Many recognize Kris Allen as the 2009 American Idol winner who scored against glam-rock belter Adam Lambert. In reality, Allen’s musical identity extends far beyond his American Idol victory. As a multi-instrumentalist who’s proficient in guitar, bass, piano and viola, the singer fuses folk, pop and soul in an eclectic yet accessible package. Allen’s musical expertise shines on any stage, partly because his musical experience dates back before his American Idol appearance. In 2007, Allen released his non-idol debut album, Brand New Shoes. The album illustrates the young and budding potential of a musically aware and forward-thinking singer-songwriter. In 2012, three years after his self-titled American Idol debut, Allen presents us with his most self-actualized release yet, Thank You Camellia. The album’s 11 songs display an array of textures and styles ranging from edgy modern rock to ethereal piano balladry. Even more importantly, Thank You Camellia secures Kris Allen’s spot as not just a singer, but a musician.

So I’ve been listening to your new album, “Thank You Camellia”. It’s excellent stuff; I really enjoy the range of songs on it. How does it compare to your idol debut, from – was it from last year?

KA: It was 2009.

2009, wow. So how is this album unique?

KA: I think the biggest thing is that I’ve just gotten better and more mature as a songwriter and as a singer and instrumentalist. I’ve worked with a lot of great people and I’ve learned a lot over the past few years. I think it shows in the record and the songs and the way it sounds and everything. I definitely hear that.

Would you say that in this second album you’ve had a little more creative freedom? I know that on the first album there were a few songwriters you were working with. Was this more independent?

KA: It was. I still did work with a lot of songwriters, but just in the process of producing the songs and writing the songs I feel like I had a grasp on what I wanted a little bit better (or a lot better than) the first one. Everything happened so fast after American Idol. On this album I had (some would say a little too much) time on it.

I know that you’re not just a singer. You play a bunch of instruments: voila, piano and guitar. Did you contribute a lot as a musician to the instrumentationon the album?

KA: Yeah, I mean it depended on which producer I worked with. With someone like Tim Pagnotta, it was just me and him most of the time. He would be like, “Do you want to play everything?” and I’d be like, “Okay!” So, sometimes I’d play guitar, piano and bass. On other songs, with different producers, I would maybe play guitar, or sometimes not even anything. There’d be a lot of session players, and I’d let them do their thing.

Are you more pleased with this record? Or do you like them both?

KA: It’s so hard for me to go back and listen to things because I’m always very hard on myself. I’m not saying that I listen a lot to this one, but I’ve done it way more than I have on any of my other stuff. I’m very proud of it.

I know that you’ve got a tour coming up and you’re coming to Ridgefield Connecticut’s “Ridgefield Playhouse”. How does your live band compare to the band we hear on this new album?

KA: You know I’m always trying to make sure that the live stuff is not just different, but… you have to format it differently for a live show, because live shows are completely different than a record (at least for me, anyway). I always grew up listening to live music and going, “That sounds different than the record.” I have a great band that I play with. We do a lot of harmonies and it’s just a lot of fun. We have a lot of fun on stage and we’ve been playing for a long time now. I think it shows with the live performances.

You’d say the live performances are a bit more extended? You guys feel the live energy?

KA: Yeah, we definitely try to put it in that moment. Every night we try to make it special for everybody. I’m not saying that recordings are not that, but it’s a totally different feeling, you know? We have so many people that come up to us after the show that maybe have listened to the record and say, “You put the whole thing together and it sounds so much better,” “Your voice sounds so much better live,” “You guys have such great chemistry” and stuff like that. It’s definitely different, but I’m not saying that the recordings are bad. It’s just a different thing.

Is there any particular instrument you gravitate towards when you write a song? Or is it pretty varied?

KA: I play guitar a lot, and usually when I’m writing a song it’s the first thing that I cling to. I know it the best and I’m better at it than anything else. But it’s always nice to switch over and play something else like piano. Even in other studios when you’re playing a Rhodes or something, something else can come up from the different sound of it.

