American Idol ’s 8th season winner Kris Allen reportedly nodded to jamband stalwarts Umphrey’s McGee over the weekend with a rendition of their recent “mash up” of Tears For Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.” Umphrey’s debuted the same “mash up” during its Halloween Monster Mash at the Pageant Theater, St. Louis, MO on October 31. While Allen has covered “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” in the past, this was the first time he combined the two songs (which feature similar rhythms).

The performance took place on Saturday night at the Pechanga Theater in Temecula, CA and has since spurred a flurry of message board chatter from Allen’s fans attempting to deny any connection to Umphrey’s “mash up.” However, Umphrey’s has now has acknowledged Allen’s cover with a message on its own site, even calling for a “mash up” throw down. Read the full message from Umphrey’s McGee’s blog The Floor below:

We here at Umphrey’s McGee would like to take a moment to congratulate Kris Allen, 8th season American Idol winner, on working one of the latest UM mash ups into his live show. We are honored to have inspired the latest American Idol with our version. As many of you probably know, Brendan is a religious follower of Idol and was devastated when he had to turn down the latest judging opening due to UM touring conflicts. At least the music is living on with Kris, who is of course named after our very own Kris Myers. Mash up throw down anyone?