Picking up where we left off yesterday, we journey through the second half of the Top 10 best performances of Season 8 countdown. The following are the Top 5 selections from this season:
05) Adam Lambert, "Tracks of My Tears"
Top 10 week was the first time Adam revealed his softer side when he sang The Miracles' "Tracks of My Tears" for the Motown theme. Watch the sentimental performance below:
Adam's falsetto got a lot of airtime with this performance, which was noticed by the judges. Kara went on about Adam and his artistry and Simon disagreed with Kara about Adam being one of the best performers of the night and instead named him the best of the night. Although this came early in the season, it was a pivotal moment for Adam because it showed that he was not just a one-trick pony when it comes to switching up performance genres.
04) Allison Iraheta, "Papa Was a Rolling Stone"
The fiery red-haired then-16-year-old rocker chick had many memorable moments before she placed fourth on the show, but some of them are best left forgotten like her attempt at No Doubt's "Don't Speak" and the outfit that went with it. Fortunately for Allison, Top 10 week brought her the opportunity to project her inner diva when she sang The Temptations' "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone." Re-visit the performance below:
Despite a few rough parts in the performance, Allison showed for the first time that she was a real contender for the title and her high notes were out of this world. Kara accused Allison of singing for 400 years and Randy called her "one of the dopest singers." Even though this occurred early on in the season, it set the stage for an exciting run on the show.
03) Danny Gokey, "You Are So Beautiful"
Following his disastrous take on Aerosmith's "Dream On," Danny came back with a vengeance Top 3 week when he poured his heart and soul onto the stage on the Joe Cocker classic "You Are So Beautiful." The performance can be relived below:
The arrangement was a little different than the original, but the circumstances surrounding Danny and the performance were so much bigger than the song itself, as Danny started out soft and vulnerable and transformed the lyrics into a rafter-raising gospel display complete with a backing choir. There was an air of dedication to his wife Sophia, who passed away last year, and this made the performance that much more meaningful. Simon was right on the mark when he called Danny's take on the song "a vocal master class."
02) Adam Lambert, "Mad World"
Any performance that can garner a standing ovation from Simon Cowell should automatically be in the Top 5 performances of the season. But Adam's rendition of Tears for Fears' "Mad World" was one of those moments that come along only so often, and the standout from Top 8 week was that moment. Watch the performance below:
After weeks of delivering eccentric showcases on the show, Adam really brought the season to a standstill with "Mad World" because it was a side of him we didn't really get to see with the exception of "Tracks of My Tears." But "Mad World" was far superior to anything else he did the whole duration of the show, and only one performance was better than it overall. Because Adam's performance went over the allotted time for the episode, Simon's standing ovation had to speak for everyone else, and there's little doubt that they would have objected to the motion.
01) Kris Allen, "Heartless"
Kris was being written off as Season 8's Syesha Mercado until he took to the stage and mad the gamble of his musical life when he chose to take on Kanye West's recent hit single "Heartless." The judges were predicting something that would have been an unequivocal disaster upon hearing his personal song choice and were promptly surprised beyond belief with the product of Kris' time and effort. Revisit the No. 1 greatest performance of the season below:
What sets "Heartless" apart from the rest of the performances this season is the fact that it came from somewhere deep within Kris' heart, and was his way of saying the competition was not a done deal despite the immense writing on the wall. The acoustic vibe that was given off by the performance added another element to the overall package and the imagery of seeing Kris all alone up on the stage with just his guitar represented the insurmountable odds he was up against. Not to mention the amount of lyrics he had to memorize for the two-and-a-half-minute display.
The judges were so enthusiastic over the performance that Randy said Kris' version was better than both Kanye's and The Fray's and Simon admitted that after originally writing him off this competition as a non-factor, this performance was the one that changed his opinion. Because of its originality and the important role it played in setting Kris up for his big win, "Heartless" is the best performance that was had on Idol this season.
So now you know what IDOL LIVE considers to be the Top 10 best performances of Season 8. What are your 10 best performances of the season?
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