My Top Performances of the Season
First of all, I am completely biased so this is MY list. You will most likely have a different list.
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10. Power of Love - Nadia Turner. Yay, we're starting the list with Nadia. This Semi-Final performance was so refreshing, it certainly earned her a slot in the Finals. Though Nadia would try to make You Don't Have To Say You Love Me as her signature song (she sang it in the album), Power of Love defined her, and was her best performance.
9. I Surrender & Incomplete - Anthony Fedorov. A collective ugh from the readers. You do not know how much these two songs (along with the Angel audition and the mushy I'm Already There) mean to the Fedoration. Anthony definitely delivered to his target audience by tackling a Celine Dion power-ballad, and then Incomplete by the Backstreet Boys which demonstrated the type of song that he would be perfect for. Did I mention that Anthony is blooming now?
8. Anyone Who Had a Heart - Vonzell Solomon. Ok, this was a cop-out listing. (I'm such a dork!) I just felt like if I didn't put Vonzell some people will raise hell on me again like they have over the course of the season. But then again, I'm not really writing anything particularly good about this song, so its almost tantamount to the same thing! Haha. I listed her. Be happy. It is my favorite song of hers though.
7. Do I Do - Mario Vazquez. Alas, just not enough Mario to choose from. During the first day of the Semi-Finals, Mario sang last and the best from an already crowded cast of talented men, and showed everyone that he was ready for this pop-idol-song-contest-thingy. Unfortunately, his intuition got in the way for everybody.
6. Remedy (Reprise), Vehicle & I Don't Want To Be - Bo Bice. When Bo landed in the Bottom 3 he sang Remedy again which was far better than the first time he sang it. The next weeks he sang Vehicle, then I Don't Want To Be, which were just screaming "I'm back."
5. What a Wonderful World - Anwar Robinson. This Semi-Final performance was just magic for Anwar as he sang the last few notes bearing his soul. So good was this that immediately after, the odds-makers in Las Vegas pinned him as the "guy to beat" leading into the Top 12. Unfortunately for Anwar, it was downhill from there as he wilted away like a Spring flower.
4. My Funny Valentine & Bohemian Rhapsody - Constantine Maroulis. Already experimenting with the non-rocker image a week prior, with I Can't Make You Love Me, Connie sang My Funny Valentine and showed everybody what type of performer he really was -- and it worked! He made an even bigger risk with Bohemian Rhapsody and Constantine-mania was on.
3. In a Dream - Bo Bice. This should really be #1, except for the fact that for the life of me, I can't remember the melody. I remember the moment, which was the Summertime-moment of the year, but the song simply doesn't resonate in my head.
2. Alone - Carrie Underwood. Everybody loved this. (Although admittedly I was a little distracted at the time trying to pimp Mikalah.) This was Carrie's one true shining moment vocally as she took one song and truly made it her own. On a lesser impact but similar try was her rendition of Could Have Been in the Semi-Finals. I personally liked her God Bless the Broken Road with Rascal Flatts, which for all intents and purposes should be made into a single along with Alone. And now it chills me to the bone! - How do we get to alone? Good stuff, good stuff.
1. Whipping Post - Bo Bice. Unfortunately, those late to the party and didn't watch idol from the very beginning missed this. He was last to sing on the second Semi-Finals night for the men and just performed something totally unheard of in American Idol history filled with pop music and R&B. He was an authentic southern rocker and here he was on American Idol of all places. A truly defining moment if ever there was one. We knew exactly what he was all about and we knew what to expect.
And now, the WORST of the season:
(Update) 5. Kiss From A Rose & Hard To Handle - Constantine Maroulis. He tried very hard to get the rocker thing going, but the performances were just not cutting it. Not even close.
4. I Believe I Can Fly - Anwar Robinson. Just didn't work. Was off-key. A horrible performance. Just to show consistency, Anwar subsequently destroys duet with Anthony Fedorov in the Finale show.
3. Love Will Lead You Back - Mikalah Gordon. Okay, it wasn't that bad to me really, but given that everyone else performed really well and it looked like she was having a hard time singing, this was clearly a straight to the exit performance from the get go. Note to potential Finalists: Do not sing Love Will Lead You Back ever! It is one of the so-called cursed songs: two Finalists have already been shoved the door singing it. Sing at your own risk.
2. Climb Every Mountain - Anthony Fedorov. I still get chills knowing that this song was actually sung on the show. What in the world were they thinking? It is evidenced by this performance that a pop song cannot be made from something sung by Mother Superior.
1. Hit 'Em Up Style - Janay Castine. The one truly hideous performance of the season. Need I say more?
Discuss!