‘American Idol’ notes: Haley Reinhart, Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez

It’s “American Idol” album season! Thanks to the release of Phillip Phillips’ “The World from the Side of the Moon,” we have some cool news coming up a little later on in this article … but for now, we are kicking things off courtesy of some potentially-sad details breaking from season 10 star (and personal favorite) Haley Reinhart.

Is it over? – According to the Los Angeles Times, Haley has parted ways with both 19 Recordings and Interscope Records after just one album in “Listen Up!”, which was released in May. The disc failed to move many copies despite Haley’s presence from the show, even if it did receive mostly positive reviews from music critics.

Really, the question that is easy to ask here is “what went wrong,” but the only clear answer here might be “nothing at all.” Haley had decent promotion for a third-place star, as she had live performances mixed in with even an acting spot on “90210.” Her lead single in “Free” was also a pretty good song, even though “Oh My!” with a tweak or two may have been a more commercial choice. The reality here is that Haley is more of a blues / jazz artists than a pop star, and it was always going to be hard for her to be commercially viable in that world. This is one of the few occasions where it may be better off for her to find an indie label that allows her to create more of the sort of music that suits her voice, and she could be very successful in that world for years to come. Just our two cents here.

New Phillip album details – For those curious about sales, HITS Daily Double is currently projecting that “The World from the Side of the Moon” will sell somewhere between 140,000 and 160,000 albums in its first week, which is not bad at all considering the state of the music industry. While these numbers are down compared to Scotty McCreery’s “Clear As Day,” they do mark an increase on both Lee DeWyze’s “Live It Up” and Kris Allen’s self-titled debut. As a matter of fact, Phillip sold more than they did combined in his first week.

You can watch Phillip perform “Home” on “The Late Show with David Letterman” below; just be sure to stick around for the end, when Letterman hilariously calls “American Idol” a “dung heap” while the singer breaks out in laughter.

 Jessica Sanchez update – For those of you curious about the reigning runner-up’s upcoming release early next year, know this: it’s getting close to completion! Jessica wrote recently on Twitter that she was listening to the album from her car, It’s not much of a scoop, but it is a reminder that the disc is coming.