American Idol Season 7 quickly became all about the two Davids, Cook vs. Archuleta. While I was then and still remain* an ardent “Archie” fan, I did hold out hope that Brooke White would break through and connect with the dialing masses.

But often White looked as if she’d just realized she was on the Idol stage, and wasn’t quite sure how the heck she gotten there. Now more than a year later after finishing fifth in the competition, she says that she never thought she was a good fit for the show. High Hopes & Heartbreak, her post-Idol debut, was finally released in July. She’s got a fervent backer in Idol judge Randy Jackson, who serves as the album’s executive producer, the result of a run-in White had with the “Big Dawg” at Guitar Center.

I’m happy to hear that White’s ’70s singer-songwriter vibe is intact on High Hopes, with echoes of Carole King and Carly Simon. While the set’s preview single, “Hold Up My Heart,” peaked at #47 back in February, now second single “Radio Radio” is being given a push. Not to be confused with the Elvis Costello tune of the same name — White, it’s worth mentioning, co-wrote all of High Hopes, though she does cover Kings Of Leon’s “Use Somebody” — “Radio Radio” is something of a paean to a golden age (goldenrod? avocado green?) when pianos were omnipresent on the airwaves and folks had no clue what an iPod was. I do hope White pulls in some new listeners, because it’s lovely to hear melodies like those of yesterday once more:

Purchase Brooke White – “Radio Radio” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.

*Seriously, listen to Archuleta’s “Touch My Hand,” and convince me it’s not a brilliantly crafted piece of pop.