Vocal Analysis of American Idol Singer Kris Allen

It is no doubt that American Idol Season 8 Winner Kris Allen has captured the hearts of many American individuals with his boyish good looks, charming appeal and commanding stage presence. His songs are catchy. His music is captivating. But how does his voice size up with his new found fame? Let's have a vocal analysis of Kris Allen's voice.

At first glance, Kris Allen's voice sounds flawless. Because the technology in the studio is getting better and better with each passing day, vocal flaws are extremely tough to spot. I did, however, sense a couple things in his voice that could use a bit of fine tuning.

I would first like to pre-cursor this by exclaiming that Kris Allen has a solid voice. Kris Allen receives my respect because he sounds the same live as he does on the radio and because he sings his songs in the same keys live as he does in the studio. That speaks volumes to those who study vocals in a culture that praises over produced music.

As I listened to some of Kris Allen's music, I took notice of two things that could use some work. The first thing that caught my attention in Kris Allen's voice is his lack of strong vibrato. I previously wrote an article about how vibrato can make or break a singer. Kris Allen is one of those singers that could benefit immensely from developing a stronger, tighter vibrato. If you notice in his songs, he uses vibrato sparingly; however, his vibrato has certain flavor and texture that could set him apart from other singers in his genre. For example, The Script's Danny O'Donoghue uses a distinctly crisp, colorful and tight vibrato at the end of many of his phrases - something which I believe sets him apart vocally. Kris Allen doesn't have that one distinct quality that sets him apart (the "cry" in his voice might set him apart, but it isn't memorable). I believe the potential lies in that vibrato of his - he just needs to develop it and add it tastefully to his music.

The second thing that caught my attention in Kris Allen's voice is his tendency to pull up chest voice and widen vowels as he gets closer to his passaggio (or his vocal "break"). It sounds like he is having to work to build up those high notes. I must admit that he can mask it well with the twangy cry in his voice, but that does not change the fact that he is pulling up to hit the high notes. From what I can gather, his voice seems to hit a wall whenever he gets to his high notes. I'm not saying that his voice crumbles when he sings those high notes (because it doesn't). What I am saying is that when he is hitting those high notes, it is apparent he is at the top of his usable vocal range. I'm left with "Cool, he hit a nice high note" instead of "Wow, did you just hear that note he hit??" He needs to learn to blend his chest voice with head voice and modify his vowels in order to sing those higher notes with authority and presence - think of David Phelps, Christina Aguilera, etc.

Overall, Kris Allen has a good voice. It is very easy going and enjoyable to hear. My vocal analysis is nit-picky because his voice is pretty well polished for his style of music. His tone could use a small amount of brightening and his technique could use some refining, but let's be honest, who doesn't need that?

On a scale from 1 to 10, Kris Allen receives an 8.

Stay tuned for more vocal analysis articles! Until then, check out my other articles today!