Letting You In
Letting You In is Kris Allen’s fifth studio album, released March 18, 2016 on the independent DogBear Records. The pop album, about 37 minutes long, was recorded in Nashville in 2015 at The Study and The Toy Box Studio and Townsend Sound Studios, with producers Brown Bannister, Ian Fitchuk, Konrad Snyder, Josh Jenkins, and Chad Copelin. It marks Allen’s second independent release after leaving RCA Records in 2012. He co-wrote every song, narrowing down more than 70 tracks to ten, and the record is described as his most personal to date, influenced by a 2013 car crash. He re-learned the guitar and focused on writing music that was true to him.
The lead single, Waves, came out February 19, 2016, with album pre-orders starting the same day; a music video followed on April 19. People magazine streamed Waves exclusively on February 18. A second promotional track, If We Keep Doing Nothing, appeared March 3, and another track, Love Will Find You, was released to radio on September 19, 2016. Allen kicked off the Letting You In 2016 Tour on March 31 in Birmingham, Alabama.
In terms of reception, critics were generally positive, praising the album’s emotional depth and varied influences, while some felt Allen’s personality was less distinctive post-Idol. Commercially, Letting You In peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and reached 88 on the Top Current Albums chart, but it did not enter the Billboard 200.
Overall, Letting You In presents a more intimate, self-directed side of Kris Allen, built from personal experiences and a commitment to authentic songwriting.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 21:47 (CET).