Idol Chatter & Voice Views

No new Idol albums are being released today. But, hey, that doesn’t mean there isn’t new Idol music.

Michael Sarver, the former oil rig worker who finished 10th on season eight of Idol, released a single today on iTunes.

It’s called “You Are,” and you can listen to a live version of it in the video below.

A second song, “Cinderella Girl,” is being released as a bonus track on iTunes. You can hear a snippet of it on Michael’s MySpace page.

That page also features a video of Michael signing with Dream Records, a division of the Universal Music Group.

The video below is of Michael performing “You Are” for L.A.’s homeless and needy at the Los Angeles Dream Center.

The Dream Center is a nonprofit organization that provides shelter, education, job training, and other services to thousands in the L.A. area and nationally. It also owns Dream Records.

And sometime in the spring of 2010, Dream Records plans to release Michael’s debut country CD.

I got to participate in two conference call interviews with Michael during his Idol run. The 28-year-old from Jasper, Texas, mentioned that he’d been writing songs since he was a teenager and had completed something like 900.

Until I hear otherwise, I’ll assume these are two of those hundreds.

Michael joins a long list of country singers who have gotten a chance to record an album thanks to an appearance on Idol. Remember Phil Stacey, Kristy Lee Cook and Josh Gracin.

And don’t count Michael out just because he finished 10th. Kellie Pickler and Bucky Covington didn’t win Idol either, and they’ve done quite well in country music.

Right now, Michael’s also involved in an “American Stars in Concert” tour, also featuring Alexis Grace from season eight, David Hernandez from season seven and Gina Glocksen from season six.