Kris Allen (album)

Kris Allen is the major-label album debut (second overall) from American Idol eighth season winner Kris Allen. The album was released on November 17, 2009, through Jive Records.

Kris Allen
Studio album by
Kris Allen
ReleasedNovember 17, 2009 (2009-11-17)
Recorded2009
Genre
Length48:05
Label
Producer
Kris Allen chronology
Brand New Shoes
(2007)		 Kris Allen
(2009)		 Thank You Camellia
(2012)
Singles from Thank You Camellia
  1. "Live Like We're Dying"
    Released: September 21, 2009
  2. "The Truth"
    Released: May 11, 2010[1]
  3. "Alright with Me"
    Released: October 13, 2010
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic52/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
American Songwriter[4]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[5]
Los Angeles Times[6]
Salt Lake Tribune(D)[7]
Slant Magazine[8]
Sputnik Music[9]

Background

Allen has writing credits on nine of the twelve tracks on the album, including one solo credit for "Red Guitar", a song that he wrote prior to participating in American Idol. "Is It Over" was written by Allen with Cale Mills, who is an Arkansas friend of the Idol champ.[10] According to a preview of the album,[11] the tracks are:

big, widescreen adult-alt-pop records reminiscent of VH1 house bands like Carolina Liar, Maroon 5, or Augustana, all full of huge hooky choruses ridiculously readymade for radio. The album is positively teeming with potential hits, and the folks at 19 will have a tough job selecting a follow-up single for the already-released 'Live Like We're Dying'.

In a break with American Idol tradition, Allen's Idol "coronation song", "No Boundaries", was not included on his major-label debut, becoming only the second Idol winner album to do so after Taylor Hicks' self-titled album. Instead, a newly recorded version of "Heartless", covered by Allen during his run on Idol, was included as a bonus track.[12] There has been speculation that this was because "No Boundaries" was already included on the Walmart-exclusive season 8 compilation album,[13] which is the first time the winning single was included on the season's compilation since Kelly Clarkson in 2002 and is the first new compilation since season five. However, it has been included as part of the deluxe album version via iTunes.

The album was released in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2009,[14] making its official release before that of the United States.

Promotion

Allen previewed three songs from his album "Written All Over My Face", "Can't Stay Away," and "Before We Come Undone" at a Miami Dolphins tailgate party before their game against the New Orleans Saints on October 25, 2009.[15]

AOL Music began streaming the full album on November 9, 2009.[16]

Release

Singles
  • "Live Like We're Dying", a cover of The Script's song, was released digitally via iTunes on September 25, 2009.[17] The music video for the single was released on November 6, 2009 on AOL's PopEater.[18] The song peaked at number eighteen on the Billboard Hot 100, number ten on Pop Songs, twenty-one on Christian Songs, and other Billboard charts. It also charted internationally in Canada and New Zealand.
  • "The Truth", featuring Patrick Monahan, the lead singer of the Grammy award-winning rock band Train, was released as the CD's second single in May.
  • On October 6, 2010, Allen revealed on his Twitter account that the third single of the album will be "Alright with Me".[19] He posted an unofficial music video for the song on his website on November 18, 2010 to thank his fans for their support.[20]

Critical reception

Kris Allen was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 52 based on 8 reviews.[2]

In a review for AllMusic, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Unhip it may be by design, at least Kris Allen delivers the goods: it’s tuneful and likeable, melodic enough to merit a close listen, ready to slip into the background at a moment’s notice."[3]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Live Like We're Dying"
  • Frampton
  • Kipner
3:29
2."Before We Come Undone"
Kurstin3:31
3."Can't Stay Away"
Elizondo3:19
4."The Truth"
Gad4:40
5."Written All Over My Face"
  • Kipner
  • Frampton
  • O'Donoghue
  • Sheehan
  • Frampton
  • Kipner
3:34
6."Bring It Back"
Eg White3:42
7."Red Guitar"Allen
4:27
8."Is It Over"
  • Allen
  • Elizondo
  • Cale Mills
Elizondo3:34
9."Let It Rain"
  • Allen
  • Tobias Karlsson
Karlsson3:29
10."Alright with Me"
  • Flynn
  • King
3:07
11."Lifetime"
Elizondo3:38
12."I Need to Know"
  • Allen
  • Robbins
  • Gad
Gad3:34
International bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Heartless"
Salaam Remi3:42
Japan bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Heartless"
  • Jones
  • Mescudi
  • West
  • Wilson
  • Bhasker
  • McIldowiell
Salaam Remi3:42
14."No Boundaries"
Emanuel Kiriakou3:30
Walmart bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Send Me All Your Angels"
Elizondo3:29
iTunes pre-order bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."From the Ashes"
  • Allen
  • Robbins
  • Gad
Gad4:06
iTunes deluxe edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."No Boundaries"
  • DioGuardi
  • Dennis
  • Allan
Kiriakou3:30

Credits and personnel

[21]

