Jon Peter Lewis releases new album

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- "American Idol" contestant Jon Peter Lewis, known to his fans as "JPL," has released his debut album "Stories From Hollywood" through Cockaroo Entertainment.

Lewis has been working on the original rock/pop record for the last year, a Cockaroo entertainment news release said.

Singer Elton John has admired Lewis' "great pitch and phrasing," praising his "superb" singing voice.

His CD, "Stories from Hollywood," reflects experience that Lewis has had in Hollywood.

"We expected JPL to rock us, but not with music this crisp and a backing band this hot," wrote Jessica Venditto of AI Magazine, "The long wait was worth it."

"I could see from Jon's experience on the 'American Idol' show there was a lot more that he had to offer as an artist," said producer Alex Gibson of Henson Recording Studios.

Lewis has said he feels good about the direction he is going.

"I was called a lot of interesting and very funny things as a finalist," he said, "but when somebody recently called me the 'Indie Idol,' that was one comment I was pretty proud of."