(Video above of Haley Reinhart singing her new single "Free" shot by show attendee Ken Ostroff via YouTube.)

Haley Reinhart's time on the stage at the Norton After Dark/WRMF Listener's Lounge on Thursday was certainly different than the performances she gave on "American Idol," where she finished third in 2011. Instead of the FOX show's elaborate stage productions, it was just the effervescent singer and two musicians. No JLo. No Seacrest. No voting.

Just a smile, a voice and a winning, buoyant personality and presence. All Haley.

Photos: Haley Reinhart at the Norton Museum of Art | Photos: Earth Day fashion show at the Norton

She confirmed, for me, why she was my favorite singer last year, besides the fact that I admittedly liked the funky, jazzy, rocky things she does. She just seems so real, in her unaugmented talent - you can't fake those pipes, y'all - in her joy in singing and in the connection she has with her audiences. She performed three songs from her upcoming album "Listen Up," including the heartbreakingly simple "Free," now playing on WRMF and around the globe. Everything about the song sets her apart from the teen market that "Idol" pushes - it's a song about letting go, about wanting to maintain your dignity and memories and then be free of a relationship that's killing both of you. This is an adult song. This is not a song for an insubstantial little girl. And Hayley sold that regret and pain and grownup-hood. She also did "House of the Rising Sun," which she'd done on "Idol." Someone commented to me that they wondered if her young fans knew how old the song was, or who The Animals are, or anything like that. All they know is that they recognize the power behind her voice, and all that magnetism. She projects a Carole King/Carly Simon/Janis Joplin thing that, again, the kids might not know. Kids...it's cool. That's all you need to know.