Jimmie Allen’s Got a Surprising Pre-Show Pump-Up Song [Watch]
Jimmie Allen's favorite pre-show ritual involves a song, but it's not a country song. During a recent stop on the Kelly Clarkson Show, the star revealed that he gets pumped up to go onstage by singing "Popular" from the Wicked musical.
"Yeah, that's my jam," Allen says. "I play it. I'm putting my jewelry on. Got my skinny jeans on. And I look in the mirror..."
From there, the singer broke into an impromptu rendition of "Popular," complete with dance moves. He jumped up from his seat on the coach and started twirling around before serenading Clarkson up close.
And though his surprise mini-performance was given in jest, Clarkson couldn't help but notice Allen's natural talent. "Here's the thing: You're good at this!" she replied. "Would you do, like, a movie musical?"
Allen's penchant for expanding his musical skills into on-screen roles is well-documented: He's competed on Dancing With the Stars, served as a judge on televised singing competition My Kind of Country and contributed on-screen commentary to the documentary For Love and Country, to name a few examples. So it's not a huge surprise to hear that yes, Allen would love to act in a musical — and in fact, he's got a specific role in mind.
"One of my dreams is to play Aaron Burr on Hamilton," he says. "I did theater all through high school and college. Yeah. I wanna go to Broadway...I love theater. I listen to it while I'm driving. I listen to whole soundtracks."
Allen's appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday (April 24) was extra special, because Clarkson was celebrating her 41st birthday. In another segment of the episode, Clarkson and Allen watched a video montage of stars wishing the show host a happy birthday. Wicked star — and the original performer of "Popular" — Kristin Chenoweth was among the celebrities who sent her birthday well-wishes in the clip, and other featured stars included Jake Gyllenhaal, Helen Mirren and even country great Garth Brooks.
"Happy birthday, beautiful. I know I'm your second favorite person to tell you happy birthday, but let me pass it on from the queen herself, Trisha Yearwood," Brooks said in his clip. "[She] loves you. She says, 'Have the happiest of birthdays.'"
Allen's appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show came just a few days after he announced to fans that he and his wife, Alexis Gale, are separating. As he shared that news, the singer announced that he and Gale will also be welcoming a new baby this year. It'll be their third child together. The couple are already parents to daughters Naomi and Zara, and Allen is dad to eight-year-old son Aadyn, who was born from a previous relationship.
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