Replies

New albums abound for 'Idol' alums

By MARC SCHWARZ
STAFF WRITER

It's still three months until "American Idol" returns for a sixth go-around in January, but that doesn't mean you won't be hearing "Idol" music until then.

'Tis the season of "Idols" past.

Over the next seven weeks, six former finalists will be dropping new albums. (And that's on top of this fall's releases from Clay Aiken and Mario Vazquez. Of course, the "Idol" alums will be hoping for better reviews than Aiken received for "A Thousand Different Ways" from Rolling Stone: "Like flunking out of a junior college, making an album this soul-suckingly awful must have taken some hard work.")

Ruben Studdard

Album: "The Return."

Release date: Tuesday.

FYI: This is the Season 2 winner's third CD. His first, "Soulful," sold 1.8 million copies, but his follow-up, the gospel disc "I Need an Angel," struggled. "The Return" returns Studdard to R&B and features help from Scott Storch and Ne-Yo. It's also a slimmed down version of Studdard, who lost nearly 100 pounds after tipping the scales at 400-plus.

Kellie Pickler

Album: "Small Town Girl."

Release date: Oct. 31.

FYI: It's no surprise that last season's sixth-place finisher is putting out a country album with the help of Dixie Chicks producer Blake Chancey. As far as the Halloween release date, Pickler says: "Well you could buy it and put it in your trick-or-treat bag. It's really good for you; it's not like candy, it won't rot your teeth."

Chris Daughtry

Album: Untitled.

Release date: Nov. 21.

FYI: The rocker is working with producer Howard Benson (All-American Rejects) on a disc that is mostly rock, possibly including a song with Rob Thomas. One track, written by Daughtry, will show his sensitive side, says Benson, who told Entertainment Weekly, "He played it, and we had tears in our eyes."

Katharine McPhee

Album: Untitled.

Release date: Nov. 28.

FYI: Not too many details about last season's runner-up. Here's what she recently told the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald Dispatch: "Everyone's been pressuring me about when the album is coming out, but that's only whenever I get a chance to work on it. ... I've done a little bit of it, but I'm not talking about what it might sound like. I really want to keep it under wraps."

Fantasia

Album: "Young Girl, Old Soul" (tentative).

Release date: Dec. 5.

FYI: The Season 3 winner looks to Kelly Clarkson for inspiration for her second CD. Not that Fantasia is going rocker -- but now that she's free of "Idol" advisers (they parted company over the summer), she wants this CD to be more of her vision. In fact, she's co-written several of the tracks and is looking for a more upbeat, peppier sound.

Taylor Hicks

Album: Untitled.

Release date: Dec. 5.

FYI: His first album since the "Idol" win is actually his third; he recorded two independent discs prior to the show. Expect a lot of R&B, soul and horns. Rumors include a track written with John Mayer.

E-mail: schwarz@northjersey.com

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNjcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcwMDQ5NjAmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3