Post that one song — “If We Keep Doing Nothing” — was written in reaction to the 2015 mass shooting that left nine dead at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.

“I was writing with K.S. Rhoads the day after and we started talking about the whole situation,” Kris says in an article you can read here. “He sat down at the piano and we knew we had to write that song that day. There was no other option. Right after that it seemed like there was news of one shooting after another and we kept texting each other saying that this is a song people need to hear. “

As for the rest of the album, here’s Kris’ message to fans on Facebook: “These songs have been hitting me over the head for years and I am so glad that I was finally able to get them out. I hope that you can hear a little bit more of me in the record and, in turn, I hope that the songs hit home for you even more …

“It’s crazy that I make music! And that people listen to it!”

Kris is touring in support of the new album with stops planned in Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Winery on April 13), Philly (World Cafe Live on June 7) and D.C. (The Hamilton on June 8.)

You can head to his Facebook page or website for more information on those shows and a list of the dozens of others.

Mary Sarah performs during the second night of the battles on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

A week before learning what she’d be singing in the battle round on The Voice, Mary Sarah says she was listening to “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” by Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty while driving.

“And I was like this would actually be a really good battle song,” she recalls, laughing. “And then to get to be told we were singing the song was like, ‘My gosh, I totally guessed it.'”

Mary Sarah, 20 when she auditioned and turned four chairs on The Voice, wound up being matched with fellow country singer Justin Whisnant in a Team Blake battle.

Praising her stage presence, Blake declared her the winner, meaning she advances to the knockout round. Justin was eliminated. But their iTunes version of the song wound up being one of the most popular on iTunes, climbing to 61 on the country singles chart the day after it aired.

Mary Sarah says she was far from certain she’d win because Justin “gave his all. I mean, he was so amazing.”

“I was just, you know, grateful to be on that stage and thankful that I got to (perform) that song because Loretta’s one of my idols. And so to get to perform her song on the stage was absolutely an honor.”

Kata Hay (right) reacts to being named the winner of her battle round as Chelsea Gann looks on. (NBC Photo)

She was matched against Chelsea Gann in a Team Christina battle match. They sang “I’m the Only One” by Melissa Etheridge. Kata’s spunky, sassy stage presence helped her prevail; Chelsea was eliminated.

Kata, 28 when she auditioned and turned three chairs, says it’s a song she sings “all the time” at the karaoke bar where she works.

“Like two weeks before I left (for the show), I was singing it on stage and I was thinking, ‘I could actually see me doing this on The Voice. I never thought that it would be the battle song, because I wasn’t thinking of it as a duet.

“It’s such a strong, powerful woman song,” she adds. “And singing it with a strong, powerful woman (Chelsea), we were both ecstatic about it.”

But like Mary Sarah, Kata was far from confident in the outcome when the singing ended.

“I really was standing there preparing myself to go home,” she says. “That’s why I started to cry, because it was the craziest emotion because I completely was in shock. I’m just glad Christina saw whatever it was that I was able to put into the performance, because Chelsea, she’s out of this world.”

See also:
Meet the singers from Season 10 of The Voice
Jessica Crosbie ‘shocked’ by The Voice steal
Live blogging here when battles resume Monday night

Here’s what Tuesday’s other battle round winners said about the songs they were asked to perform.

Nick Hagelin of Team Pharrell who won his battle round, singing “Electric Feel.” Opponent Jessica Crosbie was stolen by Adam Levine:

“I was actually happy with the song choice because it was a song I was familiar with. I actually hadn’t performed it before but I had been listening to the song for, you know, as long as it’s been out.

“It sat in a comfortable place for me and it was, you know, a male song and it was an up-tempo song. I think it allowed me to sort of just relax and enjoy myself during the performance, which is what hopefully came through.”

Nate Butler of Team Adam, who sang Tori Kelly’s “Hollow” against Natalie Yacovazzi and prevailed. Natalie was eliminated. Tori is Adam’s battle round adviser.

“(The song) was new for us. We were learning it from scratch. But I feel like, you know, we changed the key a little bit and I was able to navigate it pretty well,” adding he thought the outcome could have gone either way because of how well Natalie performed.

“Once we changed (the key) it was in a nice, powerful spot in my voice. I was able to slip into falsetto sometimes and, you know, really show off the chest voice and stuff like that. I was really able to show off everything I could do.”

