Idol Season 7 – Fifteen Performances

Mj – the first one Happy Together went to an online media site? Thanks this is alright, I used my new friend, bookmarking, right away on this

Actually I liked Syesha’s One Rock & Roll ….and Carly’s Jesus Christ even though she mangled the lyrics…Michael Johns We are the Champions and It’s allright…Chikezie’s She’s a Woman…Brooke’s Let It Be….I tend to like the women a bit more than the men.

Mj – the first one Happy Together went to an online media site?

I fixed it…

This is great MJ. I’ll have to think about my list and post it later. If I were to post it now, it would just be a list of Jason’s songs, LOL.

Hmm… as for songs I liked that aren’t on this list, I’m a fan of Brooke’s “Every Breath You Take” and “I Am … I Said,” and Syesha’s “One Rock ‘n’ Roll Too Many.” While I enjoyed David Archuleta’s “You’re the Voice,” I still don’t get why people enjoyed “Stand by Me.” It sounded terrible to me. When everybody gushed about it afterwards, I was flabbergasted. I’m not that familiar with the song itself, but after listening to him sing it, I don’t want to listen to the original.

I can’t get enough of DC’s “Hello”! Oh, and “Music of the Night”!

Great choices, MJ. Sorry I wasn’t here with you — but I loved Happy Together too. He mixed it up, and I loved everything about it.

Across the Universe is one of my favorite downloads from MJ.

Don’t want to stalk you with this in an email — but David’s got a UTube up thanking us… He love us! So much for trying to get back to my normal life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaUDBi395Is

MJ: I would like to request/suggest a new thread title ” Who Needs to tryout for AI and revive their career.”

Can we start with Kelly Rowland?

http://www.tmz.com/tmz_main_video?titleid=1573188046

Honestly, if AI can rescue Carly & MichaelJ, then who else can it rescue?

Wait, what? No Billie Jean? Yeah, I know spread the love. But have to agree that while Billie Jean was hot and Cookie showed off his cocky rocker style, Always Be My Baby is what sealed the deal with the fans. Billie Jean made Cookie accessible to the male audience, but Always Be My Baby made women fall in love with him.

Carly – “Come Together” – What always bothered me about Carly was that she reminded me too much of Kelly Clarkson. In my mind, only bad in the repetitive sense. But the problem was that Kelly sold herself as a sweet ballad singer on AI and then turned out rocker records. At least with this stellar performance, Carly showed us who she really was.

Totally agree on a lot of these, but especially “The World I Know.” The judges were completely wrong in dismissing this; it was a beautiful, soulful performance, and his tender phrasing brought out the true meaning of the song to me. I did think it was the right song for him, because it was exactly a David Cook move, and that’s why we love ‘im.

Great list, MJ. I agree with all of it except for Michael Johns. Never, ever, enjoyed him.

Ooh, I’ll play! I’m just going to do a Top 10, though. In no particular order…

1) “Shop Around” David Archuleta — Shades of Zac Efron!

2) “Hello” David Cook — The performance that put him on my radar.

3) “Please Don’t Stop The Music” Idols & SYTYCDers (from Idol Gives Back) — Three cheers for 19Alphabet synergy! Jason singing Rihanna was loltastic, Carly sounded amazing, and the choreography was incredible. I’ve watched the video a ridiculous number of times.

4) “One Rock & Roll Too Many” Syesha — By this point in the competition, she was on extremely thin ice, but she came out fighting and delivered a showstopper. I was entertained!

5) “Let It Be” Brooke White — This was the most moving performance of the season, IMO.

6) “Always Be My Baby” DCook — When the novelty wears off Cookie’s coronation song, they should release this to radio to bridge the gap between now and his first real single coming out.

7) “With You” David Archuleta — For the lolz, of course!
“Across The Universe” Michael Johns — So underrated! I liked this way better than his “It’s All Wrong But It’s Alright.” The studio recording is lovely, too.

9) “Daydream” Jason Castro — Top 12 Guys night, I was sooo underwhelmed by the Best!Talent!Ever!!! until Jason came through with this. It was such an easy, natural performance.

10) “Tainted Love” Danny Noriega — Robbed!!

I don’t enjoy the belters either. I actually enjoyed the song Amanda did by Joan Jett, “I Hate Myself For Loving You.” It was my favorite of her performances, so, I think I would’ve included that one other than the Beatles song. I also think I like Brooke’s, “I Am I Said,” better than “Let It Be.” Both were good. I would add Archie’s, “Smoky Mountain Memories,” to that list.

I hope Chikeze does “She’s A Woman,” on tour. Everyone will forever remember that peformance.

Also, I think David Hernandez, “Papa Was A Rolling Stone,” was excellent.

Well, you know I love me some “Happy Together.” It’s just a total charmer, and I hope people who didn’t get the cheeky freshness of it (and the first chance to really hear Cookie launch into a high sustained wail at the finish, a note that never seems to end) will take another hear-see. I also thought this was the best of the pre-maker over looks — I’m a sucker for a great singer in a vest and loose tie.

my other faves, are almost all Cookie (and frankly, there wasn’t a single number of his which i did eventually like, even if they took a couple hearings):

“All Right Now” — just fun, fun, fun — really holds up

“Billie Jean” — goose bump time, and fun to listen to alongside the Chris Cornell version, which is more raw and anguished — two great singers on a terrific song

“Always Be My Baby” – consider the obvious

“I’m Alive” — Cook didn’t get a lotta love for this, but it was kinda thrilling to hear it in the AI context — wake up and smell the roses! Really channeled the rock buoyancy of Neil Diamond’s best

“My Hero” — OK, so Cookie sang it at his homecoming in KC, but he said he’d
considered singing it in competition and I sure wish he had — great, great cover of the Foo Fighters:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHb8Y-0do7Y

Best of the Rest:

“It’s All Wrong But It’s All Right” — Why Michael doesn’t just accept that he could be the next big hunky soul crooner is beyond me. He’s not distinctive as a rocker, but he really comes into his own on a tune like this or his audition song, Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”

“Light My Fire” — nobody can sing it like Jim Morrison could, but even if the fire doesn’t burn quite as brightly in Michael’s version, it sizzles — and he’s off in Doors dream land, really into it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz3BNMG-giE

“One Rock’n Roll Too Many” – in which Ms. Syesha gets to sass and sparkle. You go girl!

“Shop Around” — one of the only Archetula tunes that really made sense to me. Playful, vocally hip, and — of course — a great Smokey Robinson tune. Also age appropriate; “My mama told me….”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muT9U8XUqpc

Sorry for all you Carly/Jason fans…just never warmed to them… except when Carly and MJ did “The Letter.” Now that was blazing, molten whatever. Otherwise, I never felt the dramatic intelligence behind Carly’s obviously powerful pipes, and as I’ve said before, I lost my interest in adorable space cadets long ago….

Four of the performances were from the first Beatles week. In my opinion, the best week of the competition.

I agree; that was the best week of the competition for me, too (then again, part of that is because Top 12 week was the week I was fully on the David Cook bandwagon and turned my back on little Archie — sorry, Archie). But from that week, one of my favorite performances of the season would have to be Carly’s “Come Together” (not many will agree with me, but I stand by my word). I thought she not only sang the hell out of that song — she also worked the stage and at least played around with the arrangement a little. To this day, it’s the one performance she’s done on the Idol stage that I truly, truly enjoyed.

I actually liked Amanda’s “Hate Myself For Loving You” better than “You Can’t Do That”, but both are good.

I’m gonna think my list over, too — mine’s kind of lopsided towards a bunch of Cookie’s performances right now. Lol.

I just added one for Syesha. I originally cut it out, because I wanted to keep the list to 15…

Nice lists! I’m going to have to give this some thought, too. Star, loved your inclusion of “Tainted Love” and “Please Don’t Stop the Music.” I’d give Syesha some props on the latter, too. It showed me she could do fun pop songs. Too bad they didn’t give her a better one on top three night.

3) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Please Donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Stop The Musicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Idols & SYTYCDers (from Idol Gives Back) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  Three cheers for 19Alphabet synergy! Jason singing Rihanna was loltastic, Carly sounded amazing, and the choreography was incredible. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve watched the video a ridiculous number of times.

Star – thanks I just watched it about 4 times just now. Cook – oh my yes – Carly and Jason loved it and those dancers are hot hot hot – I hope Mj does continue with the sytucd recaps.

My favorites for Jason were the ones Mj mentioned but also Memory – him so sick, it was a memorable performance for me, very touching how he pushed thru it and never let on.