In your shows, would you say you’re aiming for a demographic that extends beyond the American Idol followers? Is there a specific kind of music listener you’re aiming for, or do you just want to reach out to music appreciators in general?

KA: It just depends. I have so many fans from American Idol, so it’s younger girls. But it’s been a while now. I know we played a college show not too long ago and there were all these college girls there and they’re like, “I remember when you were on the show and I was in high school!” They’ve grown up and that’s kind of cool, because I feel like that’s what the demographic is right now. There are older people, grandmas will come to the shows and girlfriends are bringing their guy friends. It’s a lot of fun.

Your idol debut was not your first album. I know you have your 2007 album called “Brand New Shoes”. How have you grown as an artist since back then?

KA: I think that everybody grows, especially when you do music as much as I do it. When I made that first CD, I wanted to see if I was actually into it and that if I let people listen to my stuff that they’d really like it. For the most part I think that people enjoyed it. When I go back and listen to it, I can’t believe that people actually liked it because it was so immature and so young. I didn’t know what I was doing, but everybody’s got to start somewhere. Everything happened so fast after the show and you learn so much so fast. I’ve worked with so many great people that I feel like I’ve gotten a fast track to getting better at writing songs, playing instruments and singing.

In your live shows now, do you ever touch back to that old material or do you focus on the newer stuff more?

KA: We did a show in New York, and I asked for a request. I did one song from Brand New Shoes. It was kind of cool. It was definitely one of my favorites from that record. It was fun to do and the fans really enjoyed it.

In that first album, “Brand New Shoes”, you had total independence. We fast forward to the day you won American Idol and you’re singing Kara DioGuardi’s single, “No Boundaries”. How did it feel to shift from having total independence to singing a more sellable, manufactured and mainstream pop song?

KA: Well personally, it was a blessing because coming from where I come from it’s almost like – if I would’ve known what I know now I would have felt like there was a possibility to have a music career, but where I was then it just seemed like, “it is what it is,” and, you know, you play locally and by the grace of God someone from somewhere else comes and sees you and enjoys it and maybe they’ll pick you up. For me it was a huge blessing that I got on the show and that I got signed and I would be able to make a big time record. I know it’s not everybody’s dream to have that happen as fast as it did, but I’m so glad that it did because it gives me a platform to make music for the rest of my life.

Was viola your first instrument?

KA: It was. I started playing when I was 8 years old.

So obviously you grew in a musical environment and it’s been a big part in your life since childhood. When I think of viola lessons I think of very strict, classical discipline. Does that sort of style of learning play a part in who you are as a musician today, or is your approach a little more free form and loose?

KA: Growing up I played a lot of classical music. I wasn’t great at school, I wasn’t the most studious person in the world, but I knew that I could do well if I could get a scholarship playing music in college. I tried to stick with that and my parents made me do that because they really believed in me. I didn’t love classical music (I really do love classical music, but it wasn’t my thing). I grew up in a household full of pop music and rock music. My dad was a singer in a rock band, and we weren’t sitting around at Thanksgiving listening to Beethoven or anything, we were listening to The Beatles and Stevie Wonder. So I grew up listening to music that is more the pop-centered stuff.

You’ve done a lot of missionary work. Your music, especially the single “The Vision of Love”, has a really unifying and positive message overall. Has your missionary work influenced your approach to music?

KA: What inspires me the most is the experiences that I’ve been through, just in life in general. When you go through things like that it’s always funny because you think you’re going to change other people’s lives, but the experience and the people wind up changing your life the most. I’ve seen a lot of things and experienced a lot of oppressed people, but I’ve also experienced some amazing things and people that have just been helped out a ton, and hopefully I’ve helped out with that. I think that the music definitely has been inspired by some of that stuff.

Well, I think that covers it all. Thank you so much for this, Kris!

KA: Well thanks, man. Thanks for having me.

Kris Allen will be playing at Connecticut’s “Ridgefield Playhouse” with special guest Jillette Johnson on January 10th, 2013. For more information on the appearance, visit

http://www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org/event/kris-allen. For additional information on Kris Allen and Kris Allen tour dates, visit http://www.krisallenofficial.com/us/home.