Shalyah Fearing and Tamar Davis talk to Christina Aguilera about battle round strategies on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

That made the performance extra special, says Tamar, who won her battle over Shalyah Fearing. But Shalyah she was stolen, meaning both advance to the knockout round.

“I have performed Lady Marmalade several times, but it was such a different experience because I was performing it with someone else.

“Shalyah brought her A game like never before. Like it just put me to a whole different space of bringing something else to the table. We were performing an iconic song.”

Hannah Huston prevailed in the battle round, singing Sia’s “Elastic Heart” with Maya Smith, her roommate on The Voice. But again, both advanced because Maya was stolen by Christina. Their performance also did well on iTunes, hitting 111 on the pop singles chart the night after the show.

Hannah says she and Maya had heard the song before “but had never sung it through,” leaving them with lots of learning to do.

“But then over time, we just kind of fell in love with it and put our own little twist on it,” she explains. “It comes from a really deep, dark place of there’s just a lot of hurt.

“It was an interesting song selection, but I totally get why Pharrell gave us it. It was a challenge and kind of was an equalizer, just to learn something new and really challenge both of us.”

Nick Hagelin and Jessica Crosbie perform during the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Best to let her explain it.

Jessica is the 20-year-old singer from England who moved to Atlanta to pursue music. She turned two chairs with her blind audition and opted to join Team Pharrell.

In Tuesday’s battle round episode, she was paired with pop singer Nick Hagelin and asked to sing “Electric Feel.” When the music ended, Pharrell complimented both singers, but named Nick the winner.

“I honestly in that moment completely forgot that a steal was even an option,” Jessica admitted in a conference call with the media earlier this week. “It was so intense and overwhelming and I was so focused on the moment that when I was saying thank you to Pharrell and then going down and saying goodbye; I truly thought that that was it and I was going home.

“So when I got stolen, I was completely shocked and in fact, I didn’t even notice that I got stolen. Pharrell had to tell me to go back on stage. So that was such an amazing surprise for me.”

Now she’ll advance to the knockout round as a pupil of the other coach who tried to nab her following her stripped-down blind audition cover of Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida.”

“Now I feel like I get the best of both worlds.” Jessica said of being coached by both Pharrell and Adam.

Jessica was one of three artists stolen in Tuesday’s episode. That means nine matches into the 24 battles, five of the eight available steals have already been used.

See also:
Meet the Season 10 singers from The Voice
Mary Sarah, Kata Hay talk battle round premonitions
Live blogging here when battles resume Monday

Shalyah Fearing, one of Season 10’s youngest contestants, got one of those steals after her battle round performance of “Lady Marmalade” with the much more experienced Tamar Davis.

Christina Aguilera declared Tamar the winner, but Pharrell swoped in and stole Shalyah, who was just 15 when she auditioned.

“I went on stage with the thought in my head that I was going to do my best ad that’s exactly what I did,” the teen said.

“So it was amazing to me to get stolen by Pharrell. And I’m very happy and grateful that he still sees a lot in me that I still have to offer and learn.”

Hannah Huston and Maya Smith during battle round rehearsals on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Pharrell declared Hannah the winner, but Christina Augilera and Blake Shelton both tried to steal Maya. The 31-year-old from L.A. picked Christina.

“First of all, I’ve been a fan of Christina’s probably just as long as I’ve been a fan of Pharrell,” Maya said, explaining her choice. “And I’ve always admired her for her powerhouse voice, and just she’s everything. She’s the queen, you know?

“But another reason why I chose her is because it was her second time pressing her button for me. And she really fought for me both times. She fought for me in the blind (auditions) and she also fought for me that day. So I just decided I had to go with Christina. I couldn’t let her down twice.”

The Voice battles resume Monday and Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. Check back both evenings for a live blog.

The Top 5 on American Idol, Sonika Vaid, La’Porsha Renae, Trent Harmon, MacKenzie Bourg and Dalton Rapattoni. (FOX Photo)

We’re four weeks into the American Idol finals, and we’ve seen no signal that fans’ voting preferences have changed from recent seasons.

Five contestants have been sent packing; four have been female singers.

The only male contestant to be eliminated — or even to find himself to be in danger of elimination — was 16-year-old Lee Jean.