Cooks – Billie Jean I loved the most

Carlys – well I liked her a lot in the Please Dont Stop The Music now that I went back and watched it over and over and Syesha

David A – Imagine

MJ, how about a top 15 studio recording thread, too. That would force me to listen to all of them. LOL.

MJ, a question for you. Given that you, and, so many of the pundits have included more of Jason’s songs as memorable, and, the fact that he sold on ITunes, doesn’t it seem plausible that he should’ve been in the top 3? Yeah, I know they panned him for ISTS, and, MTM, but, I also think that was done on purpose.

I also read an old review of season 4, and, guess what? Vonzell Solomon pulled a Syesha during the top 4. (she stood on stage and cried) Guess who made top 3 that year? While I think Syesha may do Broadway, I don’t envision her a recording artist.

Well, Skylight, Jason forgot the lyrics on MTM. That’s a pretty serious offense, unless you’re Archie.

MJ, a question for you. Given that you, and, so many of the pundits have included more of Jasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s songs as memorable, and, the fact that he sold on ITunes, doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t it seem plausible that he shouldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been in the top 3?

I think it was obvious to the viewers that Jason was done. Syesha still had some fight left in her, and that’s why she moved on, IMO.

I’d been voting for him all season, but really felt he’d come to the end of the line that night. That week, for the first time, I didn’t split my votes.

I liked Carly in the group numbers and on IGB and the finale. Her competitive performances, not so much.

Wow…that list…not so much.

Jason did say that they hurried him when he sat down to do MTM. Oh well, things worked out as they should’ve, I suppose. And, I shudder to think what the producers and judges would’ve chosen for him if he had made top 3. Maybe that’s what he meant by having to learn 3 songs. They didn’t do Syesha any favors.

Oh well, back to the list. I actually liked Michael John’s Queen medley too. I didn’t enjoy anything Carly sang.Not a fan.

Wow…that list…not so much.

Well, then. Lets hear yours.

Best performances for me:

DC: Hello, Music of the Night, Billie Jean
DA: Think of Me, And So It Goes, Imagine, Angels
Carly: Here You Come Again
Jason: Hallelujiah
Ramiele: You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me
MJ: It’s All Wrong But It’s All Right, We Are the Champions

Best studio performances:

Brooke: You Must Love Me
DC: Music of the Night, Innocent, Billie Jean
DA: Think of Me, Angels, Imagine
Carly: Come Together
Jason: If I Fell

Best Live Performances: David Archuleta on Final 2 Night (he had the audience standing all three times)

I’m super surprised Imagine isn’t on your list! I know a lot of “haters” of David A. who say that is THE performance of the season, if not of the entire show from the very start! Wow!

And.. do my eyes deceive me… no Billie Jean? I didn’t care for it, but I thought most loved that too.

I won’t make a list, but I will say that I would definitely have to have Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me by David Archuleta. That was amazing.

mj
May 26th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Wowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦that listà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦not so much.

Well, then. Lets hear yours.

I am compiling mine…i’ll post it later. haha i didnt mean to be a dick, i was just kinda shocked at some of them.

It’s difficult to separate the actual TV performances from the itunes singles since the downloads get listened to on a regular basis. The songs that I would include, besides MJ’s list through choice #9 are Cook’s ‘Little Sparrow’ and I’m Alive’, Jason’s ‘Forever in Blue Jeans’ and believe it or not, Archuletta’s ‘Think of Me’. I also truly like ‘You’re the Voice’ much better as a recording, as well as Brooke’s “I Am I Said’. ‘Across the Universe’ was underrated … so agree as Michael’s voice sounds super on the single.

I have watched this show from its’ inception and have never been as invested as in Season 5 … I adored Elliott and still do (voted my azz off). However … I was thinking the other night … over the course of the seven seasons … WHO are my TOP TWELVE IDOLS. Say what you will about the talent pool in Season 7 or the show in its’ entirety, but I was surprised to discover that many of this year’s contestants appeared on my list, more than any other season:

S1: Kelly Clarkson
S1: Tamayra Grey
S2: Clay Aiken
S2: Rueben Studdard
S3: Fantasia
S3: Jennifer Hudson
S5: Elliott Yamin
S7: Jason Castro
S7: David Cook
S7: David Archeleta
S7: Brooke White
S7: Michael Johns

AND if I were making it a Baker’s Dozen, I would include Carly! Funny … no one in S4 or S6 makes my list. How about yours?

I chose what I thought was the single best performance of each of the Top 12, i.e., what I’d like to see on the CD that comes out.

David Cook – “Billie Jean”
David Archuleta – “You’re the Voice”
Syesha Mercado – “Yesterday”
Jason Castro – “Hallelujah”
Brooke White – “Let It Be”
Carly Smithson – “Crazy On You”
Kristy Lee Cook – “God Bless the U.S.A.”
Michael Johns – “We Will Rock You”/”We Are the Champions”
Ramiele Malubay – “In My Life”
Chikezie – “She’s a Woman”
Amanda Overmyer – “I Hate Myself for Loving You”
David Hernandez – “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”

My favorite 15 in order from the beginning of the season:

Jason Castro – “Daydream” – Oh, so THAT’s how that dreadlocked guy sounds!

David Archuleta – “Shop Around” – I thought he was adorable and even loved the giggling! He never sounded so good again to my ears.

David Cook – “Hello” – I went from the DC hate train to lifelong fan in that 90 seconds. Incredible.

Jason Castro – “Hallelujah” – It was amazing to hear one of my favorite songs on the show and Jason did it perfectly.

Brooke White – “Let It Be” – This was Brooke at her absolute best.

Carly Smithson – “Come Together” – I thought this was Carly’s best.

Chikezie – “She’s a Woman” – Where did THAT come from?

David Cook – “Billie Jean” – Favorite. glory note. ever.

David Cook – “Little Sparrow” – So underrated. The perfect answer to covergate, also with better hair!

Michael Johns – “It’s All Wrong, It’s Alright” – Michael finally picks the right song!

David Cook – “Always Be My Baby” – Sigh. LOVE.

Jason Castro – “I’m Don’t Wanna Cry” – I loved his arrangement. Also underrated.

Syesha Mercado – “One Rock and Roll Too Many” – Syesha finally picks the right song!

David Archuleta – “With You” – My Boo!

David Cook – “The World I Know” – My favorite DC performance of the season. I cried.

Wow, I guess I didn’t enjoy very many contestants! I still loved the season as a whole, crappy theme nights, producer manipulations, horrible judging, bus throwing, and all.

Oh, this is tough for me. Mostly because it would almost all be David Cook, and that is just not objective, but he really did always moved me the most.

In order of appearance:

David Hernandez: Papa Was A Rolling Stone – He was one of my early favorites with this performance.

David Archuleta: Imagine – Though I don’t like how he scrubbed the edges off of this, I was amazed by his vocal. It was absolutely gorgeous.

David Cook: Hello – I liked his previous two weeks, but was AMAZED by this performance. This was the point that the rest of the contestants took a firm backseat to Mr. Cook for me.

Jason Castro: Hallelujah – I fell in love with him a little bit after this one, and thought his finale performance of this one was just as good.

Brooke White: Love is a Battlefield – She really sold this song, and she easily became my favorite female ever on this show. I am not a fan of belters, so Brooke was a breath of fresh air on a show that is known for singers trying to impress us with melisma instead of selling us an emotional feeling.

Chikeze: She’s a Woman – This was just joyful. I felt an odd sense of pride for him after this.

Brooke White: Let it Be – It makes me so sad that Brooke lost it late in the competition, because this was another heartfelt performance that just proved how much she deserved to be there despite her lack of vocal gymnastics.

Carly Smithson: Blackbird – The only time I even came close to “getting her” was on the beautiful lower register she displayed on this song. Why she insists on screeching everything when she’s got such a beautiful lower range is beyond me.

David Cook: Billie Jean – He looked his worst at this point, but this overtook Bo’s “In A Dream” as my favorite performance EVER on the idol stage. He was not just good that week, but I felt like I had witnessed the actual moment that he became a star, despite the hot mess of his physical appearance. Absolutely astounding performance.

Michael Johns: It’s All Wrong, But it’s All Right – The only time I ever liked Michael Johns (besides his audition), he finally proved why he deserved to be in the competition. Sadly, it was too little, too late and he failed to understand where his strengths were the very next week.

Jason Castro: I Don’t Wanna Cry – Unlike Brooke, Jason was able to take his complete disconnect with Mariah’s style and turn out something truly beautiful.

Syesha Mercado: One Rock N’ Roll To Many – The vocal wasn’t as spot-on as she’d been in previous weeks, but girl finally learned how to sell a song. I was proud of her!

