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Nick Fradiani is now an independent artist after parting ways with Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Records

Billboard reports that Season 14 Idol winner Nick Fradiani has parted ways with the Big Machine record label and 19 Entertainment.

My reaction: What took so long?

Seriously, Nick’s debut album — “Hurricane” — was a monumental flop. It debuted at number 121 on the Billboard 200, recording first-week sales of 5,000 copies.

The previous worst debut for an Idol winner: Number 24 for Caleb Johnson’s “Testify,” which sold more than twice as well.

And it’s not all Nick’s fault. He appeared on the final season of Idol as a semi-final mentor, at a time when interest in the show was as high as it has been in years.

Did his management team capitalize? Nope. “Hurricane” wasn’t released until August, four months after the final season of Idol ended, four months after his successor had been crowned.

It marked the first time an Idol winner released an album after the next season of the show ended, and it clearly didn’t work.

Nick told Billboard he left the label on good terms and is working on new music. He’s still planning on releasing a music video for “Love Is Blind,” one of the songs on “Hurricane,” with a tentative release date of Feb. 14.

“It just wasn’t the right fit,” Nick said in reference to his label deal. “I couldn’t be more happy. It needed to happen, and I was hoping for it.”

“I was signed to a country label, and I’m not a country artist.”

Here’s betting that Nick — like Kris Allen and like Lee DeWyze — releases his best post-show music now that he’s an independent artist.