INTERVIEW: Kris Allen on his upcoming album, latest single and his current run of shows

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INTERVIEW: Kris Allen on his upcoming album, latest single and his current run of shows

It’s been a wild year for Kris Allen, with a lengthy summer tour and his new album on the horizon, Pole Vaulter. The other night, I was able to catch a few of the newer songs live in an intimate show in Natick, with a clearly supportive crowd for him and his band. While newer songs like “More Than Ever” and “Guinevere” were featured, Allen played a slew of his hits, brought a fan on stage to sing “Heartless” together, and was completely engaging with his crowd. There’s a reason why Allen is still doing this, and it shines through in his live performances and his interactions with people.

After I witnessed a lineup of many smiles from both him and his fans at his merch table, I sat down with Allen. Where we talked about how he’s feeling with a new record around the corner, his latest single that came out yesterday, “More Than Ever,” and hopes and goals within these next months. You can find our chat below, and keep your ears peeled for much more from Allen over these next few months! He hits NYC at Joe’s Pub tonight, and all of his remaining announced tour dates can be found here!

New England Sounds: We last chatted when Ten was released in 2019. So, obviously, it’s been some time, but you’re about to put out this new record. How are you feeling about this new one coming up? 

Kris Allen: I feel a lot of things, but I also feel relieved. I love all these songs; I feel like I’ve said this about this album to friends. I love every single one of these songs on the record. And I’ve never said that before. Like especially early on, I would feel like those aren’t all quite there. And even with everything up until here, I just feel like there have been compromises that I’ve had to make. For maybe somebody being like, “I know you wrote this song, and I know you don’t love it, but we’ve got to put it on there for commercial success.” Or something like that. And I just feel like I’m in a space where I have to trust my gut. And I feel like that about all these songs so much. They mean the world to me. 

NES: And you did release. I know this will be the first full-length since Ten, but you released singles pretty steadily over the last few years. When did you start working on this album in particular? When did you start really collecting this idea, the songs on the album? 

Kris: So the idea started, it actually started with some of those releases. Some of them are on this album, but it felt weird to just put a little bit out, like single and single. I was like, I have to package these songs. And finish it out because it felt unfinished. So, I got with the guy that produced it, those songs, and showed him all my ideas. Songs that I had, and we just had so much fun, like putting everything together. I would show him even little snippets of things, and he’d be like, “I really love that. I think that’s like the end of the album.” And thinking about things like that, I don’t think I’ve ever thought about albums in that way. Like, what’s the beginning? What’s the end? And so I would say, the idea of making a full length, I don’t think it really came to until, it was probably like a year and a half ago or so. Maybe even a little bit longer because it just takes forever to do things. For me, sometimes. 

NES: You have to be particular. 

Kris: Yeah, I think sometimes you don’t. I felt like for whatever this was, I needed to be really particular about things. I needed to make sure all of the things were put together, even the things that may not seem like they were, “Yes, that was on purpose,” even if they felt like nonsense. 

NES: I know you talked about the single that comes out tomorrow tonight (“More Than Ever”). You obviously talked about it a little tonight, the inspiration behind the song; you’ve been with your wife for so long.
Kris: We’ve been together for more than half of my life. And I think the idea that you could grow with somebody and go through life—so many changes, so many ups and downs—is amazing. She’s seen me at my absolute worst. And I think that through all those things, and through all the good, the celebrations, I absolutely love her more now than I did when I was sixteen years old. 

NES: That’s wild that you’ve been together that long. 

Kris: It is crazy. It doesn’t feel like it though, but it also doesn’t feel like we haven’t been together that long either. It feels like we’ve been together our whole life. It’s very corny to say that, I understand, but that has never felt like a bad thing to me. Or, like, I’m missing out on something. I just love doing life with her, and changing together. And through that, realizing like all the things that I do love about her. That I maybe didn’t know that I loved about her when I was so young. Who knows if she feels the same way (laughs). 

NES: I think she does; you’re a little too far in now. 

Kris: No changing. 

NES: No changing! Then I know you’re starting this leg of the tour. This was your first show in about two weeks or so. 

Kris: Yeah, so we’ve been kind of breaking it up differently. We’ve never done anything like this, where we’ve gone out for little snippets of time. It’s very different. I can’t tell if it’s my favorite. I like being home more; three kids, I like being around them more. I think being gone for a month or three weeks is too much for me personally but also for our life. So having these little weekends or long weekends, or whatever, seems to work for whatever phase of life we’re in right now. And it’s cool, and it kind of helps us plan out the whole year a little bit better, too, which is cool.

NES: And then this isn’t your first time back in this area. I know this hasn’t been your first tour since Covid. But maybe the biggest thing for you in the return to the touring climate, maybe something good coming out of this time, like maybe something new in the touring culture. Or maybe some things you think are a good thing that comes with it? 

Kris: I feel like people will have an appreciation for whatever live music brings to them in their lives now more than before 2020. I know that I missed it a lot, I missed it so much. I loved being at home, but this is where I get filled up, and I think that a lot of people get filled up at live shows. And so I’m happy to be out doing it again. I think people don’t take it for granted anymore. Maybe they do, I don’t know, but I try not to. I think there is a new appreciation. 

NES: Then, to kind of wrap it up, since we have chatted before, there are no repeats. But you are on this tour with the album about to come out; you have a lot going on. But what are your hopes or goals as an artist right now in these next few months? I know it may sound cheesy. 

Kris: No, it doesn’t sound cheesy at all. So, goals and hopes, we started thinking, should we have number goals, streaming goals? So those things piss me off more than anything because, if you don’t meet them, does that mean that it wasn’t successful. That’s too much pressure; it’s too much pressure for me, and it’s too much pressure for the music. And for the fan. The goals are met right now for me. I’ve made an album that I absolutely love, and the rest of the goals are just playing them for the people who want to hear them live. And the only thing I can hope for is that the people that are supportive that are supposed to hear the songs, that they do. And we’re trying everything we can to make that happen.

 

About Author

Colleen

Colleen has been writing about music since 2009. Interviewing bands since the glory days of Warped and has continued to do so for now over fourteen years. As well as doing freelance for other publications, the love for everything rock continues today.