And sorry Lee Jean fans, but the he had no business in the finals to begin with, at least not considering the other talented singers the Idol judges passed over in order to put him there.

All of which raises an intriguing question: Clearly, La’Porsha Renae sings and performs like the front-runner every week. But is she the front-runner in the minds of Idol voters?

Remember, since Season 6 we’ve had a grand total of one female winner on American Idol — Candice Glover in Season 12.

Just something to think about as we head into Top 5 week, when the themes will be classic rock and the music of Sia.

Oh, and no more judges’ saves. Idol has promised.

Now, this week’s rankings:

La’Porsha Renae during last week’s moving performance of “No More Drama.” (FOX Photo)

2. Trent Harmon (3): For the second straight week, he delivered my favorite vocal that didn’t come from La’Porsha when he put a soulful spin on “Simple Man.” Take away that misguided cover of “Counting Stars” last week, and Trent’s been on quite a roll. I also loved the humility he showed when questioned by Keith last week. “I don’t know what I’m doing half the time I’m up here,” he said, smiling. “I just try to do the best I can, you know?” It’s been very good lately.

3. MacKenzie Bourg (5): He deserves credit for his risk-taking with that drastic reworking of “Billie Jean.” But while David Cook’s Season 7 cover was pure magic (please listen to it, Jennifer Lopez), MacKenzie’s wasn’t a version I’m eager to hear again. I’m still waiting for MacKenzie magic and hoping Idol unveils a theme that allows the Voice veteran to dip back into his own songbook and perform another original.

4. Sonika Vaid (4): Is anyone guiding Sonika’s Idol journey? I’m just wondering because she was so brilliant on “Bring Me to Life,” but hasn’t rocked out since. And she performed “Clarity” last week, the song Idol mentor Scott Borcheta steered Tristan McIntosh away from a couple weeks back. That song turned out to be Sonika’s weakest performance since the finals began, hardly the rallying cry she needed. It would be a major shock if she isn’t eliminated this week.

5. Dalton Rapattoni (2): I’ve had him ranked much higher because I believe that’s where he’s going to finish. I still do. Just see the intro to this blog. But I can’t justify keeping him at number two after last week’s woeful vocals on “Numb” and “Sound of Silence.” Let’s put it this way, if Dalton sang that way during a blind audition on The Voice — with the coaches’ backs turned to his blue eyes and his smudged eyeliner — I very much doubt a single chair would turn.

Her background: Ayanna’s mom made costumes for her own theatrical performances and that’s what prompted Ayanna’s own interest in musical theater. She recalls her first role as a munchkin in “The Whiz” when she was just 7. “I just fell in love with being able to open up to people in that way,” she recalls. When Ayanna was in eighth grade, she lost her mom to cancer and says music helped her cope. “My mother didn’t get to do a lot of the things she wanted to,” Ayanna said. “Getting a chair for myself would be like making her dreams come true as well.” Mission accomplished.

What the show didn’t show:

On iTunes: Just her performance from The Voice.

Keeping up with Ayanna:
Twitter: @AyannaJahnee
Facebook
YouTube

“Forever Young / Halo” mashup (covers)

“Back to Black” (Amy Winehouse cover)

His background: Jared told The Voice he grew up as a pastor’s child in a close-knit community. His first performance was at a church event at age 3. As he got older, he learned to play drums, guitar and keyboards. He was almost 18 in 2011 when Joplin was struck by a tornado that killed 161 people. “When it was over, all you could hear were sirens and people screaming,” Jared recalls. “I had a lot of friends and family who were affected by it.” He put music on hold and worked every day for three months with Convoy of Hope, which set up tornado relief operations at his church. Four years later, he’s a newlywed and one of the managers at an ice cream and coffee shop. And his wife, Kylar, supports his dream of becoming a musician.

What the show didn’t show:

On iTunes: Just his performance from The Voice, though the Kat Niles Band released a 9-track album called “Til the Sun Comes Up” in 2014.

