Exclusive Interview: Kris Allen Chats “Hello, Mr. Right Next Door”, His Fall Tour, and More

It’s been an exciting year for Kris Allen. The singer-songwriter and American Idol Season 8 winner has dropped five new singles in 2021 and recently wrapped up his European tour with David Cook.

Heading back onto the road this fall, we caught up with Kris to chat about his new single “Hello, Mr. Right Next Door”, how he crafts his set lists, and more. Plus, he shares what’s left on his bucket list to accomplish as an artist, and the answer might surprise you!

PC: Like everyone else in the world, artists have had to adapt to this ongoing pandemic. How have you been able to stay creatively fulfilled during this time?
Kris: I think a couple of things have happened. At first, it was a real struggle. My family was at home, so I was trying to focus on that, but then I also started to realize I enjoy creating and making stuff. So, I’ve done a couple of different things. I try to have fun with music. It is my job obviously, but it’s also been my passion since I was eight years old, playing music and learning new things.

I spent some time learning new music and also making some instrumentals, which was really fun—I’ve never done anything like that before. I’ve also been recording with a producer friend, so that’s probably been the most creatively fulfilling thing that I’ve been doing, and we’ve been releasing those songs. It’s been me and him in a room. I’ve never put out music that’s been so collaborative between me and another person. That’s been a big deal for me.

PC: The music industry has really evolved with the rise of social media and transformed into this singles’ market. How have these changes impacted you and the way you approach this business?
Kris: It’s a great question. I think my fans are still trying to accept that I’m giving into it a little bit. I put out five singles. Any time I put out a single, people are like, “I like the song, but when’s the album coming?” I’m like, “I don’t know. If you want to put all these in a playlist and call it an EP, that’d be great.” [laughs] It’s very interesting—especially right now.

The reason you put out an album is either because you have something to say specifically or you’re putting out an album to go on the road. Because we haven’t been able to go on the road, I’ve had a lot of fun putting out these singles. There’s less pressure on the song.

PC: How would you say this current body of work will differentiate itself from previous releases? There’s obviously a lot more that goes into releasing songs on a single basis. What’s that process been like?
Kris: I do think that the production of the songs is different than the last two records…actually, maybe all of them. I write songs in so many different ways, and I’ve given into that. The first thing we put out was this sample that I made from a voice memo—I’d never done anything like that. Some people were like, “Oh, I didn’t know that that was a thing that Kris did.” I also think the general intention of each song is that I’m trying to fulfill what the song needs and not who people think that I am as an artist or what my record should sound like.

I was talking to my friend, who’s also an artist, the other day, and he was like, “Dude, I’m loving these songs that you’re putting out.” I was like, “Thanks, dude.” He was like, “Dude, they don’t sound like anything else but you.” That meant the world to me because I’m trying to be influenced by other things, but I’m also making sure that I’m not trying to fit into someone else’s box of what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m trying to service the songs as well as they can be serviced because the songs aren’t mine; they’re somebody else’s, and I want them to feel as good as they possibly can.

PC: Throughout your career, you’ve really highlighted the collaborators that you’ve worked with. How has that community and that collaboration continued to push you as an artist?
Kris: I’d like to think that it’s been really great. The competition is something that’s always been there for me. I’m not trying to be better than somebody else, but I want my peers to like what I do. That’s a problem in itself, and I understand that. [laughs] Maybe that’s why I go to therapy, but I do—I want my peers to be like, “Kris, I really love that.” I’m writing stuff for myself, obviously, but also in the back of my mind I’m like, “I wonder if this person is going to like this,” or, “I wonder if my favorite songwriter heard this, would they enjoy it? Would they think it’s cool?”

PC: Your latest single is “Different Bridges, Same River”. Can you tell us about the song, the inspiration behind it?
Kris: The song randomly came to me a couple of years ago. We take this drive from Nashville down to Little Rock quite a bit. We cross the Mississippi each time—it’s right in the middle—and there are a couple of bridges there. The song came from one of those trips. I had my headphones on, and I was listening to some sort of Spotify playlist and one of my least favorite Simon & Garfunkel songs is “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. It came on while I was driving over that—I almost laughed at the moment. The phrase, “Different bridges, same river,” popped into my head. I was like, “That’s kind of cool,” so I wrote it down.

When I sat down to write the song, there was definitely a moment when I was like, “What’s going on in the world? This feels like it pertains to what’s going on in the world right now.” That was the general inspiration for the song.

PC: You recently started a Patreon, which has given fans a behind-the-scenes look at your creative process. What I’ve noticed is that you’ve got tons of unreleased music. What is your process for deciding what gets released and what doesn’t?
Kris: Man, it’s a good question. I feel like some of those unreleased songs on Patreon could end up being released. I don’t know yet. Some of it is that I haven’t had the time to produce them. Some of them, I’m like, “Do people really want a recorded version of this really sad song?” I’m not sure.

For the songs that I’ve put out this year, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted them to sound like. These songs that I’ve put on Patreon are a little bit acoustic, finger-picky, singer-songwriter. Those songs are more for myself than they are for other people, but I enjoy letting other people hear them. They’re enjoying them, so maybe I will have to. Maybe I need to record them now. Maybe I’ll put out voice memos. Who knows?

