Idol Chatter & Voice Views

New post-American Idol music out includes singles from Crystal Bowersox, Josh Gracin and Madison VanDenburg.

Here’s a bit about each of those releases.

The links take you to the songs on Apple Music. Or you can check out the Spotify snippets below.

* Crystal Bowersox from Season 9 delivers a timely message, not to mention one heck of a vocal, on her latest single, “Courage to be Kind.” Co-written with Steve Suskin, it’s obviously a response to the divisiveness of today’s political rhetoric. The lyrics for the verses come straight from the headlines, including the 2015 Charleston shootings, where family members of the victim’s expressed forgiveness for the shooter; and the 2017 burning of a mosque in Texas, after which a nearby synagogue opened its doors to Muslims. “I’ve always felt that way, that it’s brave to forgive,” in Crystal says in a recent podcast. The song is the first single from Crystal’s upcoming album.

* Josh Gracin from Season 2 released his first single of 2020 earlier this month. It’s a song called county ballad called “Home.” “This song means a lot to me. It has helped me through so much and made me realize all the things that are important in my life,” Josh writes on Instagram. He’s also been busy filming a summer web series about his favorite lakes in the country. And he and second wife Katie welcomed their first child, Luka Roman, back in January. Josh, 39, finished fourth on Idol back in 2003.

* Madison VanDenburg from Season 17 released “Reason” last Friday. The opening is more acoustic than her previous releases, but the same dynamic vocals that carried her to a third-place finish on Idol show up on the track. Pat Gasperini wrote and produced the song. “Reason” follows 2019’s “What I’m Looking For” as Madison’s second single since the show.