Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Caleb Lee Hutchinson on his return to American Idol earlier this year. (ABC Photo)

The six-song collection quickly cracked the Top 5 on the iTunes country albums chart.

And more than 24 hours after its release, the Season 16 American Idol runner-up was still sitting in the Top 10 on that chart.

The album includes “Left Of Me,” the single Caleb released back in January, and his cover of rapper Post Malone’s “Better Now,” which dropped then as well.

Among the best of the new songs is “Belle of the Bar,” which Caleb refers to as a blue jeans version of love at first sight.

“It’s a good mix of what I’m going for, traditional, modern and experimental (sounds) at the same time,” he adds in a press release about the project.

The EP was produced by Kristian Bush of Sugarland, who chronicles the project in a behind-the-scenes video.

“I think we make a lot of assumptions about people on TV these days, about who they are and where they’re going,” Bush says in that video.

Encouraging folks to check out the EP, Bush adds: “I want to remind you there’s more to the story. That something familiar can be brand new.”

Here’s a snippet of “Belle of the Bar” from the new “Caleb Lee Hutchinson” EP.