Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Ricky Braddy, who got gypped not once, but twice, by Idol’s ridiculous semifinal format this season, has posted three songs on his MySpace page.

They include his Idol wild card performance of “Superstition.” Listen to it, and you’re gonna ask yourself all over again: How could the judges not pick him for the finals?

All I know is that I wish I was going to be in Nashville on May 4. Ricky will be doing a show at 12th and Porter with Alexis Grace, Brent Keith, Kristen McNamara and Ann Marie Boskovich. Tickets: a bargain at $5.

Guarantee it will be better than your typical episode of Idol, and an indication of how badly the show missed out on some very talented performers this season.

Speaking of Kristen, I had the opportunity to interview her recently and will be posting that blog this week. Very fun gal, excellent singer. Go here to take a listen. Make sure to listen to “Give Me One Reason,” her Idol semifinal performance, which also should have been good enough for a spot in the finals.

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That might have been the shortest lived musical collaboration in Idol history.

Shortly after failing to make Idol’s final 36 this year, Jamar Rogers (remember Danny Gokey’s friend?) and Frankie Jordan (remember the gal with the wild mane of dark hair?) announced they’d be recording music together.

In fact, they even created a Web site, Frank Rogers Must Live, promising to release a single called “Reject.”

In a recently posted blog, Jamar says they have “amicably split so that we may each pursue solo careers.” Jamar promises to post new music on his MySpace page sometime soon.

Frankie has two songs on her MySpace page, including “Once Again,” a single she released in 2006 for Curb Records.

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Each results episode on Idol this season will feature a contestant from a former season. This week, we get to hear from Jennifer Hudson, which seems fitting since the theme is movie music.

Jennifer, after all, has an Academy Award to her credit thanks to her performance in “Dreamgirls,” the only former Idol to accomplish that feat. This year, she added a Grammy to her collection of trophies when her self-titled debut was named the year’s best R&B album.

On Idol, she’ll be singing the second single from the album, “If This Isn’t Love.”

The other musical guest on Wednesday will be Miley Cyrus, so keep the earplugs close by.

OK, that might be a little harsh. But the most excruciating moment of the aforementioned Grammy Awards this year came when Miley tried to sing a duet with Taylor Swift. Wednesday, she’ll be singing “Climb” from “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” which hit theaters Friday.

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Season seven contestant Michael Johns releases his first post Idol single, “Heart on My Sleeve,” Tuesday.

You can go to Amazon.com for a 30-second preview of the song. And we’ll all be looking forward to Michael’s first post-Idol album, now due out June 23.

Michael appeared on one of the Idol semifinal shows earlier this season, singing a duet with fellow season seven contestant Carly Smithson. In a recent interview with billboard.com, Carly said she’s putting the finishing touches on her own album. But no word yet on when it might be released.

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The Major League baseball season opened this week, of course, and former Idol contestants were on hand to perform national anthem honors at two of the West Coast openers.

Taylor Hicks performed before the San Francisco Giants’ home opener; season seven contestant Syesha did likewise at the home opener for the Los Angeles Angels. The Associated Press was on hand to catch both performances (below).