The Best of American Idol 6
The Top Performances of American Idol 6:
Sadly, this was a difficult list to make since there weren't many memorable performances unlike previous years. But let's give it a shot:
Chris Richardson -- Mayberry
This was a bit surreal: all of a sudden we found ourselves discussing the virtues of "nasally singing" the next day.
Jordin Sparks -- I Who Have Nothing
Jordin's best vocal performance. Unfortunately, I can't recall the melody.
Jordin Sparks -- Give Me One Reason
My personal favorite of Jordin's, although I would learn later on that this is a number in her "repertoire" of songs before she joined American Idol -- so it's actually quite practiced. Still good though.
Sanjaya Malakar -- Besame Mucho
Sanjaya's best vocal performance during the height of his amazing run. But even if Sanjaya closed the show on Latin night and delivered, the judges were still reluctant to give him praise. How sad.
Blake Lewis -- Virtual Insanity
This was great. The first performance where Blake whipped out the beatboxing on a voting night. And really, who would have thought that we would hear Virtual Insanity on American Idol, the bastion of sappy hits?
Melinda Doolittle -- Trouble is a Woman
Unfortunately for Melinda Doolittle, by the time she whipped out Trouble is a Woman on country night -- in an attempt to show a winning attitude -- Simon Cowell inadvertently revealed the chosen one in Jordin Sparks -- sealing Melinda's fate as the shock elimination at some point in the season.
Blake Lewis -- Time of the Season
Who's your daddy? I loved this one.
LaKisha Jones -- And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going
I did not like this -- but everybody else seemed to. The performance that made LaKisha an early favorite to win it all, and ironically a performance she would not recover from. It was all downhill from here.
Jordin Sparks -- Broken Wing
Not her best vocal, but this performance was significant because afterwards Simon declared that "you could win American Idol" -- which to anyone who's been through this yearly exercise means that she will.
Kellie Pickler
Kellie shows up with her new hit: Picklers 2.0
Fantasia Barrino -- I'm Here
Fantasia still gives me chills. She's awesome.
Elliott Yamin -- Wait For You
A triumphant return to the Idol stage with a new single, new veneers and a new 'do. Elliott Yamin had one of the best vocals this season.
Kelly Clarkson -- Up to the Mountain
Great stuff from Kelly singing with Jeff Beck.
Carrie Underwood -- I'll Stand By You
Probably one of the best vocals by any contestant from all six seasons! That's keeping it real Randy.
Chris Daughtry -- Home
Like many a weary viewer this year, I took comfort in the fact that Daughtry sang to me every week at the end of elimination night. I'm going home, to the place where I belong...
And now the Top 3:
3. Melinda Doolittle -- My Funny Valentine
Melinda's best performance, placing her firmly as the one to beat. Unfortunately, she peaked too soon with this one and pretty much plateaued from here on out. At least she didn't crash and burn like LaKisha.
The ideal strategy is to have a great performance in the Semis and then a take no prisoners performance in the Top 10. Clay had "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" then "Solitaire"; Fantasia had "Let's Give Them Something to Talk About" then "Summertime"; Bo had "Whipping Post" then "In a Dream". I can't think of any song that Melinda did that was better or equal that of My Funny Valentine -- which had soul, vocal chops and truly connected with the audience.
Melinda may have been vocally consistent, but in a spectator sport like this, people remember the home runs and not the base hits, the touchdowns and not the first downs.
2. Blake Lewis -- You Give Love A Bad Name
The performance that earned him a spot in the finals. Everyone talked about this the next day, and the highlight of the season as far as the singing/beatboxing was concerned. Big risks come with big rewards and Blake delivered. My favorite version of You Give Lo-lo-love... A Bad Nay-m. One of the most memorable performances on American Idol of all time.
1. Sanjaya Malakar -- You Really Got Me / Bathwater
When we look back at Season 6, Fanjaya or not, this is the highlight reel. After weeks of constant criticism and ridicule, Teen Pop Sensation Sanjaya changes his song choice to You Really Got Me at the last minute and lets it all hang out -- much to the delight of his fans, and the shock and horror of Simon Cowell and a good portion of America. Adding to the spectacle, a crying Ashley Ferl made an unlikely appearance giving Fanjayas everywhere a face and identity: Sanjaya makes us salty dammit and we're not ashamed!
A week later, Bathwater and the pony-hawk, and we were all firmly in the Universe of Sanjaya whether we wanted to or not. Unsuspecting viewers became fans or haters, the media went into a frenzy -- Melinda, Jordin and Blake couldn't sing or beatbox their way out of it -- seventeen-year-old Sanjaya had single-handedly taken over the most popular show in America.
Three weeks later, Sanjaya was eliminated, and the show couldn't recover after that.
Whew. Discuss!