Wednesday, June 11, 2008

American Idol - Season 7 - Favorite Moments

It would be really hard for me to name the Top 10 Best Performances of the Season for me. As a David Cook fan, I find that the majority of his performances were the best, each and every week. So my Top 10 would be filled with Cookie's performances, with perhaps the occasional Michael Johns and Carly Smithson performance here and there.

So instead, I wanted to post my favorite performance for each of the Top 10 contestants.

David Cook - The World I Know - Top 2
Oy. This will be TOUGH!!! What song, what one song would I choose to show someone who's never heard of Cook what he is all about? It's so hard to choose just one (and I'm a Libra, so it's even harder for me!)... Each and every performance that Cook has produced, I love, for different reasons. To showcase his musical talent, I'd choose Billy Jean. To show his emotional connect to the lyrics, I'd choose Always Be My Baby. To show his stage presence, I'd choose Day Tripper. To show off his brilliant vocals, I'd choose Music of The Night. Come to think of it... There is one song that shows off all of those sides to David Cook; "The World I Know". The only side left out in this is the rocker side of Cook, although there are hints of it. The simple, understated arrangement really allowed his voice to shine in all its wonderful glory. He had everything in that performance - soft caressing vocals, gritty powerful notes, fantastic falsetto, emotional delivery. I think this song/performance really encompasses the season for him. He did not get enough credit for it while on the show, either. It was brilliant.



David Archuleta - Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me - Top 2
Can I choose his duet with Cook on "Hero" during Finale Night? That was my very best from Archie, although "Apologize" with One Republic was really great, too. I really wish he had done such songs during the season! Well, maybe not, because he might have won instead of Cook. ;) "Imagine", "Stand By Me" and "And So It Goes" were all strong contenders, but in the end, I chose "Don't Let The Sun go Down On Me" as my fav from Archie. It was not his best vocally, but I felt that he poured so much of himself into that song, so much more than he ever did before during the season. It really grabbed me.




Syesha Mercado - One Rock and Roll Too Many - Top 6
Syesha showed us a totally different side of her with that song, and I think she pulled it off brilliantly.



Jason Castro - Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Top 8
It was hard to choose between this one and Hallelujah. The reason why I chose this one over the other is that I felt he played around with his vocals much more than with Hallelujah. I also felt he was more comfortable and more connected to the lyrics. That is the Jason Castro I really love.



Brooke White - Let It Be - Top 12
Perfect song for her voice. Beautiful straight up arrangement with the piano and the strings. I like it when her voice cracks a bit... I felt she tried too hard in the later stages of the competition and let her nerves get the best of her. I don't feel we saw the best of Brooke in the end because of that.



Carly Smithson - Jesus Christ Superstar - Top 6
Without a shadow of a doubt, Jesus Christ Superstar was my favorite Carly performance of the whole season. It was not her strongest vocals, but it was far and away her best performance wise. She finally let loose, let her voice do the work, and she had fun. She stopped worrying for a second and enjoyed the moment. LOVED IT!


Kristy Lee Cook - Anyway - Top 8
I always thought that Kristy's voice was good, but there was always something missing in her performances. Stage presence? Emotional connection to the lyrics? Connection with the crowd? I don't know... I thought her "Anyway" was clearly her best - I felt she felt the lyrics that night and showed us some of that spark, some of that star quality that was missing for me for most of the season.



Michael Johns - It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right - Top 9
To me, this really showed the husky, soulful quality in Michael's voice at its best. Very bluesy arrangement that allowed his voice to shine, and the simplicity of it really let his voice carry the song. To me, this was his best vocally. There were many of Michael's performances that I liked, but if I had to choose only one to show someone and win them over, it would absolutely have to be this one.



Ramiele Malubay - In My Life - Top 12
I have not been a fan of Ramiele all through the season. I always thought she had a great tone to her voice and was a very good singer, but I never found that she was a good performer at all, or chose songs that would grab me. This one is probably my favorite of hers, because she really does sing it very, very well.



Chikezie - She's A Woman - Top 12
That was such a fun, energetic performance from Chikezie! Way out of his box, and he pulled it off.



And while he didn't make the Top 10, I am still including David Hernandez in my favorite performances recap. I was sad to see him go before Top 10 - I wold have love to go see him on tour. I think he deserved to be in the Top 10.

David Hernandez - It’s All Coming Back to Me Now - Top 16

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