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Kris Allen was born in Jacksonville, Arkansas to Kimberly (née Wood) and Neil Allen. He is the elder of two sons; his younger brother, Daniel, is a college cheerleader and a cheerleading coach. Allen is a Christian and served as assistant music director at the non-denominational New Life Church in both Conway, Arkansas and Little Rock, Arkansas. Allen has participated in missionary work around the world, including in Burma, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Spain and Thailand.
Allen's interest in music began very early. He began playing the viola in elementary school and went on to play the instrument in the Mills University Studies High School orchestra, eventually winning a spot in the Arkansas all-state orchestra. Additionally, he taught himself to play the guitar at age 13, and also plays the piano and the ukulele. His musical influences, as stated in his Idol confessionals, include the Beatles, Jamie Cullum, Jason Mraz, John Mayer and Michael Jackson.
After high school, Allen moved to Conway, Arkansas to attend the University of Central Arkansas, where he was a business major and a member of Chi Alpha. He soon dropped out to pursue music professionally, performing in local bars and working as a shoe salesman to make ends meet. After marrying his girlfriend of seven years, Katherine "Katy" O'Connell, on September 26, 2008, Allen planned on going back to college to finish his degree and "get a real job. He has described his decision to audition for American Idol as a "last hurrah" before giving up his pursuit of a music career.
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