From the look on his face no one was more surprised than Kris Allen when he bested judges' favorite Adam Lambert to become the new American Idol for Season 8. Before American Idol, the unassuming Allen had been ready to give up on a musical career to find steady work to support himself and his new wife. Kris had auditioned for the show because his brother, Daniel, had asked him to come along for moral support while he auditioned. Daniel didn't survive long as a contestant, but Kris was praised by the judges for his original takes on well-known songs as he advanced through the ranks.

Since becoming the Season 8 American Idol Kris has appeared on numerous talk shows, sung the national anthem at the NBA finals, performed with Smokey Robinson, signed with Jive Records and saw his self-titled album debut at #11 on Billboard. He has been featured in numerous commercials for Ford, had two singles in the Top 20 for Billboard, and has begun touring. This summer, he'll be opening for such acts as Maroon 5, Barenaked Ladies, OneRepubic, former American Idol alum Daughtry, and Keith Urban. Allen has also been the headlining act for concerts in Malaysia and Singapore, the only American Idol to ever do so in either country.

Kris also makes the time to share his good fortune, traveling to Haiti with the United Nations Foundation to raise awareness for earthquake disaster relief efforts. He shared footage of his trip on an American Idol results show, and his performance of "Let It Be" by the Beatles was a charity single on iTunes. He has traveled to Rwanda as part of a private relief effort to drop off 35,000 pairs of shoes for needy children.

Who is the "Pants on the Ground Guy" from American Idol? His name is General Larry Platt he was born August 27th 1946. The General before his name is not due to him being an army general, but due to his involvement as a civil rights activist in the Atlanta area. The title "General" was bestowed him by Hosea Williams due to the "priceless and immeasurable contributions to society" as well as "his great energy and commitment to equality and the protection of the innocent and for his outstanding service to the Atlanta community and the citizens of Georgia."

On his last birthday he graduated to a young 63 year old who had a dream of his own. That was to audition on one of the highest profiled shows on TV called American Idol. The General was not just a political activist he was also a rapper and song writer. He wrote and wanted to preform his new song called "Pants on the Ground." About three years Platt noticed a man walking down the street in Atlanta holding a baby his underwear were showing due to his pants being lower than his hips.

Platt says the lyrics just suddenly came to him. He began singing the song to embarrass the young man. He told the reporter, "Be a man. Don't be walking around showing yourself to the world! I don't think that's right!" So, who is General Larry Platt? Most would say he is an asset to the community of Atlanta, a man that has integrity and honesty. As well, the General wants to make a difference by educating others about those who are less fortunate and need help to live from day to day.

"Pants on the Ground" is a most unlikely hit song. Sixty-three year old Larry Platt, who performed this original song at the Atlanta auditions for the ninth season of American Idol, is an unlikely singing sensation. He gained instant fame on the "American Idol" show. Soon after his song was released on iTunes it quickly received more than 150,000 hits. As of June 2010 the video has received more than 6 million views on You Tube.

Larry Platt is a long-time American Civil and political rights activist and rapper. He first performed his song in Atlanta during a campaign period for city officials. Platt had been performing this song publicly in the Atlanta area for various events and functions since 2001. Inspiration for writing this song came when Platt observed a young man with his pants hanging below his waist. He thought it to be disrespectful and embarrassing.

Sally Hurley, a civil rights activist, encouraged him to audition for "American Idol" when the auditions were in Atlanta. The "Idol" judges were amazed by the performance. Flatt was not eligible to continue on to Season 9 because he was over the show's age limit of 28. Platt has appeared on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" where he performed a version of the song. He also appeared on the daytime shows "The Today Show" and "The View."

On February 4, 2010, a single of the song was released by American King Music for MP3 download. More than 260,000 downloads were sold in a short time. Since then Platt has had offers by several labels and other companies that are anxious to negotiate to produce another single. The Georgia General Assembly has designated September 4, 2010 as Larry Platt Day. He will be recognized for his "priceless contributions, his great commitment to equality and his outstanding service to Atlanta."

At the start of American Idol Season nine there seemed to be an interesting mix of talent. After Hollywood week it seemed like a few talented contestants got shafted because of the group performance. It was a struggle to even imagine who was going to be in the top ten. Now that the competition is down to the top three it looks better with Casey James, Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox, who, as Simon, would say is in it to win it.

Season eight was a shock to some, with Kris Allen beating Adam Lambert. If you look at the very different styles no hard rocker has won idol yet, and Lambert’s unique style wasn’t going to be the first. Allen was the first married Idol to win, and is on track for a successful career. Season seven had the David and David show with David Cook beating the younger David Archuletta. The season six winner was Jordin Sparks and the runner up was Blake Lewis. Sparks has done an amazing job with her career, and while Lewis’s unique style won’t be heard on America’s Top 40 he did release an album in 2007.

Season five was loaded with talent like Chris Daughtry, Elliott Yamin, Bucky Covington, Kellie Pickler and the top two of the group, Katharine McPhee and winner Taylor Hicks. Unfortunately, fans don’t hear much from the winners; however Daughtry and Pickler are the true winners of that group with very successful careers ahead of them. In season four the rocker Bo Bice was beat by country star Carrie Underwood.

Simon Cowell has left “American Idol” after nine seasons, leaving it without a brutally honest judge to decide which contestants should go on. Cowell has never held back his opinion about a contestant, especially when the contestant didn't perform well. He says he is bored with the program and doesn't want to bore the audience. He has been credited with making the series the success it is. He doesn't feel he should be replaced with another caustic Brit, but with someone who can judge talent fairly.

He will produce and judge the American version of “The X Factor,” which is very similar to “American Idol.” He felt that he was boring the audience because he was becoming so bored with the performers. Perhaps on his new show he will have more say in who the talent will be and will be better able to judge people's talent. Since he is producing it, he can also help choose the contestants. He felt that on “American Idol” the producers sometimes didn't pick the best of the bunch.

Immediately after quitting “American Idol,” he signed the “The X Factor” contract. "The X Factor” is another British format reality show, however, since Cowell is both producer and director, he has much more control over the content of the program. Contestants in any age group are welcome and the judges will even help them to do a better job onstage. He felt he should leave “American Idol” while it was still a popular show, but also felt that people were tiring of his wit and humor.