Idol Chatter & Voice Views

So, I’ve found additional information on some of Chicago’s golden ticket recipients. Here goes …

* Keith Semple, 27, of Hanover Park, Ill., hails from Northern Ireland. According to his MySpace page, he’s written more than 400 songs and performed more than 1,000 gigs, and played nearly every instrument onstage at some point. He says there that he likes all forms of rock music, “from light pop rock to heavy progressive madness.” He’s also a member of a band called 7th Heaven (Web site here). He didn’t impress Simon. But on an off night for Idol, I thought he displayed one of the more distinctive voices. You can check out several of his songs on MySpace, as well as a 7th Heaven video.

* Angela Martin, 28, of Chicago, also performs under the name A’wun, judging from her MySpace page. She’s been to Hollywood twice before; last year she had to drop out to deal with a traffic warrant. Is the third time the charm for Angela? Well, she has to be optimistic after the rave reviews she got for her rendition of Mary J. Blige’s “Just Fine.” Her MySpace bio indicates Angela’s also a talented dancer and actress. And while you won’t find music there at the moment, you can watch a video of an earlier Idol audition, where she sang “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.”

* Paige DeChausse, 21, of Morris, Ill., nearly died of an asthma condition at age 15, according to the Idol featurette we saw Tuesday night. On her MySpace, she says she grew up listening to her mother “sing sweet country music and began to mimick her sounds at the age of 4 and so, I sing.” She classifies her music as blues, country and soul, and has apparently been performing with a group called the Chicago Blues Angels. Head to MySpace and check out a song, plus several videos of her with the Blues Angels.

* Nick Lynch is another Idol returning to Hollywood after failing to make the semifinals in season eight. Not sure his prospects are as bright as Angela’s, since we barely saw him during Tuesday’s audition episode. You can check out some of his music, classified as pop/rock here. His MySpace bio indicates he has performed just about everywhere, from weddings to bars, from the church choir to baseball games. Oh, and it mentions that he was working on a debut album “sure to leave its mark on the Billboard charts.”