Idol Chatter & Voice Views

We see Allison Iraheta singing backup on American Idol every week.

But later this year, Allison will be releasing her band’s long-awaited debut album, then touring the nation in support of the new music.

The album is called “Bunny” and will be released May 27. A video for the first single, “Desire,” was released last month, and I’ve embedded it below.

Meanwhile, the band is reaching out to fans in a couple of unusual ways.

For instance, the upcoming summer tour is being crowd sourced through RoadNation.com. Any city where supporters donate $600 will get a visit from Halo Circus.

Thirteen tour stops have been confirmed so far, including Washington, D.C. With 14 days left in the RoadNation campaign, 17 other cities — including Philadelphia — are partly funded.

You can head here for more info on that and other Halo Circus goodies that can be picked up as part of the campaign.

Halo Circus is also offering a free download of an alternate take of one song off the album, “Guns in Our Hands,” in exchange for an email address at bittorrent.com. Head here to check that out.

Now 23, Allison was just 16 when she auditioned for American Idol and finished fourth behind Kris Allen, Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey back in Season 8.

She formed Halo Circus three years ago and has been working on the upcoming album ever since. She’s been singing backup on Idol for the past two seasons.

“Really, it was a blessing for me to do that while I was working on my band,” she said in a recent TV interview. “To learn the ability to master professionalism … I got to finish my album while I was working with these incredible musicians.”

Now, that promised video.