In 2009, Kris Allen, to the surprise of the nation, beat out finalist (and thought to be the crowd favorite) Adam Lambert, to take home the coveted title of American Idol in season eight. His debut track “No Boundaries” was released on May 20th, 2009 on I-Tunes and earned the #11 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100.
Since his Idol win in 2009, Kris has made appearances on such shows as Larry King Live (hosted by Ryan Seacrest) The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Paula Abdul’s replacement for the 2010 Idol season).
Now for a little Pre-American Idol background. Kris Allen was born on June 21st 1985 and grew up in Conway Arkansas. In 2007, While in college, Kris and a few fellow students released a song titled “Brand New Shoes” handing out just six hundred copies to family and friends.
On September 26th 2008, Kris married his long-time girlfriend, Katherine “Katy” O’Connell.
In 2008, Kris, along with his brother, auditioned for American Idol season eight in Louisville Kentucky as his “last Howrah” at making it as a singer/songwriter, before going back to college to get his degree. To his amazement, he quickly made it through to the next round in Hollywood as his brother was left behind.
Kris Allen impressed the Idol judges and America with his catchy renditions of Queen’s “We are the Champions” and The Beatles’s “Yesterday”
When asked what was the highlight of his American Idol journey so far, Kris said that it was definitely when he got the opportunity to perform a duet with country music great Keith Urban, performing Urban’s #1 hit “Kiss a Girl” accompanying Keith on guitar.
Look for Kris Allen’s new album on Jive Records in collaboration with Entertainment 19 (American Idol creator Simon Fuller’s label) that includes his single “Live Like We’re Dying” to be released on November 17th 2009, just in time for the holiday season.