David Archuleta: With You – As someone said above, for the lolz. He is truly a wonderful person, don’t get me wrong, but that is precisely why this song could never work for him.

David Cook: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – I have rewatched this more times than I care to admit, and I love the original of this song. I thought the vocal on this was absolutely beautiful.

David Cook: The World I Know – He loves making music, and this performance was so REAL, it felt like staring into his soul, and I love what I saw there. Despite the cheesiness and the dorkiness that he’s prone to, the Skittles song, the polished interview skills, and whatever else turns people on or off about the boy, when he lays his heart out there like this, that is who the real the David Cook is, and that’s the one I love. I am such. a. fangirl. sorry.

Archuleta- Shop Around, Imagine, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me, Long & Winding Road, Smoky Mountain Memories, And So It Goes
Amanda- You Can’t Do That
MJ- It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right
Carly- Here You Come Again, Come Together
Jason- DayDream, Hallelujah
Brooke- Let It Be
Kristy Lee- Anyway

if i had to pick a top 5- Imagine, It’s All Wrong, Here You Come Again, DLTSGDOM, & And So It Goes

I’m obviously an DA fan (some of my roomies that post on here are either DA or DC fans or both), but i deff like DC as a person and I’m pretty sure I’m glad he won…he was more of a safe win for Idol.

I must be the only person who thought David Cook smashed out of the park “The Music of the Night”!!!!!

I mean I know there are not many theather goer’s here but trust me he NAILED that song! During him singing that song my jaw was on the floor! I was blown away!

I must be the only person who thought David Cook smashed out of the park à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Music of the Nightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ !!!!!

Trust me…You’re not the only one!! :thumbup_tb:

David Cook – “All I Really Need Is You” – Because I became unbelievably addicted to the spoilers this season, I can remember nearly crying when I heard he would perform this song. I actually found a clip of it on Amazon – it was so obscure that it wasn’t even on You Tube – and I yelled “Why?” It was the most horrible, cheesiest song ever! And, what do you know? He nailed it and made it sound like it was written yesterday. That was a great moment.

David Archuleta – “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” – I hated Clive for picking this song for him. It belonged to Clay. But, other than “Imagine”, this immediately went down in the Idol history books (for me) as one of his best performances. He threw down the gauntlet that night, and if David Cook would have sucked all season, Archie would have gotten all of my votes strictly based on this song. Too bad Cookie didn’t suck. :tongue1_tb:

Michael Johns – “It’s All Wrong But It’s All Right” – This song was just hot. It was almost as though Michael came alive because of it, and he regained some of the momentum he’d lost in earlier weeks. It was this night that perfectly defined MJ’s niche. He is a perfect soul singer, and I really, deeply wished he would have kept it there. I believe we would have definitely seen him in at least the Top 3 if he had.

Jason Castro – “Hallelujah” – It will always be my favorite performance from him, hands down. We were all wondering what he would do without the guitar, and there we had it. Just beautiful. This was just awesome. And, the best part about it? He nailed it again at the finale, and it sounded even better than the first time.

Brooke White- “Let it Be” – David Cook was right on when he described this as organic. It was just a raw, emotional performance. Brooke struck a chord with the audience that night. Performances like this are few and far between on Idol, and as we would soon discover, this emotional depth is what helps Brooke to sell a performance.

My top 3 performances easily are Hallelujah, Let it Be, and Always Be My Baby.

My top studio tracks easily are Travelin Thru, Here You Come Again, Innocent.

I would have to agree that the Top 12 (Beatles) night was my favorite, but honestly, Dolly Parton night was a close second! I bought more music from the Dolly night than from top 12.

It was a weird season for me because I was really torn between 3 contestants the whole time (Brooke, Jason, Cookie), but wanted to see a few others go deep (Carly, MJ, Archie.) I remember being wowed by Jason with Daydream, and triple wowed on 80′s night(s) with Hallelujah, Love is a Battlefield, and Hello. Going into that night, I only liked Jason a bunch figured Archie was going to win the whole thing, and meh…then Brooke and Cookie got my attention and never let go.

I began lurking in the Cookie camp with Always Be My Baby, and jumped all in the camp with Music of the Night. I was a whole hearted believer from then on. It’s interesting, because with the exception of the 6 songs I listed above (top 3 performances and top 3 studios), I’m pretty much meh about the rest of the non-Cookie season.

And in response to someone’s question above, my favorite idols ever: Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Hicks, Chris Sligh, Brooke White and Cookie.

I loop Music of the Night (studio version) I have also played his back to back from other known people who did that song. Lord Weber had to have enjoyed him doing that song.

I would pay a lot of money to see David Cook star in Phantom of the Opera. Maybe one day, if I’m still alive.

I know David Cook said his favorite performance he gave was “The World I know” before that he had said Music of the Night. I sure would like to have his complete list in order of what he thinks was his best to worse.

My husband doesn’t understand my obsession with idol… but I totally love the sensation of getting chills, being blown away by a live performance for the first time. This year these included:
Better Shop Around – David A.
Imagine – David A.
Love is a Battlefield – Brooke
Papa Was a Rolling Stone – David H.
Hello – David C.
She’s a Woman – Chickizie
You Can’t Do That – Amanda
Daytripper – David C.
Billie Jean – David C.
It’s So Wrong But it’s So Right – Michael
Always Be My Baby – David C.
One Rock and Roll Too Many – Syesha
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – David C.
The World I Know – David C.
Sharp Dressed Man – David C. & ZZ Top

I actually think Cook may have won the competition the night he sang ‘Billie Jean’. In one minute 30 seconds or whatever it was the entire Idol landscape had shifted. The earth really did move.

My personal favorites were Cook’s big three (Hello, Billie Jean, ABMB), Jason’s big three (Daydream, Hallelujah, SOTR) and Brooke’s Let It Be.

Okay, I’m going to do the top fave performances of each of the top 12. Otherwise, it would be really biased towards my faves *coughjasoncough*. I’m not going to revisit them, either. If I did, they may change. This is off the top of my head.

David Hernandez- “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” – His vocals were molten hot, even if his performance style is a bit cheesy. Love this one.

Amanda- “I Hate Myself For Loving You” – perfect song for her and I understood her! Yay!

Chikeze- “She’s a Woman”- Yowza! I was transfixed. One of the most surprising and fabulous moments of the entire season. Hope he does it on tour.

Ramiele – “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” – Really pretty. She showed much promise.

Michael Johns- “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right”– Loved, loved, loved his take on this song. Johnsy was never this good before or after.

Kristy Lee Cook – “Anyway”- Probably my least fave of the top 12, but hey, she had some spunk.

Carly Smithson – “Here You Come Again”- This is so much better if you don’t watch her and just listen to it. She fails to connect with her songs, but I do love this one. She’s a little more restrained with the vocals until the end.

Brooke White – “I Said I Am” – Two performances on ND night stuck in my head and this was one of them (FIBJ was the other). I think this song showed off her unique vocals and her personality. It also touched me. Go Brooke.

Jason Castro- This is so hard. I’m going to go with “Hallelujah.” I loved most of Jason’s performances, and feel the need to give a special shout our to “I Will Be Your Everything” as a very underrated performance. Yes, he had some breathing issues, but I loved his acoustic take on an Andy Gibb song.

Syesha – “One Rock n Roll Too Many” – That was hot!

David Archuleta – “Shop Around” – he came out swinging and with such confidence. My favorite by him by a mile until “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me.”

David Cook – “Little Sparrow”- I just loved this. He picked one of my fave Dolly Songs and it was so unexpected. I really think he tapped into the emotion of the song, too. LOVED IT!

MJ or someone — Help, please! Once I click on the links for the performances, I don’t know how to access and play the songs. Guess I’m just being thick. I haven’t had problems playing any of the Red Lasso clips that MJ posts.

In no particular order:

1) Amanda – I Hate Myself For Loving You
2) Jason – Hallelujiah
3) Brooke – Love Is A Battlefield
4) Brooke – Let It Be
5) Ramiele – You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me
6) Archie – Shop Around
7) Carly – Here You Come Again
Chikezie – She’s A Woman
9) Michael – It’s All Wrong, But It’s Alright
10) Cookie – Hello
11) Cookie – Billie Jean
12) Amanda – You Can’t Do That
13) Kristy Lee – Anyway
14) Syesha – One Rock ‘n Roll Too Many
15) Cookie – First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Does anybody know what the sales are for Boney James-Syesha single?

Now I’m going to seem like a broken record, but if AI can revive the careers of Michael J & Carly (Brooke & KLC), who else do you think will show up next year auditioning? Now that it’s not a stigma to get dumped by your record company and go on AI for an audition.
Next year should be interesting.

