Idol Chatter & Voice Views

They hardly got a fair shake from American Idol in season eight.

For many, the semifinals amounted to one two-minute song, then gone.

In the process, Idol cast aside many talented singers.

And since the only season eight finalists who really impressed me were Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta, I’ll always wonder what might have been.

Here are links to some of the my favorite songs from Idol contestants who failed to make the finals in 2009.

The tunes are posted on their MySpace pages. The list should be longer. But not all the semifinalists have music posted on MySpace at the moment.

For instance, I couldn’t find a full clip of a Taylor Vaifanua song, and she was impressive during the semifinals. And one of my favorite singers among the semifinalists, Kristen McNamara, has taken down her full-length tracks for the time being to feature snippets from her Christmas EP. I’m sure the other tunes will resurface soon.

And does anyone know what happened to Jeanine Vailes?

Meanwhile, here are my favorites among the songs I could find. They’re listed in a no particular order, but the last three are my absolute favorites at the moment. They’re all worth checking out.

Here goes … the top 10 … limited to one per contestant.

“I Give You the World” by Kendall Beard: The best of three new songs Kendall posted on her MySpace earlier this year. She’s pretty busy these days. She was named the New CW Austin Star in late November, meaning she’ll be working with the TV station for the next year.

“Evil Thoughts” by OffWhite: Apparently Kai Kalama has returned to singing “soul rock from the broken heart of California” since his cameo on American Idol ended. And the band has finally put some music on MySpace. Here’s a sample.

“Holding Out for a Hero” by Tatiana Nicole: Music just returned to Tatiana’s MySpace. This is an interesting, slightly-toned down, mostly acoustic version of the Jim Steinman classic. OK, as toned down as you can expect from Tatiana.

“Her Next Plan” by Mishavonna Henson: This is my favorite song off the EP Mishavonna released pre-Idol, and you can hear the full-length version here. You can also listen to her post-Idol single, “My Cowboy,” which is available on iTunes.

“Whirlwind” by Ann Marie (Boskovich): Dang. My absolute favorite song on this list would have been “What Happened to Mexico,” a breezy, fun country song that used to be on Ann Marie’s MySpace and made me smile every time I listened to it. Don’t know what happened to it. But, hey, this isn’t a bad substitute.

“Magic Carpet” by Felicia Barton: Check out the full-length version of this fun tune here. Felicia replaced Joanna Pacitti when she was disqualified from the show. Felicia also has an EP out, available through Major Bob Music.

“Collide” by Joanna Pacitti: Speaking of Joanna Pacitti, check out this song and you’ll realize why Geffen records signed her on at the tender age of 16. You can also hear Joanna’s version of “Out From Under” (covered by Britney Spears on her “Circus” album) here.

“Charlotte” by Jackie Tohn: Before Idol, Jackie released a CD called “Beguiling” that’s available from iTunes. And put together a very strange video for a the title track. And then there’s this absolutely irresistible little tune. Listen to it here.

“Found” by Brent Keith: Love this guy’s voice, and this is my favorite of the several songs he has posted on MySpace at the moment. He also just posted an acoustic version of “Beautiful Attraction” here.

“Love Me Like L.A.” by Ricky Braddy: I still have no idea what happened with Ricky Braddy and American Idol. He turned in two spot-on semifinal performances and walked away with nothing to show for it. Here’s a reminder of why he belonged in the finals.

Since music is a matter of taste, I’d be remiss not to point out that you can also find songs on MySpace from Arianna Afsar, Jesse Langseth, Ju’Not Joyner, and Von Smith. And, normally, Casey Carlson, though I’ve been unable to find music on her site since I started working on this blog.

Did I miss anyone who has music up?

If so, let me know. I’ll add them.

We didn’t get to hear nearly enough from these performers on Idol.

But we can correct that now.

Meanwhile, this wraps up my look back at Idol 2009. If you missed the earlier blogs, the links are below.

Of course, Idol 2010 is just around the corner. I’ll be blogging live during all the shows.

I’ll also be blogging and posting as many photos as I can get my hands on during the People’s Choice Awards Wednesday night (lots of Idol nominees) and during the Grammys on Jan. 31.

Also coming up next week, new interviews with two former contestants — one from season three, and a semifinalist from season eight.

So keep checking back.

Idol 2009 in review

The Best and Worst of American Idol 2009

2009 Songs from the Idols: The best non-singles

Best Idol Videos of 2009 (and links to all of them)

The Best and Worst Idol Albums of 2009