Kris Allen

S8 · Winner

As of December 13, 2025

Kris Allen records and releases music independently through his own DogBear Records imprint. He released the album Pole Vaulter on August 30, 2024. A December 13, 2025 event listing billed him as a featured guest at Jon McLaughlin's "Home For The Holidays" concert in Bloomington, Indiana.⁠[1][2][3]

Career

Before the show

  1. September 16, 2007Before American Idol, he wrote and self-produced the independent album Brand New Shoes with two college bandmates.⁠[3][4]

After the show

  1. June 8, 2009It was announced that 19 Recordings had signed him after his Idol win and licensed his recordings to Jive Records.⁠[4][12]
  2. November 17, 2009Released his self-titled major-label album, which debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of just over 80,000.⁠[3][4]
  3. March 13, 2010The single "Live Like We're Dying" peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was later certified Platinum.⁠[9]
  4. June 2010–November 2010Made his first headlining tour in mid-2010, then opened for Barenaked Ladies, Maroon 5, Keith Urban and Lifehouse later that year.⁠[4]
  5. May 10, 2011Co-wrote "Still Got Tonight", a single from Matthew Morrison's debut album; he also co-wrote songs recorded by other singers in 2011 and 2012.⁠[3][4]
  6. May 22, 2012Released his second major-label album, Thank You Camellia, on RCA and 19; it peaked at number 26 on the Billboard 200.⁠[3][4]
  7. September 2012Left RCA Records in September 2012, after changing management.⁠[3][4][11]
  8. August 12, 2014Released Horizons on his own DogBear Records imprint; it reached number 80 on the Billboard 200 and number 10 on the Independent Albums chart.⁠[3][4]
  9. March 18, 2016Released the album Letting You In on DogBear Records.⁠[3][4]
  10. February 2017Kris Allen announced in February 2017 that he had formed The Dames; the band released its first song digitally on DogBear Records in May 2017.The Dames⁠[4]
  11. May 6, 2018Announced on Twitter that he would join the American Idol Live! tour as a special guest; the tour began on July 11, 2018.⁠[4]
  12. 2021Toured Northern Europe and the United Kingdom with season 7 winner David Cook after COVID-19 postponements.⁠[4]
  13. August 30, 2024Released Pole Vaulter, a 14-song album on DogBear Records and his first album of new original songs since 2016.⁠[1][13]
  14. December 13, 2025Was billed as a featured guest at Jon McLaughlin's "Home For The Holidays" concert at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in Bloomington, Indiana, on December 13, 2025.⁠[2]

Discography

TitleTypeYearLabelRIAA certificationU.S. salesListen
Brand New Shoes⁠[3]Album2007Independent
Season 8 Favorite Performances⁠[3]Compilation2009RCA16,000⁠[3][14]June 2009
Live Like We're Dying⁠[3][4]Single2009Platinum⁠[3][9][10]
Kris Allen⁠[3]Album2009Jive/19346,000⁠[3][11][15]September 2012
Thank You Camellia⁠[3]Album2012RCA/1935,000⁠[3][16][17]January 2013
Thank You Camellia (Fan Edition)⁠[3]EP2012RCA/19
The Vision of Love (Remixes)⁠[3]EP2012RCA/19
Waiting for Christmas⁠[3]EP2012My T Mouse
Horizons⁠[3]Album2014DogBear/+1804,000⁠[3][16][18]August 2014
Letting You In⁠[3]Album2016DogBear
Acoustic Tapes⁠[3]EP2016Dogbear Records
Somethin' About Christmas⁠[3]Album2016DogBear
Letting You In: Acoustic Performances⁠[3]EP2017Dogbear Records
10⁠[3][4][19]Compilation2019DogBear Records
Pole Vaulter⁠[1][4]Album2024DogBear RecordsApple Music

Awards

Checked October 6, 2026; none found.