PC: Tell us about “Hello, Mr. Right Next Door”.
Kris: Yeah, it’s possibly one of my favorite songs. That’s hard to say because I have a lot of favorite songs of mine, which is a weird thing to say, [laughs] but it’s my favorite song that I’ve written in a long time.

It started as a really simple idea. The song is called “Hello, Mr. Right Next Door”. There’s this old man that lived next to me. We passed each other all the time, but we never talked. While he was still here, I started writing this song essentially as a conversation and all the questions that I could possibly ever have to ask him. I had a couple of verses and I really liked it. I played it for a few people, and it just never felt finished.

Sadly, he passed away. He lived a long life—he was 93. Then the idea came to me, I was like, “I have to finish this song now.” It became very evident to me what this song’s ending was about. So, I finished it, and I couldn’t be happier with it. It’s one of my favorites.

PC: It’s the perfect segue to this next question. You’ve released tons of music throughout the years. If you had to pick one song that best encompasses who you are as an artist, which would it be and why?
Kris: Gosh, that’s a tough question. This is going to sound weird because it’s a song that I literally recorded sitting in this chair, which I don’t record a lot of my music in my own space, but it’s a song called “Venice”. It was the first song that I felt like was mine and nobody else’s. I wrote it by myself. I recorded it by myself. Not that I don’t enjoy collaborating with artists, players, and producers, but I think I needed that. That was the first time I’d ever really done anything like that. It’s been received well, and it’s one of my favorite songs that I’ve written.

It’s about my relationship with my wife. It has some orchestral elements to it, which has always been a part of what I do. I grew up playing in orchestras, playing viola. The way that the melodies and instrumental melody happens, it’s very like, “This is a piece.” I enjoy that about it.

PC: You’ve done it all throughout your career. Is there anything that’s left on your bucket list to accomplish in the next five, ten years?
Kris: I was actually talking to somebody about this the other day. “Live Like We’re Dying” is fast, but I would love to either rap on a song or have somebody else rap on my song because that is one of those things that I haven’t done yet. I grew up listening to so much rap music, and it’s part of my musical DNA. I would love to get in there and have that be part of what I do. I know that sounds random.

PC: No, that’s such a great answer. Very reminiscent of when you performed “Heartless”.

Kris: Yeah! I haven’t written a rap in forever, and even the ones that I have written, I haven’t liked. I think it’d be a fun exercise. I have no idea if it’ll actually end up on a release or not.

PC: Touring has been such a huge component of your career. As the world begins to open up and you get ready for your fall tour, is there a different level of appreciation heading back onto the road?
Kris: The nervousness that I feel about playing shows right now shows me how much I care about playing shows. I’ve never been one to get nervous on stage; it’s never been a thing for me. I played an outdoor thing in Nashville not too long ago. I got on the stage and was fine, but leading up to it, I was so nervous. That reiterated to me how much I enjoy it and how I want to be good. I’m excited to get back on the road and get in front of people and play songs in whatever capacity that’s going to be, because it’s such a huge part of what I do. It’s my favorite part.

I do enjoy recording music. I like writing music when it’s good, but when it’s bad, it’s like, “No.” [laughs] I’ve always been able to fall back and be like, “I’m getting to play my songs in front of people and they’re enjoying it. I have always loved that. I’ve always had it. It hasn’t been a thing for the past year and a half now. I miss it a lot.

PC: As you’re heading back onto the road with such a deep catalog, what’s that process like deciding what makes the setlist and what doesn’t?
Kris: That’s a tough question. I feel like I was even dealing with that in 2019 when I played a tour at the end of that year. I was on a solo tour, so we didn’t have an opener. There were nights when I played for almost three hours. That’s because I want to play them all—I’m happy to play them all. But now, I do think that I’m going to have to whittle it down. It gets really hard because I have new songs, and some people want to hear the new songs. Some people want to hear stuff from the first album, stuff from Thank You Camellia, so, I don’t know. I’m not Matchbox 20 or the Beatles where you know what songs you have to play—these are the hits, and you have to play them.

I have a couple of those, but I have a lot of leeway, too, where I can do whatever I want. But I’ve done that before, and I’ve come back and people were like, “Why didn’t you play this song? Why didn’t you play this song?” I’m like, “Oh geez. Let’s book another show tomorrow and we’ll do the rest of the catalog.” I’m happy to play them all.

PC: I got a three-part final question for you. Is there a song that always makes the set list? Is there a song that will never make the set list? And of the new music that you’ve released, which are you most excited to perform live?
Kris: I haven’t cut “Live Like We’re Dying” yet. I like that song. I still like that song. I like that people sing it. I don’t think people have ever really gotten tired of that song. That’s a fun one.

Never make the set list? There are plenty of songs that will never make the set list. [laughs] I’m trying to think of ones from the first record. “The Truth” doesn’t make the set list very much. I don’t know why, but it doesn’t. There was a time when “Vision of Love” didn’t make the set list, but I’ve found a way to do it again. These are songs people enjoy. Then, there’s a song off Horizons called “Parachute” that I don’t play very much. I have a hard time connecting to it.

Then, new songs…that’s a toss up. I really love the song “Hallelujah”. It means a lot to me. It’s a sing-along. I’m excited to play that one, but I do think that “Different Bridges” translated to a solo acoustic thing or even a full band.

To keep up with Kris, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, and Apple Music. Pick up or listen to “Hello, Mr. Right Next Door” today. To see Kris live this fall, check out his official website for tickets.