Idol Chatter & Voice Views

 

Trent Harmon fans hoping to hear new original music got a couple of treats Saturday evening at the York Fair.

The 15th and final American Idol winner performed “Mixtape” and “On Paper,” two songs he co-wrote that just might wind up on his debut album.

Trent Harmon fans who loved his performances from the show might have left the fairgrounds even happier.

The 25-year-old, now signed to Big Machine Records, performed fuller versions of five songs he did on Idol, including brilliant covers of “Tennessee Whiskey” and Sia’s “Chandelier.”

Trent was at the York Fair as part of Froggy 107.7’s (WGTY) Radio Stage shows and wound up playing for hundreds of receptive fans. Afterwards, he met, posed for photos and signed autographs for dozens of them.

As for that debut album, in an interview prior to the show, Trent said fans can expect it early next year.

“We started working on some recording this past week,” Trent said. “We’re going to be full-blown radio tour until the week of Christmas.

“I didn’t really know how a radio tour — I really didn’t know what the words meant. It’s going to different stations in different cities across the United States and making a relationship with those radio personalities. You don’t just walk in and hold up your Idol trophy and say, ‘Hey, I won the show, play my music.’ It doesn’t work like that.”

After being confined to a hotel for most of his run on Idol, Trent says traveling the country has been a refreshing change. And there have been performances along the way, including a debut at the Grand Ole Opry late last month.

Scott Borchetta, Idol mentor and Big Machine CEO, has said Trent’s debut album will sound like what would result if Justin Timberlake made a country album.

Trent said Saturday that fans can expect a soulful country sound; it was certainly present in his live show at the fair, along with the impressive vocal range Trent displayed on Idol.

Likely album tracks include “What Are You Listening To,” a single Chris Stapleton recorded three years ago that, in Trent’s words, “flew under the radar,” and “Falling,” the Keith Urban song Trent performed on Idol’s last performance show.

“We were going to go with ‘Falling’ as the debut single,” said Trent, now 25. “The week before we were set to do the video for it, I wrote a song with two other writers called ‘There’s a Girl.’ They said, ‘Oh, you can write a little bit. Why don’t we explore that avenue?'”

“There’s a Girl” became the debut single and his first music video. Now Trent’s hoping to have as many as five co-writes on that debut album, including the two originals he performed Saturday night, the clever and catchy “Mixtape” and “On Paper,” a song about relationships that work even though they wouldn’t seem like a proper match at first glance or on paper.

“I think people will be able to tell by listening to the album that we did’t just piecemeal an album together,” he said.” We didn’t just take songs and put them on there so we could get something out. We’ve taken our time with it and it’s going to reflect that.”

And though he wasn’t billed as a country artist on Idol, Trent said fans have supported his post-show musical direction.

“The fans have responded really well. They’ve got my back and I appreciate them. I’ll do this as long as they afford me the opportunity.”

Editor’s note: The Radio Stage shows are free with admission ($8 for adults) to the York Fair and continue through Sunday. Broken Bow Recording artist Jordan Rager, from Season 2 of The Voice, performs 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Brooke Eden, who auditioned for Season 7 of Idol as Brooke Helvie, performs Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Head here for the complete schedule.

For a complete gallery of photos from Saturday’s show, visit the Idol Chatter Facebook page.