Topic: Kris Allen

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, 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, 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 #23 in the U.S.

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. 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. Allen has participated in missionary work around the world, including in Burma, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Spain, and Thailand. Friend and fellow Idol contestant Adam Lambert has subsequently described Allen as "not very religious, I don’t know where he got that label" going on to state, "he’s very open-minded to people’s lifestyles and he doesn’t judge."