(Photo :Angie Miller )

Many American idols alumni suffer from an identity crisis.  On the televised show they get to perform some of the great melodic gems of the American songbook.  
And before the purview of millions of viewers across the globe they get to show case their Whitney Houston skyrocketing melisma.  But when it comes time to record their albums, they are pigeon hole to sing tuneless & clichéd driven ditties.  The overwhelming electric riffs, the stadium-loud drumming and the horrendous computerized vocal maiming completely defaced the awe-inspiring performances they gave on the wildly popular TV show.  And often these contestants were more like guinea pigs muted by the greedy money-making record executives from expressing any of their creative juices on their own records.  As a result many of our American Idol alums sound so different on television than on record.  Thus, many of their ensuing albums quickly fall off the radar when fans realized that the singer on disc is vastly inferior to the one they had voted for.  Angie Miller is wise enough not to follow her predecessors along such an identity effacing path.

Though Miller came in third on this year's American Idol's twelfth season she has caused an indelible mark on the minds and hearts of her judges and the American public.  She was the first contestant this year to receive a standing ovation.  Refusing to be caricatured to be just a karaoke singer, Miller premiered her own self-penned song "You Set Me Free" on the show.  Quickly she was dubbed as the piano-playing brunette with the wide smile.  Also, what set her apart from her other peers is that Miller is a PK (pastor's kid) and she has never been reticent about her faith.  So, for her debut single release after her American Idol experience, she has fan off all temptations to be caricatured to sing one of those pop songs written by some high profile write-by- the-clock scribes utilizing recycled lines and nebulous melody.  Rather, she has chosen to introduce her post-American Idol portfolio with her self-written piano ballad "You Set Me Free."

"You Set Me Free" is not overtly a Christian song in the sense that Jesus or God is not mentioned.  But this doesn't mean it doesn't have Biblical or Christian overtones.  It's one of those songs that could either be taken as a love song to a guy or to Jesus.  But the way Miller sings about the magnitude of the love expressed (where her past baggage of hurts and disappointments can be laid down) sounds more than what an average guy could do.  It is certainly uncommon and a risk for Miller to release a piano ballad as her post Idol debut single in an age of jamming noise.  Nevertheless, "You Set Me Free" is a much need breadth of fresh air.  In a time where many of the American Idol alumni could not survive beyond their sophomore album slum, let's hope Miller's in for the long haul.