At one point a cheerleader for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, she got her start performing in the bands Hi-Octane, Trama and Maxx.
Allen's first disc was the Lou Pace-produced 1986 album, Perfect Timing, and over the next few years she launched several hits on the US Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart.
The UK dance act Strike used her chorus hook line from "Serious", as the basis for their club hit, "U Sure Do" released in 1994.
On the inaugural day of the season, broadcast on September 23, 2013, she performed Joe Cocker's song "You Are So Beautiful" with two of the four judges, namely Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera, hitting their "I Want You" button and turning their chairs.
[3] During the Battle Rounds, she was defeated by fellow Team Adam teammate Tessanne Chin, the eventual winner of Season 5.