David Cook – à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Little Sparrowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ - I just loved this. He picked one of my fave Dolly Songs and it was so unexpected. I really think he tapped into the emotion of the song, too. LOVED IT!

Darnit, so I really am the only one around who for some reason or another can’t tolerate “Little Sparrow”, then? Sigh.

Well, anyway, here’s my list in order from the beginning.

Ramiele Malubay, “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” – The only time little Rami really ever lived up to her pre-Top 24 hype, I believe, and her only vocal throughout the entire competition I actually liked. Like for MJ, this one was a showstopper for me.

David Cook, “All Right Now” – This was performance that led him to start inching under my radar. The pseudo-winking (as VFTW so calls it) made me swoon, and I can’t help but grin every time I hear the — sadly — one and only guitar solo David played in his (solo) Idol performances. This is the Cocky McSmugface side of David at his best.

David Archuleta, “Imagine” (yes, strictly the first performance) – Well, I was still an Archie fan coming into Top 20 week, and I absolutely LOVED this. This was one of the few times I overlooked what were maybe unnecessary runs from him because of his simple, quiet, heartfelt delivery. Freaking stunning.

Amanda Overmyer, “I Hate Myself For Loving You” – She was a one-trick pony, but damn, when Amanda was in her blues/rock vibe, she sounded great. I loved the grain in her voice, and I loved the grit in this performance. IMO, her best on the Idol stage.

Brooke White, “Love Is A Battlefield” – I had Carrie’s somewhat OTT cover of this song flash through my mind while Brooke was performing her stripped-down acoustic version. While Carrie definitely proved how strong her pipes were on the same song, Brooke proved that simplicity can go far.

Jason Castro, “Hallelujah” – Downright gorgeous. The cracked note can still get annoying, but hell, it was pretty amazing otherwise.

Carly Smithson, “Come Together” – Personally, I think this is the kind of stuff Carly should be doing — edgier, Heart-style pop/rock tracks. Again, I thought she sang and performed the crap out of this one. Her best for me.

David Cook, “Eleanor Rigby” – Was he pitchy? Yes. Was he smiling as he said the lines “All the lonely people, where do they all come from?” Yes. Did he scream? Yes. And did he manage to make me a full-time resident of Cooktardistan with this performance? Hell YES.

Jason Castro, “Fragile” – Admittedly nowhere near Jason’s best, but this was actually the performance that got me to start noticing him again (after I fell off for a couple of weeks…). The Spanish was also a nice touch.

Michael Johns, “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right” – Forget the ascot, he was oozing sex appeal during this performance. Not only that, the blues-soul vibe was spot-on perfect for his voice.

Jason Castro, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” – I liked Kat’s version back in S5, but DANG, did I lurve Jason’s. Really seemed like he was connecting, and he had not only me, but apparently the whole audience in awe.

David Cook, “Always Be My Baby” – Love. Pure love. The tears were a bonus.

David Cook, “Music of the Night” – Woo, this man can SING, and not just his “trademark” rock ballads, too. That was hauntingly beautiful. And don’t worry, Lera, I thought David hit this out of the park, too.

David Archuleta, “With You” – …this one needs no explanation, I think.

David Cook, “The World I Know” – This made me cry (part of that admittedly being because I still had a feeling he was dead meat once Archie got his butt on stage). Just…I don’t know what I could say about this that hasn’t already been said. I hold this as one of his best performances (if not THE best) while on his run on Idol. Purely amazing.

I like how Cookie populates 1/3 of my list. LOL.

I’m gonna go by a couple different factors (the performances that I downloaded, for one) and try to diversify mine a bit too, or it would be very DC and JC heavy. So, here are mine, in just a list form:

Ramiele Malubay – Top 12 Girls – You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me
David Hernandez – Top 10 Guys – Papa Was a Rolling Stone
David Cook – Top 8 Guys – Hello
Jason Castro – Top 8 Guys – Hallelujah
Brooke White – Top 8 Girls – Love is a Battlefield
Chikezie – Top 12 – She’s a Woman
Carly Smithson – Top 12 – Come Together
Brooke White – Top 12 – Let it Be
Michael Johns – Top 12 – Across the Universe
Michael Johns – Top 9 – It’s All Wrong But It’s All Right
Jason Castro – Top 8 – Over the Rainbow
David Cook – Top 7 – Always Be My Baby
David Cook – Top 6 – Music of the Night
Syesha Mercado – Top 5 – Thank the Lord for the Night Time
David Archuleta – Top 4 – Stand By Me

Hooray for “You’re the Voice”! We may be the only two in the universe who liked this, but I LOVED it. Ditto Brooke’s “Love Is a Battlefield.” Not often cited as among her best, but it just opened her up to me and made me sit up and take notice. She became my favorite Idol contender for Season 7 with that song.

Thanks for the shout out to Amanda. I really liked her rendition of that song as well. It is too bad she is not on the tour as I think she would liven up those concerts with her different vibe.

Star, I love your list! LOL. “Tainted Love” by Danny was so fabulous.

And this idea is made of 100% win:

6) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Always Be My Babyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  DCook à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  When the novelty wears off Cookieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s coronation song, they should release this to radio to bridge the gap between now and his first real single coming out.

ETA: A little story – on my trip this weekend, we passed around ipods to hook up and entertain ourselves with music on the 10 hour drive. So when they hooked my shuffle up, the first song that came on was the one. To a person, everyone in the car (none of whom watch AI) loved his voice and the studio version of this song. I just *may* have converted a few new fans.

Now I’m going to seem like a broken record, but if AI can revive the careers of Michael J & Carly (Brooke & KLC), who else do you think will show up next year auditioning?

Keep this thread on topic, please.

Well….I’ll jump in. I think I might have a few on my list that are different from other people’s. These are in order of my favorite to least favorite. I’m only going to do top 10, and remember, these are my FAVORITES, not the performances I necessarily thought were the best.

1. Jason Catro – SOTR – Hands down, my favorite performance of the season (and 2nd favorite overall, after Blake’s YGLABN). It was amazing how everyone was mesmerized by him. I don’t even think I blinked during that performance. An audio of that should be included in the dictionary next to the definition of the word “beautiful.”

2. David Cook – Always Be My Baby – I’d been impressed with DC all though the competition, but this was the first time that he really WOWed me. This is also the song that I like to repeat on my iPod over and over and over. He took a very “not him” song and made it him. Bravo, DC.

3. Brooke White – Let it Be – Brooke’s heartfelt take on this song was beautiful. Anyone in the future who needs lessons on connecting with a song needs to take a look at a video of this song.

4. Ramiele – You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me – I was VERY impressed by the “little girl-big voice” combo that I saw from Rami that first performance night. I think that performance helped to carry her as far as she went because it was SO strong.

5. Carly – Blackbird – I think I’m the only one so far who has this on their list. I’m not even really sure why I liked it. I just thought it was the right song for the right voice and I very much enjoyed this performance.

6. David Archuleta – With You – Remember that this is a list of FAVORITES, not BESTS. If it were bests, this sure would be at the bottom. But, I loved it because for once, little Archie made me smile. Laugh, even. I doubt I’ll ever forget that performance!

7. Jason Castro – Travellin’ Through – I think this was Jason’s most underrated performance, and maybe one of the most underrated overall. I could tell that he really connected with the lyrics and sang the song very, very well. This is the one of Jason’s that I listen to on my iPod over and over and over again.

8. Syesha – One Rock ‘n Roll too many – Syesha is great at working the stage, and this was her finest example.

9. David Cook – The World I Know – I love the song and I loved David’s connection with it. Simply exquisite.

10. Jason Catro – Hallelujah – This was Jason’s first brilliant performance, IMO. And the finale performance was just as good. Another example of “connection with the song.”

Okay, this is off the cuff, like PJ, my actual favs would be mostly Jason songs so I tried to spread the love a little. The list is in no particular order.

