Kris Allen moves beyond 'Idol'

Kris Allen

Despite having lived almost his whole life just a few hours away in Conway, Ark., Kris Allen has spent only a few unremarkable, anonymous days in Memphis.

"I remember once my senior year, me and my buddies went to a golf tournament there, the St. Jude tournament," he recalls. "I've been on Beale Street a couple of times."

Kris Allen

But when the 25-year-old returns to town this weekend, the circumstances will be much more memorable. On Friday, Allen, the winner of the eighth season of "American Idol," will be playing the Mud Island Amphitheater, opening for pop band Maroon 5 on his first solo tour.

Like most "Idol" contestants, Allen has seen his life change considerably since he won the televised singing contest in May 2009. Born in Jacksonville, Ark., Allen began in music playing the viola in elementary school, eventually earning a spot on the all-state orchestra. Devoutly religious, he also served as assistant music director in his Conway church, but an actual music career seemed out of reach until he accompanied his brother to Louisville, Ky., on an "Idol" audition.

"I was a house husband, cooking and cleaning and doing the laundry," Allen says of his life just before "Idol." "I'd done some music before, but I had put it on the back burner. I was on my way back to school, and then this whole thing kind of happened."

Lost in the shadow of his far splashier rival Adam Lambert for much of the competition, Allen managed to distinguish himself with his acoustic-based pop-rock take on songs like Michael Jackson's "Man In the Mirror" and "Heartless " by Kanye West, songs that Allen reprises in his live set.

In the finale, Allen beat Lambert, winning, according to some sources, by a million votes. His victory was tainted somewhat by charges that AT&T gave some Allen fans free phones and lessons in "power texting" (a way to cast multiple votes at once). But all sides agree that those votes wouldn't have made a difference. Allen has moved past the controversy, and he and Lambert remain friends.

"He's pretty busy. I'm pretty busy, but we text each other as much as we can," say Allen.

For the most part, Allen, who with his wife Katy, still lives in the same Conway apartment he had before his life changed, is focused on his life post-"Idol." His self-titled debut was released last November, led by the Top 20 singles "No Boundaries" and "Live Like We're Dying." Contradicting the image of "Idol" winner as puppets, Allen says he was completely involved in crafting the album, co-writing most of the tracks.

"I was happy with it for the amount of time we spent on it," he says. "We spent about four months on it, and three of those months I was on tour. ... . So for the amount of time we had I felt like it came out good. But I'm ready to make another album."

Allen hopes to start writing in the fall and perhaps head back into the studio in the spring. But the key, says Allen, who felt a little like he was thrown into the deep end on his first outing, will be to take his time.

"I think I can write better songs," he says. "I just want to spend time on it and make an album that I can be completely proud of and say, 'Here world, here's my music.'"

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Maroon 5 with Kris Allen and V.V. Brown

7:30 p.m. Friday at Mud Island Amphitheater, 125 N. Front St. Tickets: $57.45 and $78.59; available at the box office and through Ticketmaster.

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