It makes one wonder how amateur singers become awesome performers after weeks of competition in American Idol. The world witnessed some of the best performances on television in Idol stage. It makes the viewers truly appreciate the immense talent this competition has produced. Thanks to the Internet, those wonderful performances can still be viewed over and over again.
Who can forget Jennifer Hudson's "Circle of Life"? Randy Jackson declared it then as the best performance ever on American Idol. It was an Elton Jon week and the contestants were mentored by the man himself. Hudson's vocals were so powerful that she showed she could be a deserving winner. It was a memorable performance because seldom does one hear a different take on that piece. It has always been a signature Elton John song. The song was not always sung by other artists.
Carrie Underwood performed "Alone" during the first few weeks of competition. It gave her the edge from the very start of the eliminations. It made a mark that contestants in the succeeding seasons need to create a memorable version. Otherwise, they would risk being compared to Carrie and risk being pale in comparison. I think that if someone comes up with a better version that her, that person deserves a spot in the finals.
Katherine McPhee's "Over the Rainbow" performance showed some emotions. It was easy to be drawn to her because she sang the song like she was reaching out to you. It is a very popular song and this was interpreted many times before but Katherine sang it well that she made a strong connection to the viewers via the song.
Blake Lewis' beatboxing is such a unique talent. For American Idol, there seemed to be an ambivalent feeling towards it. For one thing, no one has ever capitalized in beatboxing and succeeded commercially. Will that style sustain him through different genres? On the other hand, this is a pretty unique musical style and American Idol is all about discovering new talents. It was a risk because not everyone likes beatboxing. When he sang Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name" with his beatbox vocal styling, one cannot help but be in awe on what spunk and creative edge it can add to an already popular song. It was really good.
David Archuleta took a risk by singing John Lennon's "Imagine". There was no new arrangement to the song. It was sung the way it was meant to be sung originally. What struck the audience is how it was performed. Every note was clear that one appreciates the wonderful lyrics. David's voice captivated the audience. It went to prove that no vocal histrionics were needed to make a good song and a good voice produce the best performance.
Unlike David Archuleta's adherence to the original tune of the song, David Cook is known for adding some twist to every song. His knack for rearranging even the very popular songs earned him some rave reviews from the judges especially on his take on Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean". It was a very recognizable Michael Jackson song. He had changed the arrangement to a point that it sounded totally different. It actually made the song better. His husky and lush vocals set him apart from the original version. It was amazing to hear his version.
Season 8 still continues to produce one of the best performances of all time. Adam Lambert's take on "Mad World" by Tears for Fears was just insane. His amazing falsetto voice was so haunting that the audience can truly feel the emotions to a very sad song. Week after week, he had done those over-the-top performances so it was such a surprise when he mellowed down and chose this heartfelt and deeply emotional song. He performed it in a style not yet seen from Adam Lambert before.
When contestants rose to the challenge, it resulted to great performances. It is always a joy to see them performed their best.