Idol Chatter & Voice Views

LaKisha Jones
“So Glad I’m Me”

1. Grateful
2. So Glad I’m Me
3. Beautiful Girl
4. Same Song
5. Let’s Go Celebrate
6. Ain’t Worth It
7. Nothing
8. Be Alright
9. You Give Good Love
10. Free
11. Memories
12. Just As I Am

Back on season six of Idol, two contestants — Melinda Doolittle and LaKisha Jones — established themselves as early favorites with their powerhouse vocals.

Melinda released her first album earlier this year; last month, LaKisha followed suit with “So Glad I’m Me.”

LaKisha, now 28, was working for a bank in nearby Baltimore, Md.,in 2006 when co-workers convinced her to audition for Idol. She had auditioned in 2003, but failed to make the cut.

The second try, of course, turned out much differently. She wound up finishing fourth, behind Doolittle, runner-up Blake Lewis and season six Idol Jordin Sparks.

Two years later, the timing of her oft-delayed debut album — she recently told the Detroit News that the album had six different release dates — proves a little awkward. You see, LaKisha is pregnant and expecting her second daughter later this summer.

But in a recent interview with KISS 98.5 in Buffalo, LaKisha said she feels “very happy and very blessed,” even if she has to walk around with lemons and nausa pills in her purse to fight morning sickness while she promotes her new album.

As for the album, it’s a reminder of why LaKisha was a front-runner on Idol for so long. Don’t believe me? Just check out the vocal on a song called “Just As I Am.”

LaKisha didn’t write any of the songs on the album, but they were clearly written with her life story in mind. “Was on a TV show/ seen by all the world” she sings on “Grateful,” a song about dreams come true. She calls “Beautiful Girl” her favorite song on the album because it’s about her first daughter, Brionne, now 6.

The CD drags in spots, a sign of too many songs that sound more like filler than potential hits, but there are highlights, including “So Glad I’m Me,” “Let’s Go Celebrate,” “Ain’t Worth It” and “Nothing.” The latter two should be particularly popular with ladies who have been done wrong by their man. The first two are designed as dance hits. Only problem, they’ve both been released as singles and haven’t exactly torn up the charts.

You can hear “So Glad I’m Me” and “Beautiful Girl” on LaKisha’s Web site; or head to her MySpace page where the music player includes 10 songs from the album, including “Let’s Go Celebrate.”