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LOS ANGELES – Kris Allen knows he’s not garnering as much attention as Adam Lambert – and that’s OK with him.
Since foiling Lambert at the “American Idol” finale last May, the 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Conway, Ark., hasn’t appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and declared he’s gay. His music can’t be heard during the credits of the apocalyptic action flick “2012.” And you won’t find him posing in a racy Details photo shoot with a naked woman.
“I don’t mind,” an always modest Allen says. “I think that’s how I went through the competition as well. I did my thing, and it worked out. And that’s how I’m going to do my music career. I’m just going to do my thing, what I like to do, and hopefully it works out.”
His thing now is his self-titled album, in stores today, a week before Lambert’s “For Your Entertainment” is set for release. As one might expect after watching his soulful “Idol” renditions of Kanye West’s “Heartless” and “Falling Slowly” from the indie hit “Once,” Allen’s album is filled with melodic ballads and toe-tapping rock tunes.
Allen teamed with experienced producers like Toby Gad, Steve Kipner, Andrew Frampton and Saalam Remi, but contributed more than just his voice and guitar-and-piano-playing prowess. Allen’s name appears on the songwriting credits for all but four of the album’s 13 songs – including “Red Guitar,” a ditty Allen wrote for his wife, Katy, before his “Idol” run.
Throughout the post-“Idol” zaniness – the tour, the recording, the trip to Disney World – Allen says his wife has kept him fully grounded and embraced their move from Arkansas.
Allen admits he doesn’t mind being mobbed by fans in public because “people are usually nice about it.” But he’s still not totally comfortable with on-camera interviews, despite some post-“Idol” media training.
“If I just had one word to describe this entire experience, it would be ‘nuts,’ ” Allen says. “It’s just nuts going from being a happily married guy into the music industry and this crazy world of entertainment. But in the end, I get to do exactly what I like to do, and that’s make music. That’s what makes me happy. That’s the thing that has always driven me.”