David H. – “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” – I thought he had a chance at being my favorite of the season with this song.
Jason - “Daydream” – love, love, love this song so when Jason said he was singing it, I was a little nervous – but he “worked it out, dawg!”
Cookie – “Billie Jean” – first song I downloaded by Cookie
Brooke – “Love is a Battlefield” This song really made me notice Brooke – and although I liked others that she did, this would be the only one I would include on a list of my favorites.
Chickizie - “She’s a Woman” – This song made me smile so much!
Jason – “Hallelujah” – just wow.
Michael Johns – “Across the Universe” this was the only song I liked my Michael – I just couldn’t connect with him otherwise.
Jason – “Over the Rainbow” – Jason is love.
Cookie – “Always Be My Baby” – great is all that need be said
Jason – “Fragile”
Jason – “Travlin’ Thru” I am biased toward this song and “Fragile” because of the itunes downloads. Performance night was good on these songs but the studio versions are amazing.
Brooke – “I Am I Said” Really the best performance of anyone that night. (I lied, two Brooke performances!)
Syesha - “One Rock and Roll To Many” – the only Syesha performance I enjoyed (sorry Syesha, at least you got one – that’s one more than Archie, Carly, Kristy, or Amanda)
Cookie – “Hello” – I almost forgot about this one – who knew you could enjoy a Lionel Richie song!
Jason – (I’m getting repetitive, I know) “I Just Want To Be Your Everything”
Cookie - “Little Sparrow” I loved this performance so much – I really wasn’t looking forward to Dolly night but Cookie and Jason made it worth it.
Cookie – “The World I Know” – sewing up the win!

Okay, I think that’s 15 – that was hard! I have to say, I couldn’t pick one song by several of the contestants to include on the list.
Amanda – I wanted to like her – she just couldn’t seem to push me over the edge.
Carly – meh
Kristy – yeah, um…no. Although I give her props for fighting hard and smart!
Ramiele – cute but forgetable.
Archie – nice voice, obviously, but none of his performances were good enough to make it to MY top 15, YMMV.

Okay, I’m going to hit submit. I tried “bolding” for the first time, hopefully it worked!

ETA: Okay, so it’s 17, shoot me!

Great choices, MJ.

My top 10:

Michael – Across the Universe, IAWBIAR (I’d add Light my Fire & a couple of others but am trying to include others)

David C – Hello, Always be my Baby

Carly – Come Together, Crazy on You

Jason – Happy Together, SOTR

Chikeze – She’s a Woman

Amanda – You can’t do That

No particular order….

Jason Castro Hallelujah
Syesha: Hello Again, If I Were Your Woman, One Rock and Roll..
David Cook: Hello, Billie Jean,
Chikeze: She’s a Woman
Carly Smithson: Superstar, Here You Come Again
Ramiele: You Don’t Have To Say
David Archuleta: Angels, Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, Smokey Mountain Memories, Imagine
Michael Johns It’s All Wrong

Damn, that was hard!

This is in no particular order…and I didn’t attach videos o well
Jason – Hallelujah
David A – Imagine
Brooke – Let It Be
David C – Hello
David A – Stand By Me
David A – Angels
Jason – If I Fell
Jason – I Don’t Wanna Cry
Brooke – I Am…I Said
David C – The World I Know
Michael – Across The Universe
David A & C (don’t know if this counts) – Hero
David A – Think Of Me
Jason – Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Brooke – Love Is A Battlefield

I absolutely loved all of those!!!
There were lots of others that i enjoyed, but if i only can choose 15 that would be it.
Looks like i’m favoring Jason, Brooke, and the Davids a lot…sorry =P I just didn’t like some of the others, and some that I did like had forgettable performances i guess.
?

=)
Hey MJ, listen 2 this…
href=”http://www.merrickchristensen.com/music.php”>
I think it might be worth posting on the blog. I don’t know, maybe.
But check it out

oops i tried linking but it didn’t work.
http://www.merrickchristensen.com/music.php
just copy & paste

Here’s my list in order of appearance (sort of):

1. Shop Around – David Archuleta - So much joy here! Also
some great, goofy banter between Archie and Ryan (this is where Ryan says you can’t adopt him, to which Archie replies “I’m 17!”
2. Daydream – Jason Castro – A breath of fresh air.
3. Hello – David Cook – This performance made me a believer. My favorite of his from the entire season.
4. Hallelujah – Jason Castro - It was at this point that I knew I was going to be watching to whole season. Breathtaking, even with the shaky ending.
5. Love is a Battlefield – Brooke - Brooke’s ability to connect with the lyrics and tug at your heart is what made me love her.
6. Let It Be – Brooke White – gorgeous.
7. She’s a Woman – Chikeze – My jaw was on the floor during this performance. Un-freaking-believable. If a contestant could win based on one single performance, and despite my undying love for Jason Castro, this might be my fave or the year. .
8. Billie Jean – David Cook - He kind of saved this night from being a total letdown. IMO
9. Travellin Thru – Jason Castro – Love this, love the studio recording. Actually Dolly Parton was one of my favorite nights, period.
10. Here You Come Again – Carly – She didn’t get enough credit for her arrangement of this song. It was subtle, emotional, mesmerizing.
11. It’s All Wrong, But It’s Alright – Michael Johns – the first time I saw him as an artist, instead of just a performer.
12. Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Jason Castro - On an otherwise fairly disappointing night, Castro lit up a dark stage with his newly-learned ukelele skills and a sweet voice.
13. I Don’t Wanna Cry – Jason Castro – never got credit for changing the arrangement on this. The emotion and the phrasing in this song deserved much more than a “luau” comment from Randy.
14. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me – David Archuleta – the kid ripped his heart out and left it on the stage. It was both gritty and pretty, all at once. Didn’t think he had it in him.
15. The World I Know – David Cook – I prefer my Cook emotional. A nice way to end the year, I thought.

Believe it or not, I had to edit this list so many times so it wasn’t as Castro-heavy! Hard to pick only 5. I also skipped 4 whole nights: ALW, Neil Diamond, and Rock and Roll night, and final 3, because other than the bus-throwing, and un-ravelling of my favorite contestant, there’s not much I remember from those nights.

the kid ripped his heart out and left it on the stage. It was both gritty and pretty, all at once. Didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think he had it in him.

Exactly!

My list is very biased… I can’t help it.

1. You’re So Vain, Brooke White – I’m surprised not more people have this on their lists. This is when Brooke stepped ahead and identified herself as Brooke White and not just one of the interchangeable blondes. She played that guitar with confidence and sang the song very well. My favorite of the season by far.

2. Let It Be, Brooke White – I think probably the most genuine, most emotional, most raw, most real I’ve ever seen in all the seasons of AI. This is the performance that solidified her fanbase. Even if it all went a little bit downhill from here, people will always look back and remember this performance and know why they were still voting for her – because this performance was worth it.

3. Hello, David Cook – my favorite performance from David Cook. This is also when he identified himself among the crowd. When he belts out “I love you”… wow. Amazing. How I wish we got a studio version of this song, one of the few performances this season to give me chills.

4. Love Is A Battlefield, Brooke White – Oh Brooke, Brooke, Brooke… this performance showed that you don’t need to belt out songs in order to make them work. She’s just sitting there, singing her heart out and it works! It totally connects, she makes the song her own and you believe it. Absolutely amazing.

5. Billie Jean, David Cook – A stellar performance. It wasn’t original in any way coz we all know it wasn’t his original arrangement but he pulled it off with flying colors. Crazy, crazy good. Hit all the right notes, his voice was perfect for the song… very haunting, chills all around. Masterful.

6. Hallelujah, Jason Castro – A beautiful performance from Jason. Like Brooke, he shows that you don’t need to belt to make songs work. Just sing from your heart and if you’ve got it, you’ll get that instant connection with your audience. And Jason has definitely got it.

7. Shop Around, David Archuleta – I’m not a huge David Archuleta fan although he grew on me towards the end… this is the one performance I really like from him… very youthful, exuberant, the kid was just having fun. And I enjoyed it a lot too.

8. Eleanor Rigby, David Cook – David Cook has done so many stellar performances this season that people tend to overlook this one. This was another amazing performance from David, his showmanship was incredible. He owned that stage.

9. One Rock N Roll Too Many, Syesha Mercado – I was never a fan of Syesha’s style coz I feel like I’ve seen it too many times before. But this is something new from her and an absolutely stellar, fun and enjoyable performance from her. She put on a great show! And what’s great about this performance, is it’s something only she could have done in this competition. I can’t imagine Brooke or Carly standing on top of that piano and dancing the way Syesha did. So that makes this performance unique and truly her own.

10. Over The Rainbow, Jason Castro – Following weeks of just okay performances, Castro blows us away with this wonderful rendition of the IZ version of Over The Rainbow. This performance is just about Jason, his voice, his emotions and his ukelele. And everything meshed well together to bring about a great performance.

