On The Shelf: Tomorrow’s New Releases Revealed Today

Welcome to On the Shelf, Idolator’s weekly look at new albums hitting record stores’ shelves on Tuesday. This week’s roster of new releases is small but mighty, and it includes not one, but two certified American Idols. After the jump, we look at tomorrow’s releases from Taylor Hicks, Fantasia, Tyrese, and Ghostface.

Taylor Hicks, Taylor Hicks The artist: Silver-haired sixth-season American Idol winner. The sound: Remember those ads Ray Charles did for Diet Pepsi? Yeah. The first in line: People who have no idea what to put in their office-party holiday grab bag.

Fantasia, Fantasia The artist: Third-season Idol winner who recently emancipated herself from the show’s management camp. The sound: Brassy R & B with a slightly harder edge, thanks to input from Missy Elliott and Swizz Beatz. The first in line: Lifetime devotees.

Tyrese, Alter Ego The artist: Male model-turned-singer-turned-split-personality. The sound: Disc 1 is smooth R & B, while disc 2 has Kurupt and The Game rapping alongside Tyrese’s alter-ego “Black Ty.” The first in line: Honestly, we have no idea, but his last album moved 880,000 copies, so maybe a double-disc isn’t too ambitious.

Ghostface, More Fish The artist: 30 Rock‘s favorite Wu-Tang Clan member. The sound: More thrillingly twisty word-puzzles, tempered a bit by lots of Theodore Unit appearances. The first in line: These guys.

On The CD Front [Pause & Play]