Season 3 – Top 12 Journeys – American Idol Rewind – VIDEO

By On 10/26/2008 · 8 Comments · In Uncategorized

By popular demand…

Peeps were talking about this week’s episode of American Idol Rewind–called Top 12 Idol Journeys–in this post. Season 3 Top 12 contestants are followed in pairs, through Hollywood, the semi-finals and the wild card rounds. The never-before-seen footage is fun to watch, and I got a few requests to post video.

So, check it out, after the jump. I’ve posted a little of my own commentary with each segment and look forward to hearing what you think.

American Idol Season 3 — So underrated!

Videos after the JUMP…

George Huff and Matt Rogers – There’s no mention at all that George was cut in the rooms and brought back due to the disqualification of contestant Donnie Williams for drunk driving. George was truly the comeback kid. But it’s not mentioned… George was Simon’s wildcard pick!

Fantasia and LaToya London – Intellectually, I knew that Latoya had a great voice, but there was something about her that left me cold. After my favorites, Jon Peter Lewis and Jennifer Hudson left, I was all about Fantasia, and I still think she’s fab. She had a tough time in the group number remembering her words, but there was no denying her incredible stage presence

Jon Peter Lewis and John Stevens – John is shown having a real tough time in Hollywood and Jon Peter Lewis sails right through. John was only 16 at the time, so it’s no wonder. JPL’s never-before-seen original song “Ghetto Fabulous” is not to be missed…

Jennifer Hudson and Camile Velasco – The judges kept comparing her to a young Lauren Hill. And indeed, in the beginning she did have promise. But, unfortunately she choked once she hit the big stage. Jennifer’s family can be seen in some of these clips–very sad. Seeing Jennifer again in that hideous pink dress puts a smile on my face. Jennifer was out there, and I loved her for it.

Amy Adams and Leah Labelle – Leah was Paula’s pick, and she just flat-out sucked most of the time. Leah’s mom was a huge pop star–back in Bulgaria. I kid you not. She ended up at Berklee with John Stevens. Amy Adams was personality plus, but she could sing too.

Diana DeGarmo and Jasmine Trias – After Jasmine finishes her solo, Simon tells her that moms and dads will love her, and that she should leave the flower in. That’s new information. And indeed, Jasmine left the flower in for almost her entire run. Diana was only 16, but she was a scrappy little thing. In hindsite, it’s not surprising she got as far as she did. Her mom, by all accounts was a force to be reckoned with…

 
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  • Suzanne

    Thanks for posting these, MJ.

    Wow–the competition has changed so much. They’re talented people for sure but it seems like auditions for community theater. I’m being a little harsh, but the difference in the quality of the singers between Season 3 and Season 7 seems like quite a lot. I’m glad that the show is starting to figure out that their competitors would never make it in the actual music biz unless the show started cultivating singers who also write/play instruments/make their own music.

  • Teenytiny7

    Oh, the memories!

    From these, you can tell that Jasmine did a bit of growing up by the time she reached the semis. She looked older compared to here. Diana was always adorable but it’s funny to see the person that was always so giggly at 16 speak so maturely when she wanted to. Simon seemed to go back and forth on her a lot.

    I loved seeing Jennifer. It’s true that she had problems with vocal control but man does she have a voice or what.

    Funny that so many of the top 12 bombed their group performances.

  • hapi

    I agree about Latoya. She was always perfect in her singing, appearance and everything, but was, well, sorta boring and didn’t hold my interest for some reason. But I know others loved her a lot. Fantasia was my absolute fav that season…and Something to Talk About was one of my fav performances by her. Loved JPL’s original song! Jennifer was also my fav and gone too soon. Thanks, this was fun to see.

  • JOJOSIE

    My favorites were JPL and Fantasia, but I felt from early on the Fantasia was going to win. She just owned the stage, Altho I liked her performances on Idol season 3, I did not like her last appearance on Idol, I’m with Simon, his face and mine had about the same expression.( I hate to agree with him as he’s not a favorite of mine). I rely on your blog for updates on Idol Rewind. Thanks!

  • sue

    I love Season 3. John Stevens, JPL, Diana and J-Hud were my favs. I actually got to meet them on the AI3 tour. I really thought that JPL would of made it to the top 3 but he didn’t. I love John Stevens cd “RED”. It’s actually really good and one of my favs by an idol alumni. It funny how all of them went their separate ways and of course J-Hud being the most successful out of that group.

  • PokeSmot

    Newbie here; I have never watched a season of American Idol before. I went back and watched season 7 after catching the season finale and falling hopelessly in lust with DC after watching (in awe) his ZZ Top performance. So, since MJ’s being super nice and posting Idol Rewind, I’m watching and catching up.

    I think I’ve replaced DC with JP Lewis as my new object of lust (p.s. I lust after their voices, not their bodies/persons). He’s so Ghetto Fabulous (this was my favorite putdown last year; really). I am also really impressed by Diana, J-Hudson and LaToya. I find Fantasia’s voice to be screachy and too high pitched. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it through the entire season if she makes it through to the finale (her voice will eventually bust one, if not both, of my eardrums).

    Wouldn’t it have been great to have that songwriting challenge in Season 7? Nah, DC would have stood out even more as being over-qualified and probably would have been labled TCO from the get-go and eventually received all the fall-out from that label.

    Thanks for posting these videos MJ; I can’t find Idol Rewind on my programing guide, so I appreciate this opportunity to fill my brain with more miscellaneous information.

    Peace Out & Poke Smot! :smoke_tb:

  • Grammie Kari

    Welcome PokeSmot!

    Seeing rewind, I can now appreciate the talents of JPL. He always was a cutie though. It was this season that made TPTB change the rules about the top singers. The six guys – six girls rule was established.

    Diana was my favorite along with George Huff. Yes, Fantasia did have stage presence; however, there were very few performances I truly enjoyed. I wish more time was given to this season. Thank you, MJ.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/iamthepurplewalrus purplesmile

    Thank you for these, mj! I think if I had watched this season in full, I probably would have rooted for George the most. He seems just like the nicest guy with a very nice voice. As it is, from the little I saw of the show at the time, the ones I liked best were Camile, JPL, George, and, yep, John Stevens, heh. I remember really being blown away by JHud’s Circle of Life performance when I saw it, but I always thought then she came off a little too cocky. Fantasia wasn’t my fave but I liked her enough and thought she indeed looked and sounded like a winner.