Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Here’s a pleasant surprise to brighten your Monday.

Check out who’s back: Allison Iraheta.

Except the next time you download new music from the third-place finisher from Season 8 of Idol, it won’t be from Allison, but from Halo Circus.

Allison is fronting a new band that includes her longtime guitarist David Immerman and producer Matthew Hager, who has worked with Backstreet Boys, Duran Duran and many others.

In a RollingStone.com/Reality Rocks article unveiling the new band, Allison says she can’t recall how the name came about.

“It’s a very mystical, spiritual, mysterious name,” she says. “That’s what I liked about it.”

As for the music, follow that above link and you can hear three Halo Circus songs, including “Something Special,” which Allison co-wrote with Duran Duran’s John Taylor.

In a video interview, Allison admits she had doubts about her future in music after losing her record deal when her 2009 debut album failed to sell as well as anticipated.

That album — featuring some superb tracks like “Scars” and “Don’t Waste the Pretty” — debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200, but spent just five weeks on the chart.

Allison, 17 when that album was released, is now 20 and says she feels better prepared to tackle the music business.

She says she rediscovered her fascination with music when Hager and Immerman invited her to sing on a demo of a song they had written.

The recording session turned into a writing session.

And, presto, Halo Circus was born.