'Tuned In' review: 'Voice' runner-up Dia Frampton transcends TV show

Dia Frampton's "RED"

“RED,” Dia Frampton (Universal Republic)

It’s rare for singing competition shows like “American Idol” to turn contestants into actual idols. Sure, there’s all the in-the-moment hype, lavish praise from judges, screaming adoration from fans, vows that “you haven’t heard the last of me” from contestants as they’re booted.

But all too often, you’ve heard the last of them.

Vocalists aren’t making the shift from reality show stars to real world stars for several reasons — the fame is too fleeting, the field is too crowded, it’s a tough business even for those with an advantage, and, worst of all, no one seems to know how to package these people.

Dia Frampton’s “RED” gets it right.

Earlier this year, Frampton was first runner-up on NBC’s “The Voice” — a less-popular, more-complicated show than “American Idol.”

The 24-year-old waif from Utah already has experience fronting a band with her sister and she has a fine-tuned persona — quirky, sweet and charismatic with a lilting voice and a knack for unusual phrasing.

Unlike releases from other singing-show competitors, “RED” doesn’t force Frampton into a generic hodgepodge of mainstream-targeted styles. Instead, it’s mostly tailored to her offbeat voice and unusual perspectives.

Frampton merges into the thrusting rhythms and echoing energy of the inviting “Don’t Kick the Chair” to deliver an upbeat, anti-suicide message, and “Isabella” is an up-tempo, semi-acoustic folk/country ditty that sounds fluffy, though it’s a support song for an abused neighbor. Elsewhere, the singer bemoans her attraction to conflicted people on “The Broken Ones,” she endears herself in the rollicking electro-dance of “Billy the Kid,” and she sounds both charming and downcast on “Daniel,” singing “Why’d you let me walk away? I would have stayed.”

Although Frampton is consistently presented as an adorable sort, it sounds genuine enough that when she sings on closer “Trapeze,” “If I could tell you one thing, I’d tell you I’m not leaving,” you hope she means it.

Rating (five possible): 4

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