Where is Kris Allen now? Meet the American Idol season 8 winner

American Idol season 8 was one for the history books, raking in over a million viewers' votes for the final two contestants: Kris Allen and Adam Lambert. Although the former walked away with the ultimate title, not all fans were on board with the decision and this even sparked a debate online. Many believed that Lambert had consistently proven to be the judges' favorite, and for the first time in the show's history, the finale vote count was kept under wraps.

Regardless, the show aired in 2009, and its winner has since gone on to accomplish several feats in the last 14 years. Prior to his appearance on American Idol, he recorded and self-released an album titled Brand New Shoes. He has been married to Katy Allen since 2008 and the couple shares three children.

After his time on the show, he went on to release several albums, featured on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and also participated in philanthropic work.

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American Idol season 8 winner Kris Allen is known for his hit tracks including Live Like We're Dying

American Idol has already aired 21 seasons, making it one of the longest-running reality TV shows of all time. Season 8 was a controversial one since several fans were shocked by the results after Kris Allen was announced as the winner.

Over the years, Allen built a successful career for himself. He released an album in 2007, prior to his appearance on the show, called Brand New Shoes.

Born in June 1985, the Arkansas native has a younger brother. He had always shown a keen interest in music and played several different instruments throughout his years in school. In 2008, one year before he featured on and won American Idol, he married Katy. The couple is still happily married, and they parent three kids, Oliver, Rosie, and Marlo together.

Following his glorious win in 2009, his "coronation song," No Boundaries, and his soulful cover of Heartless made their way into the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He released tracks from a new album titled Kris Allen between 2009 and 2011.

Allen's track Live Like We're Dying made it to number 18 on the Billboard chart, won itself platinum status, and sold close to 2 million copies worldwide.

Over the next three years, the American Idol winner wrote, recorded, and sold two other albums titled Thank You Camille, and Horizons. Kris Allen then performed several of his singles during a nationwide tour of the United States in 2013. Horizons was released in August 2014 and ranked at number 10 on the Independent Album list and at number 80 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.

His fifth album, Letting You In, was released in March 2016. American Idol alum Haley Reinhart and Allen recently collaborated on a cover of Thunderclouds by Supergroup LSD, which was well-received by fans. Allen has also collaborated with The Fray's Joe King, Switchfoot's Jon Foreman, David Hodges, Claude Kelly, Salaam Remi, and others over the years.

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The hit reality show is expected to release season 22 in 2024, and it's only a matter of time before incredibly talented musicians take center stage and perform to win over the judges and the audience. More information about the upcoming installment is currently awaited.