Biography
Kris Allen gained more from showcasing his instrumental talents on American Idol than most earlier participants who had done the same, and the easygoing coffeehouse singer/songwriter atmosphere he projected helped him claim victory in the 2009 season. Facing off against powerhouse vocalist Adam Lambert in the finale, he highlighted his versatility by sitting at the piano for a cover of "Ain't No Sunshine" and picking up an acoustic guitar for a stripped-down rendition of Kanye West's "Heartless." Those live performances sealed the win on May 20, 2009.
Kristopher Neil Allen entered the world in 1985 in Jacksonville, Arkansas, and began connecting with music while still young. He studied viola in middle school and earned a place in the state's all-state orchestra, then picked up guitar on his own a few years afterward. While pursuing business studies at the University of Central Arkansas he also devoted time to songwriting and, alongside two classmates, cut the EP Brand New Shoes, whose songs carried echoes of Jason Mraz's folk-pop. The recording gave him the assurance to try out for American Idol in mid-2008, and he rejoined the production early the next year as a cast member.
Labeled the season's dark horse, Allen gradually built an audience through measured interpretations of the Swell Season's "Falling Slowly," Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time," and Donna Summer's "She Works Hard for the Money." Although he roomed with Adam Lambert for the duration of the competition, their approaches stood in clear contrast, Lambert's dramatic stage presence set against Allen's modest presence and relaxed, guitar-centered settings. Those distinctions helped secure his first-place finish, after which he joined the yearly American Idol tour and began preparing a debut album slated for late 2009 with input from Eg White, Chris Daughtry, and David Hodges. The lead single "Live Like We're Dying" appeared in September and reached number 89 on the singles charts; two months later the self-titled full-length followed.
Allen resurfaced in 2012 with the follow-up Thank You Camellia, a title drawn from his Los Angeles residence. He collaborated with several producer-songwriters on the project, among them former Sugarcult frontman Tim Pagnotta, Nasri & Adam Messinger, and Boots Ottestad. The album's opening track was the single "The Vision of Love." After parting from RCA that same year he issued the holiday EP Waiting for Christmas and kept touring into 2013.
Horizons, his fourth collection, surfaced in 2014 on the independent Dog Bear Records imprint he founded. Letting You In arrived in 2016 and became his second straight release to enter the Top 20 on Billboard's Independent chart.
Kristopher Neil Allen entered the world in 1985 in Jacksonville, Arkansas, and began connecting with music while still young. He studied viola in middle school and earned a place in the state's all-state orchestra, then picked up guitar on his own a few years afterward. While pursuing business studies at the University of Central Arkansas he also devoted time to songwriting and, alongside two classmates, cut the EP Brand New Shoes, whose songs carried echoes of Jason Mraz's folk-pop. The recording gave him the assurance to try out for American Idol in mid-2008, and he rejoined the production early the next year as a cast member.
Labeled the season's dark horse, Allen gradually built an audience through measured interpretations of the Swell Season's "Falling Slowly," Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time," and Donna Summer's "She Works Hard for the Money." Although he roomed with Adam Lambert for the duration of the competition, their approaches stood in clear contrast, Lambert's dramatic stage presence set against Allen's modest presence and relaxed, guitar-centered settings. Those distinctions helped secure his first-place finish, after which he joined the yearly American Idol tour and began preparing a debut album slated for late 2009 with input from Eg White, Chris Daughtry, and David Hodges. The lead single "Live Like We're Dying" appeared in September and reached number 89 on the singles charts; two months later the self-titled full-length followed.
Allen resurfaced in 2012 with the follow-up Thank You Camellia, a title drawn from his Los Angeles residence. He collaborated with several producer-songwriters on the project, among them former Sugarcult frontman Tim Pagnotta, Nasri & Adam Messinger, and Boots Ottestad. The album's opening track was the single "The Vision of Love." After parting from RCA that same year he issued the holiday EP Waiting for Christmas and kept touring into 2013.
Horizons, his fourth collection, surfaced in 2014 on the independent Dog Bear Records imprint he founded. Letting You In arrived in 2016 and became his second straight release to enter the Top 20 on Billboard's Independent chart.
Albums
Pole Vaulter
2024
Too Good for Too Long
2024
June
2022
The Vision Of Love
2012
Thank You Camellia (Deluxe Version)
2012
Thank You Camellia
2012
Kris Allen
2009
Singles
