Idol Chatter & Voice Views

If you haven’t yet, do yourself a favor and check out Kimberley Locke’s new EP, “Four for the Floor.”

I think you’ll be impressed. Or, at the very least, surprised by the change in sound from her two full-length CDs, “One Love” (2004) and “Based on a True Story.”

Last year, Kimberley scored a modest hit with “Strobelight,” which hit number five on the Billboard dance / club play chart.

Now she’s back with four dance tunes, each better than “Strobelight,” in my opinion.

“Finally Free” is the single, having won a fan voting competition earlier this year. My favorite remains “Sirens,” which features a guest rap by Sev Sanders. “Runway” and “I Can’t Get Enough” round out the EP.

Kimberley had a hand in writing all four tracks. Interestingly, former Idol contestant Ace Young is a co-writer on “Finally Free” and “I Can’t Get Enough.”

The EP has been released under Kimberley’s new I AM Entertainment label. If you want to listen to the full tracks before buying, you can check out all four tunes on YouTube.

Kimberley, of course, finished third on season two of American Idol. That’s the year Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard vied for the Idol crown.

Interesting that eight years later, Kimberley sounds the most musically relevant of the three.

Hey, and if you’re anywhere near Atlantic City a couple weeks form now, you’ll have a chance to catch Kimberley live. She’s playing the House of Blues in New Jersey on Tuesday, Aug. 9.