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R47S: Top 24 Semifinal Performances Ever: All Seasons
#431 - 1--JLynne--R47S: Top 24 Semifinal Performances Ever: All Seasons--2008-05-10 14:57:17
#*Rank for Seven Seasons: The Top 24*
What are the best 24 performances from EVERY seasons semi-finals combined? Do your favorites make the cut? Do either of the Davids? Read on to find out! Be sure to check out which season is the ultimate best. Let me know if you agree or think I’m an idiot. I tried to be as unbiased as possible. -
R47S: Top 24 Semifinal Performances Ever: All Seasons
What are the best 24 performances from EVERY seasons semi-finals combined? Do your favorites make the cut? Do either of the Davids? Read on to find out! Be sure to check out which season is the ultimate best. Let me know if you agree or think I’m an idiot. I tried to be as unbiased as possible.
Over the past seasons, the way the semis were done has changed. The first 3 seasons, we only got to hear the finalists sing once, giving us one chance to get our favorites into the top 10 or 12. Season 4, we got the start of the 3 weeks of semis, and I really enjoy it better that way. This list contains every season’s semis, and the first few seasons Wild Card round as possibilities. Yes, this gives some singers more of a chance of making the list, but when has AI ever been fair?
What makes a performance eligible for THE BEST list? It can’t JUST be an amazing vocal, it has to be a performance that defined them on the Idol stage, or greatly effected the audience as a whole. Did EVERYONE and their cousin go on Itunes causing a 30 year old song to shoot up the charts? Did everyone just KNOW they were gonna be top 5 after their performance? In this round especially, did it pluck them from obscurity?
THE LIST:
24. Jason Castro: “Hallelujah”- Everyone went and downloaded this, and suddenly Jason Castro was a solid bet for the top 12. We hadn’t seen much of him before the semis, but this performance alone catapulted him straight into the 12 and secured him a solid following!
Check it out:
Hallelujah
23. Trenyce: “Let’s Stay Together”- Even the original artist went on record for loving Trenyce’s rendition of this song. It was the wildcard round, and Trenyce really laid it all on the table. She has a very unique, throaty tone, and that along with her dynamite performance skills really helped her sell it. There were many great performances from her to come!
Check it out:
Let's Stay Together
22. Carrie Underwood: “Could’ve Been”- This was sweet, subtle, and she really brought her own spin to the song. I absolutely loved it, and this is before her performance style started to bug me, so I’m all about Carrie’s first delve into the semis. Her two following semi-final performances weren’t anything to write home about. This was the one that did it. (And her Hollywood round acapella “Independence Day”)
Check it out:
Could've Been
21. Katharine McPhee: “Since I Fell For You”- I love when Katharine doesn’t push her belt, and this is a perfect example. I was so excited by this performance, and this vocal! Like Carrie, her next two semi-final performances weren’t anything memorable. But this one was classy and beautiful.
Check it out:
Since I Fell For You
20. George Huff: “Lean On Me”- This is one of the most spirited and joyful performances EVER to appear on Idol. George is one of the most lovable guys we’ve ever had, and this sealed the deal for him!
Check it out:
Lean On Me
19. David Cook: “Hello”- This was the beginning of us realizing what David was truly capable of, brilliance! He turned a Lionel Ritchie song into something I actually want to listen to over and over! Who knew! But at this point, it was absolutely certain that he was top 4 at least!
Check it out:
Hello
18. Ace Young: “Father Figure”- I did not end up an Ace fan, but after this performance I thought that he was a lock on the top 3 with Chris and Elliott and I thought all the girls were screwed. He rode the buzz from this performance through most of the season, as he never quite got it back. Also, watching this makes you realize the first time someone camera screws you is the only good time.
Check it out:
Father Figure
17. Nadia Turner: “Try a Little Tenderness”- She was a force of nature in the semis, and had such a cool vibe about her. This might have dimmed with some wack song choices in the finals, but she had it going on in this performance. I LOVED it!
