Here's a little Idol weekend fix between the top four and the Top Three Gonzo Whopper Extravaganza™ (now with sprinkles!!) next week. As we have whittled this thing down from the Top 24 to the top 3 there is an inevitable tendency to forget all but the very best and most outstanding of the performances to date. But in my opinion this has been perhaps the strongest Idol season ever, and fine performances worth remembering abound.
So here, in my personal opinion, are the performance highlights of Season Seven. They come with just a touch of commentary; but more importantly they come with links to the videos of the performances, so you can check them out and see if you agree or disagree with my choices.
(Performances in italics are the ones I believe stand out as Idol classics regardless of the season.)
Top 24:
Ramiele Mulabay: "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" In later weeks we sometimes forgot how amazingly powerful, refined and controlled little Ramiele opened the competition. Nonetheless in week one she looked like a front runner.
Top 20:
David Hernandez: "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" You mean there was once
another David? Well, not for long. Had this kind of performance been his norm we'd remember him a lot better.
David Archuleta: "Imagine" Already quite a judge and producer favorite, after this one David Archuleta became the one to beat, and some would argue he has remained so ever since.
Carly Smithson: "Crazy On You" After a more modest opening week this was where Carly officially unleashed her freakishly big voice, completely owning this chick-rock classic.
Brooke White: "You're So Vain" With this song Brooke made a bold statement of her own style, which was quite a new thing on an Idol stage accustomed to divas and country girls.
Top 16:
David Cook: "Hello" This song registered like a shot across the bow of a season which was cruising to the Archuleta coronation. As bold, original, and contemporary as anything ever to hit the Idol stage. And from someone who'd gained so little previous attention it was even more remarkable.
Jason Castro: "Hallelujah" This was the song that transformed Jason Castro from a charming novelty as the "dreadlock guy" into another serious contender. Suddenly alarm bells of unpredictability were sounding, telling us this would be no typical Idol season.
Brooke White: "Love Is A Battlefield" So you thought you had Brooke pegged as a Carly Simon imitation after last week? With this "Unplugged" style rearrangement of a Pat Benetar classic she asserted her own creative chops and showed she could bend themes to suit her without being broken by them.
Top 12:
Chikezie: "She's A Woman" Charming but often old-fashioned Chikezie surprised everyone by turning in this powerful, fun and soulful reinterpretation of a simple tune.
Carly Smithson: "Come Together" After suffering continual criticism from Simon Cowell over picking the wrong songs, he was won over by this creative spin on the John Lennon classic.
David Cook: "Eleanor Rigby" While not as stunning as his breakout performance the prior week, this cemented Cook as the rocker/re-arranger of the season.
Brooke White: "Let It Be" Perhaps Brooke's best of the season was this soulful performance choked with emotion.
Amanda Overmyer: "You Can't Do That" Amanda at her Janis Joplin-sounding best, and a reminder that this season unlike others was not full of divas.
Top 11:
David Archuleta: "The Long And Winding Road" Beatles week number two was rough on most contestants, but David A. used it to recapture his ballad inspired charm after a rare stumble the prior week.
David Cook: "Day Tripper" If David C. had taught us he was innovative already, we learned this week he was willing to throw the kitchen sink into a performance on a whim, breaking out the Frampton voice box at one point on another performance standing head and shoulders above the crowd.
Syesha Mercado: "Yesterday" Syesha dared to take on this well known and well covered classic and used it to display a lovely tender side to her style beneath her power-note diva act.
Top 10:
Sayesha Mercado: "If I Were Your Woman" Did we just praise Sayesha the prior week for shining by getting away from the diva mode? Well this week she went back there, but at least did it with considerable style and passion. Considering she made it to the final three, this side of her was absolutely part of the reason.
Michael Johns: "We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions" I had my quibbles with the "medley" decision. But this was the performance that rekindled the charismatic Michael Johns' star.
David Cook: "Billie Jean" We thought we'd seen the breadth of David C.'s daring and skill in prior weeks. But we were wrong as he blew us away from yet another totally unexpected direction with this haunting rock deconstruction of THE 80's R & B classic.
Top 9:
David Archuleta: "Smoky Mountain Memories" While some contestants were staging new breakouts, let's not forget how well David A. was cementing his own brand. The crystal pure clarity of the teen tenor was in full power this week.
Michael Johns: "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right" With this song Michael Johns sent shockwaves through the Idol viewership. He hadn't sounded this amazing ever. Would this be yet another serious contender for the prize? The answer would quickly prove to be "no" the very next week when he abandoned this style. But for this one shining week Michael Johns owned the Idol world.
Top 8:
Jason Castro: "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" All the promise of Jason's unfocused yet charming and original persona which had been wandering since the final 16 burst back into full view with this ukulele driven masterpiece.
Kristy Lee Cook: "Anyway" Kristy Lee Cook had been a perpetual bottom dweller, always on the verge of elimination. Yet she learned and improved just enough to hang on for ages. This was probably the plucky contestant's shining moment, when she delivered a truly beautiful and believable version of a Martina McBride song able to stand out in this talented field.
David Archuleta: "Angels" Randy Jackson called this his best vocal of the season and kept up the drumbeat of Archuleta's footsteps to the title.
Top 7:
David Cook: "Always Be My Baby" Who knew Mariah Carey week would be another "guy" week when it came to outstanding performances? Who knew David Cook could take a diva ballad and turn it into THIS? Just stellar, and launched David C. back into orbit after a few weeks where the "other David" had been re-asserting himself.
Jason Castro: "I Don't Want to Cry" The only contestant who managed not to get swallowed up in another Cook-a-lanche kind of week, this performance kept Jason in the top tier as others started to fade with a charming, acoustic, and original arrangement.
Top 6:
Sayesha Mercado: "One Rock and Roll Too Many" Given permission by none less than Andrew Lloyd Weber himself, Sayesha finally gave herself permission to indulge in a bit of a Broadway style here, and she shined as a result.
David Cook: "Music of the Night" How could the consummate re-arranger and rocker surprise us yet again? By singing this big faux-opera musical number straight up and doing an astonishingly good job of it. Yet another facet to an increasingly complex and complete performer.
Top 5:
David Cook: "All I Really Need Is You" Honing in on the finale David Cook once again reminded us of his core strength, taking an old fashioned and obscure Neil Diamond song and creating a modern sounding hit.
Top 4:
David Archuleta: "Love Me Tender" Not to be forgotten, David Archuleta reminded us of his own core strength, rendering this beloved Presley classic flawlessly in his own sweet pop-balad style.
So what do you think? Any highlights you think I missed which deserve mention? Any contestants I less forgettable than their absence from the above list suggests? Any way Sayesha can hope to prevent an "All David" final this season? The comments are open.
