Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Well, once again I’m finding myself getting miffed at the American Idol producers.

While Idol parades its weekly cast of crazies and 15- and 16-year olds likely to crumble under show’s pressure, we’re being denied exposure to contestants who should be solid contenders for spots in the semifinals.

I spent most of Sunday researching golden ticket recipients from Nashville. You know, the auditions where the judges pretty much proclaimed 15-year-old Lauren Alaina (Suddeth) this year’s Idol in a show-closing segment.

Hey, nothing against Alaina. She seems to have a fine voice. But if Idol is hoping to stumble across the next Taylor Swift, my guess is they’d better keep looking.

Meanwhile, here are three female contestants we should have met during the Nashville auditions.

First up, Mallorie Haley, originally from Winner, South Dakota, now residing in Nashville, Tenn. If Idol is looking for a female country singer to showcase — and they should be, given the post-Idol success of Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler — I don’t think they’re going to do any better.

She also earned a ticket to Hollywood last year, when I discovered her original music on MySpace. Wow. Let’s just say if I were going to rank the originals I came across last year, Crystal Bowersox’s “Farmer’s Daughter” would top the list. Two Mallorie songs — “Pretty Smile” and “Beat Up Town” — would also be in the top five.

She has a distinctive voice, sorta raspy and breathless at the same time. She’s been performing since age 5, so she’s unlikely to be flustered by anything Idol throws at her. And she at least co-writes some of her own music, a big plus in my book.

Next up, Charity Vance, another returnee to Hollywood. Take one look at Charity, and you’re likely to think, ‘Ah, just another pretty blonde singing country music.”

Think again. Charity has five singles on iTunes. I’d classify them as quirky pop. The kind of music you might hear from Katy Perry. Except I like Charity’s voice better. Her song “Icing” is absolutely adorable. Now how could Idol pass that up?

And Charity comes across as extremely personable in her Idol video. Heck, she even found love via Idol. She’s dating a guy she met in the audition line last year.

(For Charity’s sake, I’m hoping the present tense is correct here. In the Idol video, she says they’ve been dating 10 months, but the video was shot last summer.)

Finally, there’s Ashthon Jones, one of the more accomplished Hollywood-bound R&B/pop singers I’ve come across.

Want a back-story Idol? She never met her biological father. The father who raised her died when she was 14. She was a runaway at 15.

She’s now living in Nashville and released a six-track EP, “Introducing Ashthon Jones” in Nov. 2008. “Salsa, Salsa” is a great dance track. “Like This” isn’t bad either.

In her Idol video, Ashthon promises to bring spunk and attitude and a dose of southern hospitality to Idol.

So there you have it, three top-notch female contestants we should have met during the Nashville episode.

Now you’ve met them. Listen to their music below. Be sure to check their MySpace pages for more (Mallorie here; Charity here; Ashthon here). Especially Mallorie’s because the audio isn’t great on the samples below.

And keep checking back. Idol is sending contestants to Hollywood at a dizzying pace this year, but I’m trying to track down as many as possible. I’ll soon start posting a series of blogs, hopefully introducing you to all of them. Not just Idol’s hand-picked favorites.

Now, the music …

Mallorie singing, “Throw It Around”

Mallorie singing, “Drive”

Charity singing “Icing”

Charity singing, “Walk in the Park”

Ashthon singing “Salsa, Salsa”

Ashthon singing “Like This”