After shocking almost everyone — including himself — by winning the season 8 of American Idol last week, Kris Allen told reporters, “I’m not a man of many words.” We noticed! PEOPLE caught up with Idol’s dark horse from Conway, Ark., Saturday, and finally got him talking. Here’s what we learned:
1. He Drives a Clunker: Before leaving Arkansas for Los Angeles, Allen, 23, drove a silver 2001 Pontiac Bonneville. “It’s the most comfortable car to drive,” he says, “but it has a lot of problems. The speedometer doesn’t work; the gas gauge doesn’t work; the windows won’t roll down; there’s something wrong with the gas pedal. But it drives!” Allen admits he couldn’t afford the $300 to fix the fuel gauge — and got stranded as a result. “I’ve ran out of gas a lot,” he says. “Probably four of five times.” Hopefully, those days are over. On the finale, viewers saw season 7 winner David Cook hand Allen and runner-up Adam Lambert the keys to a 2009 Ford Fusion Hybrid.
2. He Married His Best Friend: “She’s been my best friend for a long time,” Allen says of his wife, Katy, who he began dating his junior year of high school. “She’s the coolest chick in the world.” (more…)
In the wake of the biggest
Behind every great man, there is a great woman. Such is the case of the
It wasn’t long ago that Kris Allen was living a quiet life with his wife in Conway, Ark., planning on going back to college. But that was then.
David Cook, on the verge of relinquishing his title Wednesday night, told Ryan at the start of the two-hour finale: “I don’t know that America can get this wrong.”