Performance credits
  • All vocals – Kris Allen
  • Background vocals – Billy Sollox, Eg White
Instruments
  • Bass – Mike Elizondo, Sean Hurley, Tobias Karlsson, Greg Kurstin, Danny O'Donoghue, Salaam Remi
  • Cello – Victor Lawrence, Mats Lindberg
  • Drums – Randy Cooke, Robin Diaz, Victor Indrizzo, Bill Lefler, Glen Power, Salaam Remi, Aaron Sterling
  • Guitars — Paul Broucek, Mike Elizondo, Jon Foreman, Andrew Frampton, Paul Inder, Tobias Karlsson, Bill Lefler, David Levita, Danny O'Donoghue, Tim Pierce, Joel Shearer, Mark Sheehan, Michael Ward, Eg White, Jordan Wright
  • Keyboards – Johan Carlsson, Mike Elizondo, Andrew Frampton, Steve Kipner, Greg Kurstin, Zac Rae, Salaam Remi
  • Percussion – Victor Indrizzo
  • Piano – Zac Rae
  • Saxophone – David Ralicke
  • Synthesizers – Zac Rae
  • Trombone – David Ralicke
  • Trumpet – Christopher Bautista
  • Viola – Irene Bylund
  • Violin – Mattais Bylund, Jim Sitterly
Production
  • A&R – Jeff Fenster
  • Arrangement – Toby Gad
    • Horn arrangement – David Ralicke
    • String arrangement – Mattais Bylund
  • Editing – Mattais Bylund
  • Art directors – Maria P. Marulanda, Jackie Murphy
  • Creative director – Keki Mingus
  • Engineer – Christian Baker, Dan Frampton, Craig "The Regulator" Frank, Toby Gad, Warren Huart, Greg Kursitn, Ted Paduck, Franklin Emmanuel Socorro
    • Assistant engineer – Phil Allen, Brent Arrowood, Robin Holden, Graham Hope
    • String engineer – Mattais Bylynd
    • Vocal engineer – Eric Weaver
  • Instrumentation – Toby Gad, Eg White
  • Mastering – Tom Coyne
  • Mixers – Serban Ghenea, Manny Marroquin, Spike Stent
    • Mixing assistant – Christian Plata, Tim Roberts
  • Producers – Mike Elizondo, Mike Flynn, Andrew Frampton, Toby Gad, Warren Huart, Tobias Karlsson, Joe King, Steve Kipner, Greg Kurstin, Eg White
  • Production coordinator – Chiara Krammer
  • Programming – Mike Elizondo, Andrew Frampton, Toby Gad, Greg Kurstin, Danny O'Donoghue, Mark Sheehan
  • Photographer – Eric Ogden
  • Project coordinator – Jolie Levine

Chart performance

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 11 with 80,000 sold for the week.[22]

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart performance for Kris Allen
Chart (2009) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[23] 11

Year-end charts
Chart (2010) Position
US Billboard 200 115[24]

Release history
List of release dates, showing region, formats, label, editions and reference
Region Date Format(s) Label Edition(s) Ref.
United Kingdom November 16, 2009 (2009-11-16)
Standard [25]
Canada November 17, 2009 (2009-11-17)
United States
  • Standard
  • Walmart bonus track
New Zealand November 23, 2009 (2009-11-23)
  • Zomba
  • Sony Music Entertainment
 Standard

References
  1. Slezak, Michael (May 5, 2010). "Kris Allen on the controversy over his new single, 'The Truth" and those added Pat Monahan vocals". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  2. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  3. Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Review: Kris Allen". AllMusic. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  4. Zollo, Paul (November 17, 2009). "American Songwriter Review". American Songwriter. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  5. Pastorek, Whitney (November 11, 2009). "Entertainment Weekly Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  6. Wood, Mikael. "LA Times Review". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  7. "Salt Lake Tribune review". Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
  8. Keefe, Jonathan (November 22, 2009). "Slant Magazine Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  9. "Review: Kris Allen - Kris Allen - Sputnikmusic". Sputnikmusic. November 19, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  10. "Is It Over by Kris Allen Songfacts". www.songfacts.com.
  11. "Preview Alert: Reality Rocks Kris Allen Listening Session". music.yahoo.com.
  12. "Kris Allen: We exclusively reveal the track listing for his self-titled debut!". entertainmentweekly.com.
  13. "American Idol: Season 8, Various Artists: Pop". Walmart.com. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  14. "Kris Allen: Kris Allen: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  15. "Kris Allen - Miami Tailgate Party - VIDEO". mjsbigblog.com.
  16. "Kris Allen's Self-Titled Album Now Streaming on AOL". mjsbigblog.
  17. ""Live Like We're Dying" Out Now". krisallenofficial.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
  18. "Kris Allen 'Live Like We're Dying' Video Premiere". PopEater.
  19. "Twitter / Kris Allen: The next single will be "A". Twitter.com. 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  20. "Kris Allen - "Alright With Me" (For The Fans) [VIDEO] | The Official Kris Allen Site". Krisallenofficial.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  21. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Kris Allen at AllMusic. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  22. Brian Mansfield (2009-11-25). "Album sales: Kris Allen fails to make Top 10". Idol Chatter. USA Today.
  23. "Kris Allen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  24. "Best of 2010 - Billboard Top 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  25. "Kris Allen CD". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
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