Honorable mentions: I Am… I Said (Brooke), Always Be My Baby (D.Cook), Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me (Archie), It’s All Wrong But It’s All Right (MJohns)

In no particular order

Ramiele, “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” Love the song, she nailed it.
Michael, “Across the Universe”. As Paula would say, this is where we got to see all the colors in his voice. Honorable Mention – those sexy lovin lies.
Carly, “Blackbird” and “Here You Come Again”. When she sings like that, I’ll buy it.
Jason, “Daydream” – when we all said, who is this guy?
Archie, “Stand By Me” – when I looked at the list I knew this would be perfect for him.
Syesha “Thank the Lord for the Nighttime”. She can make a very current record if it sounds like this.
Cook, “Little Sparrow” and “Music of the Night”. Name any idol in any season who could have done BOTH of these spot-on.
Michael and Carly, “The Letter” This was my molten hot lava bomb of the season. Can’t wait for the tour.
Cook, “The World I Know.” If I can’t do it my way, winning isn’t important enough. Simon got it wrong, America got it right.

and #1 — “Always Be My Baby”. I cannot stop playing it. Don’t singles need B-sides?

I’m glad someone included Brooke’s, “You’re So Vain.” That was outstanding, IMO. Hated “The Letter, ” with MJ and Carly. I remember Bo Bice doing it during Hollywood week on season 4, and, that’s how it’s done. Not screeching, screaming, ear bleeding vocals.

I guess I’m the only one who really liked Archie singing, “Smokey Mountain Memories.” It brought tears to my eyes, and, I wasn’t ever a true fan. I didn’t like “Imagine,” as much as everyone else, for the simple fact that JHud sang it during season 3, and, gave me chills. So, there was no comparison, IMO.

No love for “Light My Fire” or “Happy Together”? Or “I’m Alive”? Oh well, I’m often in a party of one on such things.

But I’m glad somebody mentioned “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” — that was right on the money…. too bad for David Hernandez, and I’m glad he gets to tour. He’s talented, but got smacked with both the gay lap dancer thing, and some bad song choices early.

And reading everyone’s lists just bolsters my feeling that David C. ran away with this year. I can’t name a single song of his that didn’t get to me one way or another, either live or in a studio version (those studio takes were a lot better for “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Innocent” and “Baba O’Riley.”)

David Hernandez – In The Midnight Hour
Jason Castro – Halellujah
Syesha Mercado – I Thank The Lord For the Nighttime
Chikeze – She’s A Woman
Michael Johns – It’s All Wrong But It’s Alright
Syesha Mercado – One Rock n Roll Too Many
David Cook – Always Be My Baby
David Cook – All I Really Need Is You
David Cook – Hello
David Cook – Billie Jean
David Cook – The World I Know

1. Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re So Vain, Brooke White – Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m surprised not more people have this on their lists.

Ahh, “You’re So Vain” gets an honorable mention from me. I actually really, really liked YSV. I just happened to really, really like 15 other performances better. Same with “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” for David H.

@colette – David H. doesn’t tour. Only the Top 10 do, and David was ousted 12th. And I don’t think there was a studio version for “Baba O’Riley”, was there?

This was really hard, there were so many stunning performances this year. I got goosebumps with many of them. In no particular order, they were all fabulous. I am just going to list the best from each performer.

1.Archie-DLTSGDOM, Imagine (both times), Angels, Stand By Me, Love Me Tender, Smoky Mountains Memories, Shop Around, With You (it was just too funny), Apologize (duet with One Republic), (Long and Winding Road), And So It Goes, and When You Believe, (Ok obviously I love Archie, lordy that’s a lot)

2.Cookie-Billie Jean, Always Be My Baby, Hello, Little Sparrow (my favorite from him), Innocent (studio recording, amazing), The Music of the Night, Eleanor Rigby,Baba O’Riley, First Time I Ever Saw Your Face, and All I Really Need is You
(OMG, I am a Cookie fan too, lol) This group was amazing this year.

3. Jason Castro- Travelin Thru (LOVE this song), SOTR, Hallelujah, Daydream, Forever in Blue Jeans, September Morn, and I Don’t Wanna Cry
(He did really well too, I like his vibe.)

4. Brooke-Jolene (my favorite from her), Let it Be, You Got a Friend, I Am I Said (love love this one too) That is all I can think of for her.

5. Michael Johns-IAWBIAR, Dream On, Don’t You Forget About Me, Across The Universe (I just love that Beatle’s song in general.)

6. Ramiele-You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me (poor girl peak and that was it)
I was rooting for her to do better.

7. Chikeze-She’s a Woman

8. Syesha- One Rock and Roll too Many, Hello Again, A Change is Going to Come, Thank The Lord for the Night Time (How did she get to number 3??)

9. Carly-Here You Come Again (her best!), Total Eclipse of the Heart, Come Together, The Show Must Go On, Blackbird, and Jesus Christ Superstar
(She did get a bum rap this season.)

10. KLC-Anyways uhhh that’s it? lol…

11. Amanda-You Can’t Do That, uh that is it, she was a little scary, lol.
I wonder how she would do if she went further?

12. Hernandez-Papa was a Rolling Stone

13. Josiah Leming- Grace Kelly, To Run (in auditions), the only one who will be successful just for being the crybaby with talent from the audition show this season….

14. Alexandrà ©a Lushington-Spinning Wheel, Baby Please Don’t Go,
I like this girl and wish she would of make it to the top 12. Oh well we got KLC instead and Syesha…

Wow, I am having Season 7 flashbacks, my goodness, that was fun though. Thanks MJ for this great blog, I love your recaps this season. Great job!
I can see why the top two were the David’s they had the most memorable performances of the whole season…:)

I actually think that Jason and David A. ran neck and neck as far as memorable performances.

MJ, why not do a list of worst performances of the season? That might be fun too.

WOW MJ, you really hate Carly, huh?! Even people who don’t like her would admit to loving one of her songs on AI; oh well. I like all the songs on your list except for Ramiele’s and Chikezie’s.

I don’t like Carly, and, do not like even one song she did, so, MJ isn’t the only one.

I’m not going to post my list, because it’s exactly the same as Cheese’s and would seem redundant.

I downloaded only one of Archie’s performances – and it was Shop Around. He’s fabulous on that song, and I hope he remembers that moment when he’s working on his cd. The inspirational ballads? Yeah – that’s where he lost me.

The only thing I would add to all of these lists (and I know I’m a broken record) – I still maintain that the way Jason Folkified that cheesy disco Andy Gibb tune was complete magic.

Other than that – you guys have said it all

We don’t have to like everyone’s list or this would be sorta pointless and boring right?

- I still maintain that the way Jason Folkified that cheesy disco Andy Gibb tune was complete magic.

Sniff. You didn’t read my list. LOL. :razz_wp:

I had wanted to go back and add the fact that I loved FIBJ by Jason too because in that I also realized how much I loved his lower register and really, really saw how his voice will be so easily recognized. His praise or lack of it on that one got all lost and jumbled in the Paula goof. I also wanted to add that with David A after Imagine, which I really liked I just got so sick of ballads each week and tended to not pay attention to him until the finale and he “sang his face off” on Dont Let The Sun Go Down On Me, I FELT his passion on that one and thats what catches me, always,the way a performance can make me “feel”

“Sniff. You didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t read my list. LOL. :razz_wp:”

Or mine! LOL

Skylight1219, I’m not illiterate; I read your previous post before I left my reply. It’s all good.

And, just who accused anyone of being illiterate? That was uncalled for.

WOW MJ, you really hate Carly, huh?! Even people who donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like her would admit to loving one of her songs on AI; oh well. I like all the songs on your list except for Ramieleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and Chikezieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s.

I don’t like her and I would not admit to loving any of her songs. I don’t like the way she sings, end of story.

I’m only going to do five. There are a ton others, but these are the moments that stuck out in my mind. And yes, I’m biased. Sorry.

1. Brooke White – Let It Be – One of those moments on Idol I’ll never forget. Where artistry is on full display and a contestant just yanks my heartstrings out. Brooke didn’t belt it, she didn’t melisma the hell out of it, she didn’t vocal gymnastic it to death, she didn’t destroy the melody. She simply sang it, and felt it, and made me cry in the process. I’ve watched all seven seasons of Idol, and this is my favorite performance of all time.

2. David Cook – Music of the Night- I know some of his other performances get more acclaim, but to me, this was the best performance of the season from Cook. Hell, the best performance of the season from anyone, except the one mentioned above. I was stunned by this. I didn’t know he had it in him. It almost made me cry. If ever there was a moment for idiot Randy to give a standing ovation, THIS was it. Brilliant.

3. Chikezie – She’s A Woman – One of the most brilliant performances I’ve ever seen on Idol. He didn’t impress me at any other time during his stint on the show, but this ranks up there with one of the all time best. EVER. Innovative, fun, and it came out of nowhere.

