Kristopher Neil “Kris” Allen (born June 21, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, and the winner of the eighth season of American Idol. Prior to Idol, Allen had 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, through Jive Records. The album debuted at #11 on the U.S. Billboard 200 shifting over 80,000 copies. The album’s lead single, “Live Like We’re Dying”, was released on September 21, 2009, and has so far peaked at #18 in the U.S.

Early life

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 cheer-leading coach.[6] Allen is a Christian and served as assistant music director at the non-denominational New Life Church in both Conway, Arkansas, and Little Rock, Arkansas.[7] Allen has participated in missionary work around the world, including in Burma, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Spain, and Thailand.

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.