Inside Music with Melinda Newman

Listen: Kris Allen borrows a page from the Script with first single

'Live Like We Are Dying' kicks off 'American Idol's' solo CD

By Melinda Newman Monday, Sep 21, 2009 3:12 PM

Kris Allen appearing on "Good Morning America" in August

Credit: AP Photo/Charles Sykes

Since Season 8 of "American Idol" ended earlier this year, winner Kris Allen has been content to let runner-up Adam Lambert have the spotlight. He now returns with "Live Like We're Dying," the first single from his Nov. 17 solo album.

Interestingly, it's a cover of a song by Irish band The Script, whom Epic Records has been trying to break in the U.S., but hasn't' succeeded yet. The song didn't appear on their self-titled album but is on an EP called "We Cry."

On the mid-tempo tune, a non-sentimental reminder to tell the ones you love how much they mean to you, Allen sounds like a cross between Jason Mraz and John Mayer. It's a catchy song. The message is the same as the similarly titled Tim McGraw smash, "Live Like You Were Dying," but is far less heart-tugging-although it's hard to hear the line "If your plane fell out of the skies, who would you call with your last goodbye..." without thinking about 9/11.

I don't know if a cover song (even if most people here haven't heard it) is the best first statement for Allen to make, but it's a catchy song and we can see it soaring up the AC charts (and it's much better than "No Boundaries").

Hear Allen's song here or in the embedded YouTube player below.

Hear the Script's version here.