Check it out:
Try a Little Tenderness
16. Elliott Yamin: “If You Really Love Me”- We had heard him sing once during Hollywood, and I hadn’t expected much, and then I got completely BLOWN AWAY. The intricate runs, the sexy tone, the bashful, humble personality. The bridge was just about the best thing I’d ever heard. Of course, I was and am an insanely dedicated Elliott fan…….
Check it out:
If You Really Loved Me
15. Chris Daughtry: “Wanted Dead or Alive”- Man, season 5 was when the guys were so freaking amazing there first time out, it made the girls seem unnecessary. Chris tore this up! It should be known that I am an even bigger Bon Jove fan than I am an Elliott fan, so the fact that I fell in love with this performance is a big deal. I was so ready to hate it. Chris was set to win, and in the end he did win that season. And he didn’t even have to sing “Do I Make you Proud.”
Check it out:
Wanted Dead or Alive
14. Lisa Leuschner: “Sweet Thing”- I know a lot of you are like, WHO!? But seriously, this is one of the hugest injustices on AI! Season 3, she came back having lost weight and everything from season 2 auditions, and her voice was KILLER! She didn’t make it her semi week, but geez, neither did Clay! THEN she got brought back for the Wild card round, and GET THIS! They only let a few of the people actually sing, and they weren’t told if they’d get to sing until LIVE tv. AND Randy said she had the best voice in the competition, and they didn’t let her sing. I was INFURIATED! I’m still infuriated! They let some of the crappiest people sing on wildcard night too. Leah LaBelle got to sing. Wtf!
Check it out:
Sweet Thing
13. EJ Day: “I’ll Be”- I know some of you are again going, Who!? However, EJ was brought back last minute as a replacement in the semis. We had NEVER heard him before, and than he whipped out the craziest “I’ll Be” I have ever heard! Talk about rising above your underdog placement! It catapulted him into the Top 12.
Check it out:
I'll Be
12. Justin Guarini: “Ribbon in the Sky”- Dude, was THE ONE to beat. This performance only further solidified it. Kelly said it best, “Everyone and their dog new Justin was getting through.” Luckily, she did too, but Justin was stiff competition, though people might not realize that now. He really was a consistent vocalist, a magnetic performer, and a great competitor. I truly believe if he hadn’t had to wait for Kelly’s cd to come out, he would have been golden.
Check it out:
Ribbon in the Sky
11. Bo Bice: “Whipping Post”- Our first real live rocker! (Sorry nikki) I was all excited about Bo after this performance. He had solidified himself with this, and rode it all the way to the finals! Everyone had thought he’d be the rocker who would head home, they thought wrong.
Check it out:
Whipping Post
10. David Archuleta: “Imagine”- This was just magical. Still one of his best performances to date, and he managed to crack the top 10 best ever! It doesn’t feel like an AI semi performance, it really feels like you’re at his concert.
Check it out:
Imagine
9. David Cook: “All Right Now”- Hot! I mean, sorry, this made you feel like you were at Chris’s concert, and he sang one of my favorite songs from my childhood. (That might make you think I’m much older than I am…haha.) The guitar, the vocal, the song, amazing!
Check it out:
All Right Now
8. Chris Daughtry: “Hemorrhage”- When the band your singing asks you to be their lead singer, you KNOW you’ve hit it big.
Check it out:
Hemorrhage
7. Tamyra Gray: “And I Am Telling You”- She was the first person to sing season 1, and she was so shockingly good you thought they should just send everyone else home and give this girl the win. She was a huge contender the entire show!
Check it out:
And I am Telling You
6. Clay Aiken: “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me”- I adore Clay, and he always sang amazingly, but I feel like we didn’t get to hear his awesomeness until the top 12 started. That said, this was still an amazing performance, and heavens knows the sun did not go down on him, and America never let their wild card pick see the bottom again!
