Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Former American Idol finalist Blake Lewis has a special concert set for Thursday night.

And he’s asking fans to help turn the event into an album and concert video through a Pledge Music campaign.

That night, Blake will perform his music at the Columbia City Theater in Seattle, Wash., accompanied by the Passenger String Quartet.

The concert will be filmed and recorded. Those who can’t attend can watch a live stream of the show for a pledge of as little at $15.

Blake is calling the project “Strings, Spit and Serenades” and says in his introductory video that he wanted to try something different after fans helped bring his last album — “Portrait of a Chameleon” — to life through a Pledge effort.

He said the performance will “show the songs in their true form — raw and pure — away from all the production and the bells and whistles I love because I’m a noise guy.”

With 43 days left in his Pledge campaign, Blake is 44 percent toward his fund-raising goal.

You can find out more about the project and the packages available to people who support it here.

Oh, and one of Blake’s special guests that night will be former Voice contestant Mycle Wastman.

Blake has long been one of the most underrated former Idol finalists. All three of his post-show albums are worth checking out. And his video for “Retro Romance” topped my list of 2014’s best videos from former Idol contestants