2008 ‘American Idol’ winner Kris Allen makes his college debut at FallFest

For the last few months, Kris Allen has been on the road.

Touring with FallFest performers Maroon 5 and VV Brown, Allen has been learning the tricks of the trade.

"As a band we've learned a ton being on the road, and we've had fun doing it," Allen said. "Maroon 5 puts on an incredible show, and we've learned a lot from them. They've been around for a while, and they're great artists, and they've inspired us to do the same."

West Virginia University is the first college campus Allen has performed at, and prior to the show said he was excited to experience what he heard was "one big party."

Winner of the eighth season of "American Idol," Allen overcame competitor Adam Lambert and released a successful album within the same year, featuring his well received acoustic rendition of Kanye West's "Heartless" and current radio hit "Live Like We're Dying."

Allen's main goal is to give his audience as great of a time as he and his band have on stage.

"I'm a huge fan of having fun, and that's really what needs to come across to my audience. We like to get the crowd involved as much as we can and like to see you just dance and have a good time – that's what it's all about for us," Allen said. "We just want everyone to enjoy our show and help give students a good time on the first day of school. We're happy to entertain them."

Allen discussed his new album, taking most pride in the track "Red Guitar," which he wrote himself, and his appreciation of his success but admitted rushing into the process of compiling an album.

"I'm so happy I even got the chance to make a first album," Allen said. "Everyone wants to make that first album perfect, and I feel like I may not have taken enough time to work on my first, so now I plan to take more time on the next album and hope for a perfected, raw sound."

While his road to success may be different than other artists in the industry, having gained fame from being a contestant on "American Idol," Allen said the work has been just as hard as others.

"The ‘Idol' experience definitely made me more humble, but for me it's been a lot of hard work just like for most artists. But it's definitely not the easy route like some people seem to think," he said. " I've worked my tail off for this every day, and I appreciate everything I've been able to accomplish."