Sources

19 sources

  1. Pole Vaulter - Kris Allen — Apple Music. Release database. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (2)
    • Album header: “August 30, 2024 14 songs, 47 minutes ℗ 2024 DogBear Records”
    • Album header: “℗ 2024 DogBear Records”
  2. 2025 Jon McLaughlin & Friends: Home For The Holidays — Opendate (Buskirk-Chumley Theater event listing). Label or artist. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (2)
    • Event description: “a stellar lineup of friends and collaborators, including American Idol winner Kris Allen, acclaimed pop-soul singer-songwriter David Davis, and powerhouse vocalist and Broadway star Morgan James”
    • Event title and description: “a stellar lineup of friends and collaborators, including American Idol winner Kris Allen, acclaimed pop-soul singer-songwriter David Davis, and powerhouse vocalist and Broadway star Morgan James”
  3. Kris Allen discography — Wikipedia, updated April 23, 2026. Reference work (secondary). Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (8)
    • Lead section, paragraph 2: “He has since released three albums on his independent label imprint DogBear Records”
    • Singles table, Live Like We're Dying row, Certifications column: “US: Platinum”
    • Studio albums table, Brand New Shoes row: “Released: September 16, 2007 / Label: Independent”
    • Compilation albums table, Season 8 Favorite Performances row: “Released: June 30, 2009 / Label: RCA”
    • Studio albums table, Thank You Camellia row: “Label: RCA/19”
    • Studio albums table, Kris Allen row: “Label: Jive/19”
    • Extended plays table, Waiting for Christmas row: “Released: December 10, 2012 / Label: My T Mouse”
    • Studio albums table, Kris Allen row: “Released: November 17, 2009 / Label: Jive/19”
  4. Kris Allen — Wikipedia, updated August 23, 2026. Reference work (secondary). Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (8)
    • Lead sentence: “born June 21, 1985”
    • Infobox, Born line (birth_date): {{birth date and age|1985|06|21}}
    • Lead section, paragraph 2: “Prior to Idol, he self-released a 2007 album, Brand New Shoes.”
    • Career: Thank You Camellia and Horizons (2011–14), paragraph 3: “In the same month he left RCA.”
    • Career: Thank You Camellia and Horizons (2011–14), paragraph 1: “On October 7, 2011, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding Jive Records along with Arista Records and J Records.”
    • Career: Letting You In (2016–present), paragraph 3; Other projects: The Dames (current members list): “Also that month, he announced he had formed a new band called The Dames.”
    • Career: Pre-Idol and Brand New Shoes: “In 2007, Allen wrote and self-produced an album entitled Brand New Shoes with college friends and bandmates Michael Holmes (drums) and Chase Erwin (bass).”
    • Career: American Idol, final paragraph: “the announcement was made that Allen had signed a record deal with Jive Records (along with fellow finalist Allison Iraheta).”
  5. American Idol season 8 — Wikipedia, updated August 31, 2026. Reference work (secondary). Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (2)
    • Elimination chart row Kris Allen: Pl. 1, Winner in the Finale column (5/20); ratings table episode 'Season 8 Finale', May 20, 2009
    • Lead section: “Kris Allen was announced the winner of the competition on May 20, 2009, defeating runner-up Adam Lambert after nearly 100 million votes were cast.”
  6. List of American Idol finalists — Wikipedia, updated June 10, 2026. Reference work (secondary). Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Contestants table, row Kris Allen: season 8, place finish Winner
  7. American Idol Upset: Kris Allen Beats Adam Lambert — ABC News. News report. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Article text: “Kris Allen won "American Idol," beating out Adam Lambert, the season-long favorite.”
  8. TV singing shows fail to create stars — USA Today, published January 14, 2014. News report. Retrieved October 8, 2026.
    Cited parts (3)
    • Table header: “Artist (Year on American Idol) | downloads | album sales”
    • Artist row, album-sales column: “Kris Allen (Winner 2009) | 3,317,000 | 393,000”
    • Table caption: “Top-selling singing-competition artists ranked by career sales in single-track downloads and albums (physical and digital). Source: Nielsen SoundScan”
  9. Live Like We're Dying — Wikipedia, updated September 11, 2025. Reference work (secondary). Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (3)
    • Chart performance section; Certifications table: “The song was certified platinum by the RIAA on October 15, 2010.”
    • Chart performance section: “It peaked at number 18 on the chart on the week of March 13, 2010.”
    • Chart performance section: “The song was certified platinum by the RIAA on October 15, 2010.”
  10. RIAA Gold & Platinum search: Kris Allen — RIAA. Official record. Cited by another source; not opened by our researchers.
  11. 'American Idol' Kris Allen and RCA Records Part Ways (Exclusive) — The Hollywood Reporter, published September 19, 2012. News report. Cited by another source; not opened by our researchers.
  12. Kris Allen - 19 Recordings Has Signed the American Idol Season 8 Winner and Has Licensed to Jive Records — Sony Music Entertainment, published June 8, 2009. Label or artist. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (2)
    • First paragraph: “It was announced today that 19 Recordings has signed Kris Allen, and his recordings have been licensed to Jive Records.”
    • First paragraph: “his recordings have been licensed to Jive Records.”
  13. Kris Allen Releases Delivers Impeccable Singer-Songwriter Pop on New Album 'Pole Vaulter' — Culture Fix, published August 31, 2024. News report. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Article body: “first original album since 2016”
  14. Idol Chatter — USA Today, published June 17, 2009. News report. Cited by another source; not opened by our researchers.
  15. Kris Allen (album) — Wikipedia, updated July 11, 2026. Reference work (secondary). Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Chart performance section: “By September 2012, the album had sold 346,000 domestically.”
  16. List of American Idol alumni album sales in the United States — Wikipedia, updated September 21, 2026. Reference work (secondary). Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (2)
    • Main table, Kris Allen row: “Thank You Camellia (2012) #26 — 35,000”
    • Main table, Kris Allen row: “Horizons (2014) #80 — 4,000”
  17. Ask Billboard: 20 No. 13 Hits For 2013 — Billboard, published January 15, 2013. News report. Cited by another source; not opened by our researchers.
  18. Billboard 200 Chart Moves: 'Idol' Hits New Low — Billboard, published August 22, 2014. News report. Cited by another source; not opened by our researchers.
  19. Kris Allen, Arkansas Talent Judge, vocalist — Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Label or artist. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Biography: “In 2019, Kris celebrated the 10th anniversary of his American Idol win by releasing '10,' an album of reimagined acoustic versions”

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