by Ginger Voight

Created on: April 18, 2009   Last Updated: April 21, 2009

American Idol has one simple goal to find the best undiscovered singer in America and give them a national stage to win our hearts. Year after year, season after season, show after show, and performance after performance, many hopefuls have endeavored to do just that. Most, though enjoyable enough, failed to do more than pleasantly wile away some TV time. But in several very magical moments, a handful of contenders have cemented their place in Idol history as the very best of the best.

One can hardly forget Season 2's runner up Clay Aiken as made a splash with his version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water", turning the Simon & Garfunkel staple into a rousing gospel number thanks to a backup choir and his soulful voice.

Most Internet "Best of" surveys list Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino's "Summertime" as the number one best American Idol performance. In a moment of unbridled vulnerability, this young, single mother used her powerful instrument, itself a throwback to the era she celebrated in her song, to bring the audience to their feet and inspire Simon to call her the best contestant Idol had seen.

Likewise, after Carrie Underwood's show stopping performance of Heart's "Alone", Simon told her not only would she go on to win the whole thing, but she would sell more albums than any other Idol. Her debut "Some Hearts" ended up selling over 7 million, and her second album "Carnival Ride" debuted at Number One, outselling the Number Two nearly five times as many.

Carrie wasn't the only Season 4 finalist to end up on multiple "Best Of" lists. Known more for his bedroom eyes and his over-the-top performances, polarizing contestant Constantine Maroulis brought the house down with his gutsy choice to sing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody". Sure the rock operatic classic seemed a perfect fit performance wise, but for a contestant who wasn't as pitch perfect perhaps as his competitors, taking on the iconic Freddie Mercury could have gone either way.

Fortunately for Constantine, he knocked it out of the park and even Simon had to admit the performance was "astonishing".

Bo Bice also makes an appearance on most of the Best Of comparison lists, although it's a close tie which performance deserved to be there: his semifinals introduction of the Allman Brothers classic "Whipping Post" or the finale show stopper "In a Dream". Of the two, maybe the more memorable by a very slight edge is Badlands' "In a Dream", which he performed quite boldly a cappella under a single spotlight. Judge

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