Kris Allen

Kris Allen
Allen in New York City, June 2009
Background information
Birth name	Kristopher Neil Allen
Born	(1985-06-21) June 21, 1985 (age 31) Jacksonville, Arkansas, United States
Origin	Conway, Arkansas
Genres	Pop rock alternative rock acoustic rock blue-eyed soul
Occupation(s)	Musician singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar viola piano keyboards
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Jive (2009–11) RCA (2011–12) 19 (2009–12) DogBear Records (2014–)
Website	www.krisallenofficial.com

Kristopher Neil "Kris" Allen (born June 21, 1985) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, and the winner of the eighth season of American Idol.

Prior to Idol, he self-released a 2007 album entitled Brand New Shoes.

Allen's Idol coronation song, "No Boundaries" and his version of "Heartless" both charted within the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Allen's post-Idol self-titled album was released on November 17, 2009, by Jive Records. The album debuted at number eleven on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album's lead single, "Live Like We're Dying", was released on September 21, 2009, and peaked at number eighteen in the U.S. with combined sales of over 1.7 million. Allen's second major-label album Thank You Camellia was released on May 22, 2012, and the lead single "The Vision of Love" was released March 26, 2012.

Allen released his fifth studio album, Letting You In, on March 18, 2016.

Allen was born in Jacksonville, Arkansas, to Kimberly (née Wood) and Neil Allen. He is the elder of two sons; his younger brother, Daniel, is a college cheerleading coach.

Allen's interest in music began very early. He began playing the viola in elementary school and went on to play the instrument in the Mills University Studies High School orchestra, eventually winning a spot in the Arkansas all-state orchestra. Additionally, he taught himself to play the guitar at age 13, and also plays the piano. His musical influences, as stated in his Idol confessionals, include the Beatles, Jamie Cullum, Jason Mraz, Pat Monahan, John Mayer and Michael Jackson. Allen played publicly for several years before trying out for Idol, even opening for earlier Idol contestant Sean Michel on multiple occasions. He has described his decision to audition for American Idol as a "last hurrah" before giving up his pursuit of a music career.