Idol Chatter & Voice Views

It’s only early February, and it’s already turning into a banner year for new music from former contestants on The Voice.

Among the latest to enter the fray: Juliet Simms, the young woman who should have won Season 2.

Don’t remember Juliet?

Think the rocker who performed wearing big black wings (pretty sure that was Cee Lo Green’s idea).

Or brilliant covers of “Roxanne,” “Cryin'” and “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World.”

She wound up finishing second to Jermaine Paul. Now she’s back, letting those distinctive vocals of hers soar on a six-track EP called “All or Nothing.”

Pre-Voice, Juliet sang some of the most impassioned music you’ll hear with Automatic Loveletter. Songs like “Black Ink Revenge,” “Butterflies” and “Makeup Smeared Eyes” are among my all-time pre-Voice favorites.

But she also sometimes struggled to strike a balance between not being commercial enough and being what she called “too pop-ish.”

She seems to have found that balance on her new EP. The title track, “Mystified” and “Evangeline” are especially impressive.

The EP was officially released last Tuesday, but wasn’t immediately available on iTunes. It’s there now, and certainly worth checking out. It’s getting rave reviews from Juliet’s fans on Twitter.

Says Juliet, now 28, on Instagram: “Thank you for all the support I’ve gotten this week with the release of my new EP #AllorNothing I can’t tell you what it means to me to hear so much positivity and kind words. Love you all! Special thank you to @aaronsprinkle for producing the heck out of it!”

The EP was funding with the help of Juliet’s fans through a Pledge Music campaign.