The artist: Michael Johns

The album: Hold Back My Heart (Fontana)

The spin: Aussie Michael Johns couldn’t parlay his photogenic stage presence and facility for turning old Dolly Parton and Queen tunes into fresh, soulful laments on “American Idol” into better than an eighth-place finish in 2008. Even Jason Castro finished four positions higher. Bad voters!

Yet Johns, along with fellow Season 7 finalist Brooke White (fifth place, with a fine post-”Idol” album of her own due July 21) both prove what has become an “Idol” truism: Winning only means you have to sing the cheesy pop song “Idol” producers scrounge up for you. The real winners tend to be the also-rans who have been able to craft distinctive music that transcends “Idol”‘s pre-fab formula.

Johns parades his Stax Records- and Tom Jones-loving influences all over the frisky, gritty and soulful Hold Back My Heart on tracks like “Feeling Alright”, “Fire” and “Little Bear”. His only misstep is to include an unnecessary cover of the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody”. Otherwise, Johns, White and, earlier this year, R&B songstress Melinda Doolittle, have all made music stores safe again for discriminating adults in the “American Idol” era.

The grade: B

– Howard Cohen