Kris Allen

Kris Allen

Hailing from Little Rock, Arkansas, Kris Allen developed his passion here for singing, songwriting, as well playing several instruments such as the piano, ukulele, and viola.  All the passion started at the young age of 13 when he independently taught himself how to play the guitar.  Starting at a young age, he became a member of the New Life Church of Little Rock and performed with them for many years.  This passion has brought him to great places and gave him wonderful opportunities to share his music with other people.  Through this, he was able to reach out to many oppressed and less privileged people.  Kris has traveled to many places such as Thailand, Mozambique, Spain, and Morocco, and these travels had a big influence on how he writes his music.  He even has his own independent fill length CD which was released in September 2007, entitled “Brand New Shoes.”  In this album, Kris’ talents in singing, songwriting, guitar playing, and piano playing are surely showcased.  At first glance, Kris appears very calm and laidback, but his music has been described to be very soulful and deep.

In Season 8 of American Idol, Kris Allen, a business major at the University of Arkansas, auditioned with his brother in the San Francisco auditions.  Unfortunately, his brother did not make it through to Hollywood. Kris, on the other hand, got the coveted golden ticket.  According to Allen, he did not expect to make it as far as to be part of the Final 36 who will eventually compete to get a spot in the Top 12, when the competition really begins.  He says that as you keep going through audition after audition, and round after round, you never think that you might get through to the next, so it is all crazy and overwhelming for him.

Allen, a part of Group 2 of the Final 36, still gets incredibly overwhelmed that he is part of one of the country’s most favorite entertainment shows.  This has only encouraged him to raise his game, as he rehearses as much as he can with the people on the show who help contestants in performing and arranging their songs.  These people have helped him make the songs his own.  When he is not rehearsing or thinking about the performances, Allen says that he just spends time with the other contestants whom he has already been good friends with.  He was fortunate enough to be part of a group he now considers to be lifelong friends who root for each other genuinely.  Another group of people on the show who makes Kris feel a little bit more tense is the group of judges.  Kris says that it was very nerve-wracking to have all them just sitting there waiting for you to sing.  He got incredibly overwhelmed seeing the people he had only seen on television for the past seven years.  Even though you want the judges to say all positive comments, sometimes the negative just creeps in.

Being the ever humble individual, Kris Allen does not admit that he has a big fan base back in his home in Arkansas and even has a Facebook group dedicated to him, which has now recruited over 8,000 members.  With his laidback personality and soulful performances, Kris Allen is surely a contestant to look out for.