Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Constantine Maroulis returned this week to the role that made him famous, for a second time.

Constantine is back on Broadway in the role of Drew in “Rock of Ages,” singing classic rock from the 1980s.

If you missed his first Tony-award nominated stint in the role, you have 12 weeks to catch him in it this time around.

By the time those 12 weeks end, “Rock of Ages” will have become the 29th longest running show ever on Broadway, passing “Oklahoma” on that list.

The New York Daily News reports that the show has raked in $119 million since making its debut in April 2009.

“We always had different conversations about figuring out the right time to go back,” Constantine, now 38, told Billboard. “And if I was to ever go back, was I ever going to play another part in the show.

“I think what it came down to was that no shows go five years these days unless it’s ‘Wicked’ or ‘The Lion King’ and for us to be celebrating well into our fifth year on Broadway is really just a massive accomplishment.”

Constantine’s first performance in his return to the role was Monday night at the Helen Hayes Theater. For photos from that performance, head here.

Constantine finished sixth back in Season 4 of Idol. He released a self-titled pop-rock album in 2007, but that’s been about it in terms of original music except for a single here and there.

But he also told Billboard he’s back in the studio working on new music in the rock-and-roll vein he grew up with, adding “we are hoping to unleash that pretty soon, too.”