Check it out:
Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
5. Elliott Yamin: “Moody’s Mood for Love”- I didn’t think anything could top his first performance, and then he came out and set the bar even higher! The phrasing, the control, and the runs were amazing. I listened to this a quarter of a billion times.
Check it out:
Moody's Mood for Love
4. Anwar Robinson: “What a Wonderful World”- Still one of the most amazing male vocals we’ve ever had! He had a hard time sustaining it, but I thought he was going to win the whole thing after this performance! You
have to watch this if you haven’t seen it!!!
Check it out:
Wonderful World
3. Melinda DooLittle: “My Funny Valentine”- Still one of the classiest and most intricate performances we’ve ever had on Idol. She made this song sound brand new, and seemed like someone who had already had a 30 year career, which was her blessing and her curse.
Check it out:
My Funny Valentine
2. Kelly Clarkson: “Respect”- From complete obscurity, she came out and meant business. From the moment the song started, I was like, this is it! I voted every night since then, and still have EVERYTHING she has ever sung. Kelly fans are relentless, and we will always stand by our girl! It all started with this performance, and she became the ultimate under dog!
Check it Out:
Respect
1.LaToya London: “All By Myself”- I don’t know if this performance will ever be topped. It is hands down one of the best vocals I have ever heard. An amazing tone, vulnerable, and a huge build to the highest money note we’ve EVER had on the show! Dude, LaToya was robbed!!!!!!!!!
Check it out:
All By Myself
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Christina Christian: “At Last”
Alexis Lopez: “I Will Survive”
RJ Helton: “Lately”
Ruben Studdard: “Superstar”
Clay Aiken: “Open Arms”
Kimberley Locke: “Over the Rainbow”
Diana DeGarmo: “I’ve Got the Music in Me”
Fantasia: “Let’s Give em Something to Talk About”
Jasmine Trias: “Run To You”
Jennifer Hudson: “I Believe in You and Me”
Anwar Robinson: “Moon River”
Constantine Maroulis: “Kiss From a Rose”
Nadia Turner: “Power of Love”
Anthony Federov: “I Want to Know What love Is”
Mikalah Gordon: “God Bless the Child”
Amanda Avila: “River Deep, Mountain High”
Mario Vasquez: “Do, I Do”
Nikko Smith: “Georgia On My Mind”
Taylor Hicks: ‘Takin’ it to the Streets”
Melissa McGhee: “What About Love”
Mandisa: “I’m Every Woman”
Lakisha Jones: “And I am Telling You”
Sabrina Sloan: “I Never Loved a Man”
Blake Lewis: “Virtual Insanity”
Chris Richardson: “Geek in the Pink”
Stephanie Edwards: “Dangerously in Love”
David Hernandez: “In the Midnight Hour”
David Cook: “Happy Together”
Alaina Whitaker: “More Today than Yesterday”
Chris Sligh: “To Be Loved”
Carly Smithson: “Crazy On You”
David Archuleta: “Another Day in Paradise”
Danny Noreiga: “Tainted Love”
BEST SEASON SO FAR:
Each article I’ll continue to tally, until we find out which season really had the most dynamite performances of all!
Season 1: 4
Season 2: 2
Season 3: 3
Season 4: 4 (haha there’s a little pattern huh…)
Season 5: 6
Season 6: 1
Season 7: 4
It isn’t all that surprising that season 5 takes an early lead. And that’s with my inherent dislike for Taylor Hicks that makes me unable to be unbiased when it has to do with him…hehe….Here comes the Soul Patrol hate mail….
Once I have compiled all of these articles, I will compile a list of which singers have the most placements and honorable mentions! Whoowhoo, cause I’m crazy like that!
Stay tuned for The Top 12 Performances of Top 12 weeks!
There you have it! Did your favorite performances make the cut? Let me know.
This is Jlynn206@aol.com
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