Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Ever wonder what happened to the Season 11 contestants who just missed the finals on American Idol?

Below, you’ll find musical updates on several, one of whom just released his first single.

If I didn’t include your favorite, it’s simply because I couldn’t find enough information.

Creighton Fraker has a Facebook post where he talks about rehearsing with a new band. Hallie Day is clearly still working on music.

Hopefully, Baylie Brown is as well. She has pics of Colton Dixon on her Facebook page.

The others I’m missing are Chase Likens and Aaron Marcellus. If anyone has info on what they’re up to, pass it along.

As for those I can enlighten you about … here goes.

Brielle Von Hugel: She writes on YouTube that she’s posting videos of cover song performances while working on a debut EP. The latest cover — a rendition of Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man” — went up in late February. She has also posted her first original song (“I’m Fine”) to ReverbNation, which you can download for free here.

Jen Hirsh: She re-released her pre-Idol album, “Myself in Two,” to iTunes in July. She’s also featured on a duet (“Afternoon”) with singer-songwriter Travis Preston from his “Brand New” EP, released in October. And she announced on Facebook that she’s playing her first show since July on Friday night at the Del Monte Speakeasy in L.A. Oh, Jen also participated in an Icons World Tour over the summer, playing military bases with Janelle Arthur, Nick Boddington and other former Idol contestants.

Chelsea Sorrell: The Chris Lane Band that she sang with for four years pre-Idol released an album to iTunes in April. She’s featured on a track called “Alone.” She’s also engaged and busy preparing for her wedding, judging from her Twitter account and Facebook page.

Haley Johnsen: She also participated in that summer tour of U.S. military bases and is playing around the Portland metro area while working on a solo album, according to her Facebook page. She just performed a show at the Dublin Pub over the weekend and will sing the anthem before a Portland Trail Blazers game on Tuesday. There’s also a great video of her performing at a private fundraiser for Barack Obama’s re-election campaign on YouTube, with an impressive original at the end.

Reed Grimm: He continues to play with his pre-Idol band, The Shoeless Revolution (he sings and plays drums), in the Minneapolis area. And he promises new music in 2013 on his Facebook page. That might be in the form of a solo album, judging from this recent interview with FOX Twin Cities. You can check out music from the Shoeless Revolution here. The band released albums in 2008 and 2010.

Eben Franckewitz: The teen — he was just 15 on Idol — has wisely dropped the last name for performing purposes, releasing a single called “Txt” as simply Eben to iTunes last week. It’s a dance song. He also has a new website. And last month he played in and sang at a celebrity basketball game at Northern Kentucky University to raise money for a charity called A Kid Again, which assists children with life-threatening illnesses.

Adam Brock: In November, Adam released a five-track Christmas EP featuring the original song, “I Don’t Want to Miss You.” He’s currently taking a Facebook poll on what type of music fans would like to hear on his next CD — gospel, blues, jazz/soul or children’s music. So far, gospel is winning out. The creative arts director at a church in Houston, Pa., he’s also posted a Facebook message recently about covering “Georgia On My Mind” as a single, promising more info to come soon.