4. Brooke White – Love is a Battlefield – This performance was when I realized that I would definitely have to start voting for a contestant, and in turn, become invested in this season. And I didn’t want to be invested. Darn you Brooke White. Just the emotion in her voice during this song. Ugh. It just gets me. Darn you Brooke White.

5. Michael Johns – It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right – He looked like a rock star up there. Sexy, confident, sexy. Finally living up to the hype that surrounded him during Hollywood week. Great, great performance.

I am pretty much in agreement with MJ’s list but here are a few that I would want to include:

Carly – “Here You Come Again”. I just loved the slowed down arrangement and the tone of her lower register in that number. Yeah she gets shrill and shouty in parts, but it’s still a stunner for me.

Carly – “I Drove All Night”. I love this song so maybe I am biased but she just kills it. So much power and intensity.

Cookie “Hello”. This was such an eye opening performance for me. It got me to look beyond the hideous hair and the vests and the big scarf dangling from the back pocket and recognize that here was someone who was not your average Idol.

Archie – “And So It Goes”. His voice is so meltingly beautiful in the a cappella portion. I think I jokingly remarked in chat that night that I could see him singing Danny Boy for a PBS pledge drive and you know, I probably end up in a puddle of goo and pledging way more than I intended.

Carly and Michael “The Letter”. This was my favorite number of the finale. Their voices sound so good together. I doubt their egos would let them consider recording as a duo but I think they would sell more together than apart.

Amanda – “Carry On My Wayward Son”. This has to rank as one of the all time Idol WTF performances. From the Cruella DeVille hair and the bizarre two toned pants that somehow matched the hair to the mega bad vocals—this was a glorious, glorious trainwreck.

Great list, mj!

Thinking back on this season, I really enjoyed it almost entirely.

IMO, the best (not necessarily my favorites) performances of this season were (in no particular order):

David Cook- “Music of the Night.” I think that this song was gorgeous vocally, it was a surprising performance and it was an extremely smart, strategic move on his part. I love the studio version and listen to it regularly. Oh, and he shut up everyone who said he was just a rock performer who couldn’t really sing.

Jason Castro- “Over the Rainbow.” I had a hard time picking, because I honestly love every single one of Jason’s performances. However, this one I think connected with the audience and he showcased his vocals and talent (who learns a whole new instrument in one week so they can play it on national television?!). And as he noted, his vocals were really on that night.

Brooke White- “Let It Be.” Just gorgeous. She put her whole heart into it, and it was raw and real. To perform like that and have it come across on TV is an amazing feat.

Chikezie- “She’s A Woman.” I did NOT know he had that in him, and I loved every second of it. He somehow managed to sing a rock/country style song and did amazing. Not bad for an R&B type singer.

Michael Johns- “It’s All Wrong But It’s Alright.” I think it was really smart for him to sing a really simple, stripped down song. He sang it beautifully, showed emotion, and really connected with the (female, at least) audience.

Carly Smithson- “Here You Come Again.” She took a break from her typical yelling-my-head-off style of singing, and it was beautiful. I absolutely loved it.

David Cook- “Always Be My Baby.” I was so surprised that he took this kind of silly, poppy, girly, crush song and turned it into such a beautiful love song. His interpretation of this song is just beautiful, and I could not believe what new depth he brought to the lyrics with his arrangement.

And honorable mentions:

Jason Castro- “If I Fell”, “Daydream”, “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” and “Hallelujah.” (what can I say? I love Jason)

Syesha Mercado- “One Rock ‘n’ Roll Too Many.” It would have been on my “best” list if she hadn’t said “meh-NAY” instead of many…. it drove me crazy.

David Archuleta- “Shop Around.”

David Cook- “Billie Jean” and “Eleanor Rigby.”

Carly Smithson- “Come Together.”

Brooke White- “Love Is A Battlefield.”

Ooooo, this was hard to do! Here are my top 5:

Jason- “Hallelujah.” The Top 16 performance. My favorite of the season- mesmerizing, raw and personal. Beautiful.

Cook- “Billie Jean.” Awesome, what a show stopper!

Cook- “Hello.” Hello David Cook, this is when I realized this guy had something special.

Brooke- “Let It Be.” Total connection between song, singer and piano. Lovely.

MJ- “IAWBIAR.” His one truly great performance. Sexiest performance ever on Idol.

The rest are in no particular order:

Archie- “Imagine”
Chikezie- “She’s a Woman”
Ramielle-”You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me”
Carly- “Here You Come Again”
Archie-”Angels”
Jason- “Over the Rainbow”
Brooke-”Love is a Battlefield”
Cook- “Eleanor Rigby”
Syesha -”One Rock and Roll Too Many”
Jason- “Daydream”

Chikezie – “She’s A Woman”

Amanda Overmyer – “You Can’t Do That”, “Baby Please Don’t Go”, “I Hate Myself for Lovin’ You”,

David Hernandez – “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”

David Cook – “Little Sparrow”

David Archuleta – “Shop Around”, “Smokey Mountain Memories”, “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”

Jason Castro – “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (for the pure sweetness of it)

Michael Johns – “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right”

Syesha Mercado – ” A Change is Gonna Come”

I love this thread. Thank You! In no particular order here are my 15 plus thoughts.

Brooke White à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Let it Beà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ I thought she poured that well known overemotional side of her into this song and delivered an a amazing performance. I thought that everything worked for her on this and she was able to last as long as she did because of this one.

Brooke White à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Love is a Battlefieldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ I loved this rearrangement of the song and the fact that she took something that I never thought would work on her and made it work perfectly for herself.

Carly Smithson à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crazy on Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ To be able to take on a Heart song and be able to toss off those high notes like they were nothing made me think that a rocker girl had the chance to actually win this year.

Carly Smithson à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Here You Come Againà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ I thought this was the performance of the season. She took a well known up-tempo song slowed it down and built to that gorgeous final held out belt note. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think she got the credit she deserved for this one.

Carly Smithson à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Superstarà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ This finally felt like Carly stopped trying to please and just sang the heck out of this song. I have heard countless versions of this song and I think hers was one of the strongest out there. I thought that she looked was a Superstar that night and even better on results show.

Chikezie à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I Belive To My Soulà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ I hadnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care for Chikezie before this and thought that he picked a perfect song and delivered it as a standout performance.

David Archuleta à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Imagineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ I remember before he became overly pimped (which was a second after he finished this song.) thinking that stupid thing that Randy says all the time about being only 17. I thought his breathy tone sounded beautiful on this and even though I wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a fan I knew this guaranteed him that he was going to go far on the show.

David Archuleta à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Stand By Meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ I still remember thinking à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Oh Godà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s doing this song and then afterwards being blown away by everything that he did, from the sound of his voice and just the right emotion I thought this was one of his best and was so happy I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t hear him do his shriek note.

David Cook à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Always Be My Babyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m surprised I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have more David Cook on my list and there are a few that just made it but I thought that this was the song and performance that really made me think of him as an original artist. He took this song that you would have thought wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t fit him and made it fit him perfectly.

David Hernandez à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Papa Was a Rolling Stoneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ I thought he did a great job building this number in an exciting way with both his voice and the arrangement and I thought he was never better then this.

Jason Castro à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Over the Rainbowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ As much as I hate Jason I thought he was incredibly smart choosing this arrangement of the song and really shined on this and I thought he sounded his best on this.
.
Jason Castro à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Travelin Thruà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ I have always loved this song and listened to the original countless times and I thought that he did this song justice with a great performance.

Kristy Lee Cook à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Faithfullyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ I know Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m going to be laughed at for this one but I really liked the country vibe that she gave to this song. I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think that it distracted from it like à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Eight Days a Weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and still sounded like it could be a single.

Michael Johns à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s All Wrong but ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Alrightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ I never saw the appeal of Michael Johns until this performance where it felt like he knew what he was doing and looked confident and in control.

Syesha Mercado à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“One Rock n Roll Too Manyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ As a huge fan of Andrew Lloyd Webberà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s music I was surprised Syesha picked the one song that I wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t familiar with I thought she turned in a sexy stylish performance.

There were a few others I wanted to include in here but tried to spread the wealth.

1. Billie Jean — David Cook — I considered others for the top spot, but this was the best musical moment of the entire year, especially that high note.

2. Always Be My Baby — David Cook — The most creative song of the year. This one got me onto itunes looking to buy.

3. Music of the Night — David Cook — Beautiful curveball.

4. Imagine — David Archuleta (semifinals) — I loved it when I saw it. I got tired of the message songs and the additions of runs to songs that I preferred to be simple, but this was lovely.

5. Hello — David Cook — Made you sit up and take notice.

6. Let It Be — Brooke White — Beautiful and pure. I wish that she hadn’t had the crisis of confidence later in the season, because so many of her early performances were great.

