Jimmy Needham

Night Lights
Inpop Records

If he had tried out this season, it’s hard to imagine that Simon wouldn’t have smiled at him and said, “I like you, Jimmy Needham.”

Because several of the 12 male semifinalists for this season’s “American Idol” were obviously going for the same mellow, neo-crooner vulnerability that has, over the last decade, made household names out of Jason Mraz, Gavin DeGraw and John Mayer, and which Needham has unabashedly emulated since his fantastic — if not entirely original — 2006 debut.

However, with his third album, Needham — despite the fedora — seems primed for a relevance all his own thanks to a refreshing embrace of funk, gospel (“Moving to Zion”) and something close to hip-hop (“Grace Amazing”). Well done.