Keeping up with Jared:
Twitter: @JaredHarder
Facebook
YouTube

“Invisible” (Hunter Hayes cover)

“Perfectly Lonely” (John Mayer cover)

Her background: Her parents are from India and came to the U.S. for better opportunities. Her father is a physician; her mother is a physical therapist. As she grew up, Moushumi says her parents wanted her to be connected with her roots and culture, so they enrolled her in a class teaching classical Indian dance. “That definitely helped me realize my love for music.” Still, she returned to school in India where she studied cardiology. “But there was always this part of me that missed the arts and music.” So she returned to the U.S. and started working as a musician in New York.

What he show didn’t show:

On iTunes: Her Voice performance and “Red Like Mine,” a five-track EP from last year.

Keeping up with Moushumi:
Twitter: @MoushumiMusic
Website
Facebook
Soundcloud

“Flies” (from her 2015 EP)

“Stay” (from her 2015 EP)

His background: Jonathan says he’s growing up with three younger brothers in a “great environment” on a five-acre Kentucky farm as part of what he calls “a close-knit family.” Jonathan was also born with a 50 percent hearing loss in both ears. His mom says: “We didn’t know if he would be able to sing. I was just hoping he could talk. We’re very blessed that his speech developed really well.” Hearing aids help, Jonathan says. As for music, he told The Voice he’s been performing in school and at churches.

What the show didn’t show:

On iTunes: Just his performance from The Voice.

Keeping up with Jonathan:
Twitter: @jonchutch
Facebook
YouTube

“Thinking Out Loud” (Ed Sheeran cover)

“Suspicious Minds” (Elvis Presley cover)

Adam Lambert released his new single, “Welcome to the Show,” on Thursday.

The song was hovering around 50 on the iTunes Top 200 singles chart around 7 p.m.

Then Adam delivered one of the vocal highlights on Thursday’s episode of American Idol when he performed the song live with Swedish singer-songwriter Laleh.

A half hour after the show ended, “Welcome to the Show” had jumped to number 37 on iTunes.

Friday night, 24 hours after the performance, it was sitting at number 31.

Adam wrote the song with Laleh and praised her song-writing during his Idol appearance.

“I feel this song will give people strength to be exactly who they are,” he had said previously about the new single.

Here’s the official audio of the new song, and the Idol performance.

The Season 9 winner of The Voice released his debut album Friday. It comes in record turn-around time for a winner of The Voice — just three months.

It’s an album that includes more covers than originals as Jordan lends his voice to classics such as “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “You Are So Beautiful” and “Amazing Grace.”

And though Jordan said back in December that he’d been writing songs for a debut album during his stint on The Voice, only one of his co-writes — a song called “Settle” — made the cut.

Fans don’t seem to mind.

As of 8 p.m. Friday evening, Jordan’s “Something Beautiful” debut was sitting at number three on iTunes, behind only Kane Brown’s “Chapter 1″ EP and, ironically, the new album from Season 9 Voice coach Gwen Stefani. At 10 a.m. Sunday, Jordan was still at number three, increasing the likelihood that his new album will be the most successful debut in Voice history.

Among the comments about the album on Jordan’s Facebook page.

* Susan Hayes Dias: “My daughter just bought me the CD. I listened to it in the car on the way home. It is BREATHTAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL!!! I had to grab a tissue to wipe away the tears it was that amazing.”

* Gary Scroggins: “Bravo, young man, bravo! This album shows you are standing in the light and being seen exactly as you are. A truly fantastic album. I see many awards in your future.”

* Merimar Piacentini: “It’s beautiful! I have already listen to it like 5 times. It’s really inspirational. Thank you. I’m ready for many more.”

Now it will be interesting to see where Jordan lands on the Billboard 200. The best debut ever for a singer featured on The Voice came last year when Melanie Martinez dropped her brilliant “Cry Baby” album and landed at number 6.

In making the album, Jordan told his hometown newspaper, The Lexington Herald Leader that he and producers didn’t want to assault listeners with an album filled with song featuring soaring vocals.

“I wasn’t trying to win a show, and I wasn’t trying to gain votes, I was just making music because I wanted to make something beautiful and something that I thought was extremely heartfelt,” Jordan said in an interview you can read here. “I can say I poured my whole heart into these songs, and sometimes that means a little drama, and sometimes that means simplicity.

“I’ve spent countless hours in the studio on this, but I’ve also spent so much time the last few years dreaming about something like this happening.”

Here’s the recently released video for the lead single from the album, “Stand in the Light,” written by Lauren Christy and Stephan Moccio.