7. The World I Know — David Cook — The vocals on this are so lovely. I never really liked this song before, but I love this version. Plus, it forced Simon to eat crow. It deserves bonus points just for that.

8. Over the Rainbow — Jason Castro — The only real highlight of Idol Gives Back, to me. I thought this was better sung than Hallelujah, so I put it higher.

9. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face — David Cook — Very hard song sung very well.

10. She’s a Woman – Chikezie — What a fantastic, entertaining, energetic performance. Michael and Carly have been singled out as ones who went too soon, but I had rather hoped that Chikezie would stay longer.

11. It’s All Wrong But It’s All Right — Michael Johns — Very nice, bluesy take on the song.

12. Little Sparrow — David Cook — One of the things that I liked about him was that he gave us a variety of songs. This was a key part of that.

13. Here You Come Again — Carly Smithson — I liked that she took it down a notch for this one.

14. Eleanor Rigby — David Cook — Few people have looked like they were enjoying performing before the Idol audience as much as he did during this song.

15 (tie). Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me — David Archuleta & I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For — David Cook. On the night, I honestly felt like it was a tie, and after a repeat viewing, still basically feel the same. Archie was a vocal powerhouse on this song and the runs actually made sense here, while Cookie’s was (I thought) better performed and his lower-key vocals made sense for this song. If I had to break the tie, I’d give it to Cookie because of degree of difficulty (iconic U2 song vs. song that has been successfully covered before), but they were both great.

If I went down to 25, I’d get a couple of Syesha’s, one of Ramiele’s, and one of David H’s, but nothing from Amanda or KLC.

WOW MJ, you really hate Carly, huh?! Even people who donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like her would admit to loving one of her songs on AI;

Actually, even if there was a Top 25 performances, I can’t think of any song of Carly’s I would put on the list.

When I heard David Hernandez sing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Papa Was a Rolling Stone,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I thought he would be in the TOP 10 Tour. However, I didn’t think Amanda or Kristy would be there. I sincerely believe AI will use David in some kind of capacity.

My mind is brainwashed since I have a CD with many of Jason’s songs and I have been playing it 4-5 times a day. So, my list will include several of Jason’s memorable songs. I do like “Forever in Blue Jeans” and the studio version of MTM is really good.

My list in alphabetical order (* = absolutely rocked it for me):

Amanda = none

Brooke White = Let it Be, Love is a Battlefield*

Carly = Here You Come Again *

Chickezee = She’s a Woman *

David A = Stand By Me

David C = Hello, Billie Jean*

Jason = All* except MeeShell & WSTS

KLC = None

MJ = IAWBITAR*,

Ramiele = None

I also went the route of picking a favourite performance for each of the top 12, otherwise, my list would be top-heavy with the Davids.

1. David Cook – Hello … Cookie had me at “Hello”. Not necessarily my absolute favourite Cook performance but this was the one that made me sit up and take notice. Before this week, I just thought he had a nice voice for an emo rocker type.

2. David Archuleta – Smoky Mountain Memories … One of the few performances this season that actually gave me chills.

3. Syesha Mercado – Tobacco Road … An early performance but one of her best; she comes across more naturally and less calculated than in later performances.

4. Jason Castro – Daydream … Quintessential JC – a pitch perfect performance.

5. Brooke White – Love Is A Battlefield … Acoustic Pat Benatar – who would’ve thunk?

6. Carly Smithson – Crazy On You … Carly’s a perfect fit for the Heart songbook.

7. Kristy Lee Cook – Faithfully … One of the few KLC performances that I really liked.

8, Michael Johns – It’s All Wrong But It’s Alright … One of his few performances that didn’t come across like a copy (albeit high quality copies) of the original.

9. Ramiele Malubay – I Should Have Known Better … Fun, uptempo and sassy.

10. Chikezie – She’s A Woman … Probably the only performance of his that I liked but what a performance!

11. Amanda Overmyer – I Hate Myself For Loving You … She took control and owned this performance.

12. David Hernandez – Papa Was A Rolling Stone … He wasn’t long in the competition but this performance still stands out as one of the best of the entire season.

…and 3 more:

13. David Archuleta – Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me … He saved one of his best performances for top 2 week, reminding everyone why he deserved to be there.

14. David Cook – Always Be My Baby … Rockin’ out on Mariah Carey – ‘nuf said!

15. Carly Smithson – Come Together … Her vocals are spot on; it was a toss-up between this and Crazy On You for my favourite Carly performance.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Sniff. You didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t read my list. LOL. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Or mine! LOL

Sorry ladies! Obviously my reading comprehension skills aren’t what they used to be. The situation has been rectified, and I have studied your lists thoroughly. And of course, I think you’re both brilliant.

I read all of pj’s, jersey’s, and SpenserJ’s lists, and I’m going to add my love for Jason’s take on I Just Wanna Be Your Everything.

My other favorite performances from the Top 10, also just off the top of my head:

Chickezie: I Believe To My Soul, She’s A Woman, If Only For One Night (I was a Chickezie fan. Heh.)

Ramiele: You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me

Michael: Go Your Own Way, Across The Universe, A Day In The Life (I didn’t know the lyrics, anyway, so I didn’t care about the flub), It’s All Wrong But It’s All Right, Dream On

KLC: Anyway

Carly: Come Together, Blackbird, Here You Come Again

Brooke: You’re So Vain, Love Is A Battlefield, You Must Love Me (after the lyric flub), I Am I Said

Jason: Daydream, Hallelujah, Travelin’ Thru, SOTR, I Don’t Wanna Cry, September Morn (Yep, I may be the only who liked it. Heh. :tongue1_tb:)

Syesha: Me And Mr(s). Jones, Vanishing (I’m not sure I liked liked it, but I remember it, so I must have. lol), One Rock and Roll Too Many

Archie: Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, Imagine (the finale one; I have always liked Archie’s voice but I didn’t really pay much attention to him in the beginning because it seemed like a given then that he was going to win)

Cookie: Happy Together, Hello, Little Sparrow, Billie Jean, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, Dream Big (yep, yep, I liked it!), The World I Know

My list is so long already, anyway, so I’ll just let it all out and add some more:

- one of Asia’h's songs (I can’t remember the title right now)
- Alexandrea’s Spinning Wheel and If You Leave Me Now
- Josiah’s Grace Kelly

My favorite studio recordings:

- almost all of Jason’s (Jason is obviously my crack, heh), especially Travelin’ Thru
- Michael’s Across The Universe, A Day In The Life, IAWBIAR, Dream On
- Carly’s Here You Come Again (love, love, love this), Come Together
- Brooke’s Let It Be, I Am I Said
- Chickezie’s If Only For One Night
- Archie’s The Long And Winding Road
- Cookie’s ABMB, Little Sparrow, Innocent (I want a studio version of Dream Big!!! lol)

*whew*

Hisaki:

Thanks for the corrections. I think the feeble vessel that is my brain is now officially overflooded with Idol info.

hope David Hernandez has some kind of career that doesn’t involved delivering drinks in his birthday suit.

Still “No Light My Fire” but me…sigh……showing my age (half-dead broads for Cookie!)

Also: I have nothing against any of these kids personally, and my dislike of Carly ain’t based on anything but my eardrums. She has a great vocal instrument, and doesn’t seem to know how to use it without just turning it on and blasting. I like shading, nuance, variety in a singer, and didn’t hear enough of it from her.

David Cook..The music of the night
David Cook””Billie Jean
Jason…Forever in Blue Jeans
Jason…Hallj
Jason…Daydream
Jason…Somewhere over the Rainbow
Brooke..You must love me
Jason..Memory
Arche..Don’t Let the SUn
Arche..Smokey Mtn Memories
Arche..Long and Winding Road
Michael…It’s all Wrong but it’s All Right
Syesha…One Rock and Roll Too many
Carly…Here you Come again
Ramiele..Do I Ever Cross your mind

My list in no particular order:
Michael Johns – Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s All Wrong But Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Alright
Brooke White – Let it be
Jason Castro – Daydream
Jason Castro – Travelin’ Through
David A. – Imagine
David A. – Stand by me
Carly Smithson – Come Together
Carly Smithson – Crazy on you
Carly Smithson – Here you come again
David Cook – Billie Jean
David Cook – Hello
David Cook – All I Really Need Is You
David Cook – First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
David Cook – The World I Know
David Cook – Always Be My Baby

My favorite studio recordings:
David Cook – Always Be My Baby
David Cook – Innocent
Carly Smithson – Here you come again
Michael Johns – Across the universe
Michael Johns – A day in the life