Horizons (Kris Allen album)

Horizons
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 12, 2014 (2014-08-12)
Recorded2014
Studio
  • The Art House and The Chapel (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre
Label
  • DogBear
  • +180
ProducerCharlie Peacock
Kris Allen chronology
Waiting for Christmas
(2012)
Horizons
(2014)
Letting You In
(2016)
Singles from Horizons
  1. "Prove It to You"
    Released: July 7, 2014
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Rate Your Music3.25/5 [1]

Horizons is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Kris Allen. It was released on August 12, 2014, by Allen's independent label, DogBear Records. Allen also organized a Stageit show as a release party for the record where he performed the full album set and also a song called Unique. A portion of the proceeds from the album go to benefit Music Empowers Foundation.[2][3]

Background

Allen was dropped by RCA Records in 2012, after releasing two albums - Kris Allen (2009) and Thank You Camellia (2012) - through the label.[4] He released Horizons independently through his own label, DogBear Records.[5]

As a result of an accident which broke his wrist, Allen had to change his approach to music making for this album, in particular he began to use a finger-picking style of guitar playing. According to Allen, "it’s a different way to play and some of those songs were written when my hand was in a cast so all I had was my fingers. I think it made me a bit more melodic than just strumming a bunch of chords."[5] He sought out the producer Charlie Peacock to produce his album. Peacock introduced Allen to a number of people, including Lenachka with whom he recorded "Prove It to You".[6] "Prove It to You" was released as the lead single from the album on July 7, 2014.[7]

Commercial performance

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 80 with 4,000 copies sold for the week in the US.[8]

Track listing

[9][10]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Young Love ("Paul Simon")"
3:26
2."Prove It to You" (feat. Lenachka)3:34
3."Beautiful & Wild"3:50
4."In Time"3:27
5."Lost"3:18
6."Don't Set Me Free"
  • Allen
  • Sam Ashworth
3:32
7."Everybody Just Wants to Dance"Allen3:08
8."Parachute"
  • Allen
  • April Geesbreght
3:17
9."It's Always You"
  • Allen
  • Adam Hambrick
 
10."Girl Across the Room"Allen3:32

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[11] 80
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[12] 10

Personnel

  • Kris Allen – vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, beat boxing
  • Charlie Peacock – keyboards, acoustic piano, programming, percussion
  • K.S. Rhoads – acoustic piano
  • Andrew St. Marie – acoustic piano
  • Cody Fry – programming, backing vocals
  • James Sweeting – programming, handclaps
  • Jerry McPherson – electric guitars
  • Andy Leftwichmandolin, fiddle
  • Mark Hill – electric bass
  • Evan Hutchings – drums
  • Sam Ashworth – percussion, handclaps, sounds, backing vocals
  • Ken Lewis – percussion
  • Lenachka – vocals (2)

Production

  • Charlie Peacock – producer, additional engineer
  • Richie Biggs – engineer, mixing, mastering
  • Sam Ashworth – additional engineer
  • James Sweeting – additional engineer, production coordinator
  • Richard Dodd – mastering
  • Brenton Little – design, photography
  • Lindsay McCall – management
  • Stirling McIIwaine – management

Release dates

Country Date Label Formats
United States[13] August 12, 2014 (2014-08-12) DogBear Records
Germany[14]

References

  1. ^ "Horizons". Rate Your Music. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  2. ^ ""American Idol" Kris Allen to Donate a Portion of "Horizons" Album Proceeds". Artist Direct. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  3. ^ "Sales Of New Kris Allen Album, "Horizons" To Benefit Music Empowers Foundation". PR Newswire. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  4. ^ Shirley Halperin (September 19, 2012). "'American Idol' Kris Allen and RCA Records Part Ways (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Michele Amabile Angermiller (August 12, 2014). "'American Idol' Champ Kris Allen Opens Up About New Album; Remembers Michael Johns". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  6. ^ Lyndsey Parker (August 4, 2014). "Kris Allen Extends His 'Horizons' to Yahoo: See Him Perform!". Yahoo! Music.
  7. ^ Lyndsey Parker. "Kris Allen Premieres Lyric Video for 'Prove It to You'". Rolling Stone.
  8. ^ Keith Caulfield (August 22, 2014). "Billboard 200 Chart Moves: 'Idol' Hits New Low". Billboard.
  9. ^ "Kris Allen Details Horizons with cover, tracklist, & Snippets". Celebrity Bug. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  10. ^ "Horizons - Kris Allen". AllMusic. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  11. ^ "Kris Allen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  12. ^ "Kris Allen Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  13. ^ "Horizons". iTunes. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  14. ^ "Horizons". German iTunes. Retrieved August 7, 2014.