Posts Tagged ‘Ace Young’
Best ‘American Idol’ contestants
Posted by: centralbuzz on: March 26, 2009
- In: American Idol | Carrie Underwood | David Cook | Kelly Clarkson | Lists | Music | TV
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David Cook (Season 7): Cook was never in the bottom three, he sang a Dolly Parton song AND a Mariah Carey song and his haircut (post-makeover) was nothing but sexy, loving magic
Kelly Clarkson (Season 1): “Since you’ve been gone!/I can breathe for the first time!/I’m so movin on!/Yeah yeah!/Thanks to you (thanks to you)/Now I get/I get what I want.” Admit it, you were so singing along in your head. Because it’s the best pop breakup song EVER!
Ace Young (Season 5): What can I say, I’m a sucker for a pretty face. And Young gets additional “best” points because his Wikipedia page actually says, “On October 24, 2007 he confirmed he got a buzz hair cut.” Whoa, big news.
Amanda Overmyer (Season 7): Amanda wasn’t going to kowtow to your Jonas Brothers/Jordin Sparks/Demi Lovato-loving teeny bopper sensibilities. She was going to drink her whiskey and sing Joan Jett and you were either going to love it or hate it. I loved it!
Chris Daughtry (Season 5): Dude didn’t even make the top three on “Idol,” and yet was the top selling artist of 2007. That’s phenomenal. His head is bald and shiny, too.
Fantasia Barrino (Season 3): There is a Lifetime movie about Barrino’s life, in which she starred. I can’t think of many career accomplishments cooler than that.
Blake Lewis (Season 6): Yeah I downloaded Lewis’ version of Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” and listen to it every time I go for a run. Wanna fight about it?
Jennifer Hudson (Season 3): Hudson came in seventh on “Idol” then went on to win a frigging Oscar…for singing in a movie! If I were her, there wouldn’t be enough ways to say “suck it” to the American public for voting me off so early in the competition.
Elliot Yamin (Season 5): I loved him even before the mouth makeover. I remember when he would sing a little ditty on “Idol,” and the cameras would cut to his adorable mom (RIP) in the audience, crying her little eyes out. So cute.
Carrie Underwood (Season 4): She’s adorable, has a great voice, and seems very wholesome. If I had a kid, I wouldn’t mind if she/he wanted to grow up to be just like Underwood.
Bo Bice (Season 4): Just his name, BO BICE!, made me put him on the “best” side of this list. BO BICE!
Matt Rogers (Season 3): Unlike the theater geeks and theater geeks disguised as wannabe “rock stars” (I’m looking at you, Constantine), Rogers was just a dude that looked like he rolled into auditions straight from playing a pick up game and pounding beers with his frat bros. I appreciate that.
- In: American Idol | Carrie Underwood | David Cook | Music | TV
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BEST
David Cook, ”Billie Jean”
Season 7
What made this choice so smart wasn’t the fact that David picked a pop tune like ”Billie Jean” for ”Songs from the Year You Were Born” Week. Rather, it was David’s savvy decision to eschew the King of Pop’s iconic version for Chris Cornell’s haunting, rock-friendly arrangement that really paid off. It won him legions of fans — and even the respect of Simon Cowell.
Katharine McPhee, ”Black Horse and the Cherry Tree”
Season 5
Talk about unexpected. Before serving up KT Tunstall’s pop confection, Katharine had given us Aretha (twice!), Whitney Houston, and Ella Fitzgerald. Not exactly contemporary. More than anything, this choice (and her saucy, on-her-knees performance) showed that the eventual runner-up had real pop-star potential.
Constantine Maroulis, ”Bohemian Rhapsody”
Season 4
Constantine always had a flair for the dramatic. So what better song to show America what he could do than the theatrical masterpiece by Queen? It was a risky choice, but Constantine pulled it off with bold vocals and some enthusiastic head banging. In fact, the performance was so good, we nearly forgave him for those cheesy, smoldering looks he kept throwing to the camera.
Fantasia, ”Summertime”
Season 3
Movie soundtrack week inspired more than a few contestants to go with cheesy, overwrought tunes like Titanic‘s ”My Heart Will Go On” (Diana DeGarmo) or gimmicky numbers like ”Jailhouse Rock” (Jon Peter Lewis). Fantasia, however, aimed for understated with this soulful Porgy and Bess ballad that showed off her gorgeous pipes — and has since gone down as one of the best performances in Idol history.
Ace Young, ”Father Figure”
Season 5
As if the Idol heartthrob hadn’t already won over enough swooning fans with his good looks stellar audition, Ace kicked off the semifinals with a George Michael tune that both complimented his limited vocal range and appealed to fans’ libidos. (Sample lyric: ”Just for one moment, to be warm and naked at my side.”) And you thought Idol was a family program.
Elliott Yamin, ”Moody’s Mood For Love”
Season 5
The song — featuring lyrics that were added to jazz saxophonist James Moody’s solo on the track ”I’m in the Mood for Love” — showcased the smooth velvet quality of Elliott’s vocals, as well as his Stevie Wonder-like bounce. Who says you can’t win fans with obscure, offbeat ditties?
Melinda Doolittle, ”Have a Nice Day”
Season 6
Rock is all about confidence, and timid Melinda wisely chose this Bon Jovi anthem that had confidence built right into the lyrics. JBJ told her to ”take it to church,” and after this performance, no one questioned that Melinda had the soul, life experience, and Tina Turner ‘tude to testify.
Kristy Lee Cook, ”God Bless the USA”
Season 7
Chris Daughtry, ”I Walk the Line”
Season 5
Jasmine Trias, ”It’s Raining Men”
Season 3
WORST
Central POP 