Idol Chatter & Voice Views

In the mood for free music?

Former Idol Kimberley Locke is offering a free download of a remix of her single “Finally Free.”

All you have to do is head to her Facebook page, click on free download, and sign up for her emailed newsletter.

The download is a 7-minute, 14-second Barona & Hull Club Mix of the dance tune, co-written by Kimberley and Ace Young, a fellow former Idol, of course.

Though Kimberley started pushing the single to radio this week, it was the featured song on a four-track “Four for the Floor” EP she released about a year ago.

As the title indicates, it’s a dance EP, a clear departure from the two pop albums she released post-Idol and more in line with the “Spotlight” single she made with Randy Jackson in 2010 and that reached number five on the Billboard dance/club play chart.

And there’s more to come — no fewer than 14 remixes have been made of “Finally Free,” at least some of which will be available for download.

Kimberley was also in the news earlier this week for saying she’d like a seat on the Idol judging panel.

She told The Associated Press she’d be able to bring a contestant’s viewpoint to the role, but also promised she’d be brutally honest about the performances.

“I’m not quite as nice as Paula (Abdul). Paula’s super, super nice, but I don’t think I’m quite as mean as Simon (Cowell) is.”

Kimberley sounded dead serious about the Idol gig in the AP story; she sounded slightly less serious in the recent interview with FOX, which I’ve embedded below.

Which is probably good. Because, seriously, FOX is probably looking for a bigger name than it’s third-place finisher in Season 2 to draw in viewers at a time when viewership has slipped.

In addition to the new music, Kimberley is also working on an online cooking show –, to be called “Cooking with Kimberley,” of course. You can hear more about that in the video below as well.