Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Apparently, the Idol music drought is over.

I mean, this week we have a new album from “We Are the Fallen,” featuring season seven contestant Carly Smithson. We have new singles out recently from past winners Fantasia (“Bittersweet”), Carrie Underwood (“Undo It”) and Kris Allen (“The Truth”).

Plus, the Idol season nine album came out Tuesday. And if you visit the music department of your favorite store, you might find another surprise
— “Slumberland” — an album Lee DeWyze recorded last year for WuLi Records.

Back to the American Idol album for a moment. If you haven’t checked it out, here’s what you’ll hear.

1. Lee DeWyze: Treat Her Like a Lady (A-)
1. Andrew Garcia: Forever (C)
3. Siobhan Magnus: Paint It Black (B-)
4. Crystal Bowersox: Me and Bobby McGee (A)
5. Casey James: Jealous Guy (A)
6. Aaron Kelly: I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing (C)
7. Michael Lynche: Ready for Love (B+)
8. Tim Urban: Under My Thumb (D-)
9. Didi Benami: Play With Fire (B-)
10. Katie Stevens: Let It Be (B)

The letters in parenthesis are the grades I gave the live performances of those songs.

In other words, Idol did a pretty decent job of picking the best from each of the top 10.

The only truly baffling selection: Tim Urban’s reggae version of the Rolling Stones hit. Hmm, maybe it scored high marks for being so unique.

Because it wasn’t a hit with the judges or the fans (Tim landed in the bottom three after performing it.)

Next week, we get to see where the Idol compilation album lands on the Billboard charts.

This week … well, here’s a rundown on how the Idols are doing.

Kris Allen: The season eight Idol winner just released “The Truth” as his second single. Meanwhile, the first, “Live Life We’re Dying,” falls from 41 to 48 on the Hot 100. It peeked at number 18.

Jason Castro: In the fourth week after it’s release, Jason’s self-titled debut album drops from 137 to 182 on the Billboard 200. Here’s a link to my review.

Kelly Clarkson: The original Idol’s fourth single off “All I Ever Wanted” is number 12 among adult pop songs, but slumps to
number 98 on the Hot 100, down a spot from last week.

Daughtry: “Leave This Town” rebounds a bit on the Billboard 200 this week, jumping from 96 to 85. The band doesn’t have a
single in the Hot 100 at the moment.

Fantasia: “Bittersweet,” the new single Fantasia sang on American Idol Wednesday, cracks the top 50 on the R&B/Soul singles chart at number 43. It was 71 a week ago.

Danny Gokey: “My Best Days,” which debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, checks in at number 188 this week. That’s up from 133 a week ago. It also moves up on the country album chart, from 27 to 24. The lead single, “My Best Days Are Ahead of Me,” checks in at 24 among country singles for the second straight week.

Adam Lambert: “Whataya Want From Me” continues to slip on the Hot 100, falling from 18 to 24 after 21 weeks on the chart. It’s number 12 among adult contemporary singles. Adam’s album bounces back to 56 on the Billboard 200, up from 61.

Carrie Underwood: “Temporary Home,” single number two from “Play On” has dropped to number 93 on the Hot 100, down from 84. It reached number one on the country singles chart. Meanwhile, Carrie’s latest single, “Undo It,” debuts at 95 on the same chart and jumps from 29 to 23 on the country singles chart.

“Play On” is the top Idol-related album on the Billboard 200 at number 30, down from 25 a week ago. It’s number five on the country album chart, down one spot.