Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Along with all the GOP rhetoric, those attending the convention in Tampa Bay this week will be treated to some American Idol music.

Two well-known Idols are among the list of performers, with Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks taking center stage at some point on Thursday, the same night Mitt Romney will address the crowd.

“I think it’s an honor to be part of American history and the American political process, whether it’s Democrat or Republican,” Taylor told the Las Vegas Sun. “It’s important as Americans we exercise the right to vote and be a part of that process.”

Taylor has been performing as a headliner at Bally’s in Las Vegas this summer and is performing a week of shows at Harrah’s Reno this week … when he’s not in Tampa, of course.

Also performing at the GOP convention, sometime today, will be Danny Gokey, the third-place finisher in Season 8.

After releasing a moderately successful country album post-Idol, Danny is shopping for a new record label. An Aug. 15 Facebook post indicated he’s in negotiations with three different labels and wrote that he hopes to soon announce “where my next record will come from.”

Idol fans might also be interested to see what musical direction Danny heads in — R&B/pop, Christian or more country. That latter isn’t exactly what he was known for on Idol.

Oh, Danny also recently announced that he and his new wife — yes, he has remarried since Idol — are expecting a baby and posted a photo of her at four months pregnant.

Other performers at the GOP convention this week will include BeBe Winans and Ayla Brown, daughter of U.S. Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts. She made the semifinals on Idol back in Season 5.