Flashback: Nick Pedro's "Fever"

Season 6 featured a host of forgettable guys, especially in the Top 24. But Nick Pedro managed to actually make some noise with his rendition of the overdone "Fever," which has been covered by everyone and their mother. Watch the performance from Top 20 week below:

While the quick cuts to the drummer got a little annoying, Nick's vocals were for the most part on target. As to whether Simon's critiques of his style and charisma were representative of what led to his subsequent elimination the following night, we probably will never know.

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Flashback: Nikki McKibbin's "I'm the Only One"

Nikki McKibbin wasn't the only one excited about her making the Top 4 on Idol's first season, as she was able to outlast front runner Tamyra Gray. Before the shocking results were ready, Nikki belted out her own version of Melissa Etheridge's "I'm the Only One," one of two songs she sang during 1990's week. Watch the performance below:

While this performance was no masterpiece, it was apparently good enough to get her into third place (because we all know her performance of "Mary Jane" didn't get her there). While Nikki had a bumpy road on her season, she clicked with a certain segment of the population and for that she will always be remembered.

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Flashback: Judd Harris's "Travelin' Band"

Idol's fourth season was virtually a wash thanks to the superstardom of Carrie Underwood, and it shows when you look at the crew that was left in the dust, especially in the semifinals. Judd Harris was one of those contestants who tried his best but fell short. Watch him perform Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Travelin' Band" during Top 24 week below:

The judges' generic, neither good nor bad comments didn't help Judd's cause, as he blended in with the rest of the 11 guys who performed that night. Despite a good vocal showing, the song choice was completely wrong, and thus Judd had to disappear into obscurity following his elimination.

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Flashback: Alaina Whitaker's "More Today Than Yesterday"

Season 7 was the season of talented female contestants that stumbled in the semifinals. One of the most notable cases of this trend was Alaina Whitaker's exit during Top 20 after singing The Spiral Starecase's "More Today Than Yesterday" the previous week. Watch the performance below:

While Alaina was compared by many to a young (read: young) Carrie Underwood, her inexperience is surely what got the best of her. That and the fact that she looked way too much like Carrie, and that's never a good thing when you're gunning for the same title she took only a few seasons prior.

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Flashback: Allison Iraheta's "Cry Baby"

Season 8's Allison Iraheta was one of the best performers for her age to ever appear on Idol's stage, and her performance of "Cry Baby," as made famous by Janis Joplin, was a near crowning moment for the then 17-year-old, especially considering it took place on Rock 'n Roll night during Top 4 week - the same night on which she had an unforgettable duet with Adam Lambert on "Slow Ride." Watch the performance below:

Despite the great range displayed by Alison on "Cry Baby," she was eliminated the following night. Alison might have been the victim of a crowded, talented Top 4, but at least she went out on a high note.

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Flashback: Amy Adams' "The Power of Love"

Before an actress of the same namesake burst onto the scene, Season 3's 10th-place finalist, Amy Adams, was the most well known celebrity with the name. The popular pink-haired makeup artist used her spunky appeal to sail into the finals thanks to her showing on Celine Dion's "The Power of Love" during Group 3's performance episode of the semifinals. Watch the performance below:

Amy's theatrical take on the song was enough to catapult her into the finals, but she didn't last long. Simon Cowell's criticism that Amy was more "'Cabaret Idol' than 'American Idol'" most likely was true, as she had a winning personality but her vocals were never able to compete with those of some of her powerhouse peers on the show that season.

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Flashback: Patrick Hall's "Come to My Window"

Patrick Hall began the semifinalist of Season 5 as one of the top contenders among the male contestants, but suffered from the infamous "cannon fodder" syndrome. That is, he was barely shown during the auditions through Hollywood week period. Still, Patrick received more positive feedback than negative for this performance of Melissa Etheridge's "Come to My Window" during Top 24 performance week. Watch it below:

Simon was right on the money when he said Patrick looked like he was anxious and like he was missing his piano. But he was also right about him having a nice voice. Although Patrick never had a chance to "go back to his roots" on the show, he at least proved to be one of a handful of semifinalists who should have gone further in the competition than they did.

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Flashback: Katharine McPhee's "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"

Katharine McPhee was known not only as Idol's fifth season's female vocal powerhouse-in-chief, but she also made strong statements through her performance style. One of her most memorable performances came during Top 5 week, when she performed KT Tunstall's "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Birth Year/Current Billboard Chart theme night. Watch the performance below:

It's quite clear that Katharine's decision to perform the song on her knees had something to do with why to this day it is one of the most unique displays on the Idol stage. The fact that she got so much praise for this choice led Kat to reprise the song during the finale, which lacked the magic the first performance had. This was just another example of the importance of leaving well enough alone, which has been a recurring them throughout the show's history. Still, it is one of the most memorable performance ever delivered.

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Flashback: Rickey Smith's "I've Done Enough Dyin' Today"

Rickey Smith was somewhat overshadowed on Idol's second season by more powerful vocalists like Ruben Studdard and more controversial personalities like Corey Clark, but he still managed to deliver some memorable performances during his time on the show. In case you're having a hard time remembering some of them, watch his version of "I've Done Enough Dyin' Today" during Top 10 week's Country Rock theme below:

Although it wasn't a masterpiece and didn't give most "the chills" as it did Paula, this performance showed that Rickey's vocals were not one-dimensional and that he could offer audiences more than just a first-rate impression of Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor.

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Flashback: Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This"

As we look ahead to Wednesday's grand finale for Idol's ninth season, it only makes sense to revisit the finale that gave this show a reason to continue. Kelly Clarkson was never the front runner to take the title on the first season of the show until her main rival, Tamyra Gray, was sent home in the first shocker of the series during Top 4 results night.

Kelly proved she had exactly what it took to become the American Idol, and her crowning moment and performance of "A Moment Like This" were extremely memorable. Relive the moment below:

This moment still gives me chills. Kelly's quips of excitement throughout the performance showed just why she won, because she won over America with not only her outstanding vocals but her personality and stage presence as well. No matter who wins on Wednesday, this will always be the most moving winning moment in Idol history.

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Flashback: Elliott Yamin's "I Believe to My Soul"

Season 5 of Idol still stands as the crown jewel among all of the series' seasons, and Elliott Yamin is still one of the strongest Top 3 finishers. The "funky white boy" R&B machine pleased the audience with his soulful take on both contemporary and classic hits while on the show, and his performance of "I Believe to My Soul" during Top 3 night

Although the judges weren't the biggest fans of Elliott's take on the song, he demonstrated his ability to churn out a convincing R&B showing. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to propel him into the Top 2.

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Flashback: LaKisha Jones' "Run to Me"

The Top 4 in Season 6 of Idol was basically the opposite of the Top 4 in Season 9, as LaKisha Jones led a strong contingent of three female vocalists to one unique guy. Over the course of her run on the show, LaKisha delivered many memorable performances, but by the time she reached Top 4 she seemed to lose steam. Watch one of her two performances from Bee Gees night, "Run to Me," below:

This was obviously not one of LaKisha's performing highlights, but she still showed why she was such a contender at the outset of the season. Her elimination, although not as shocking as the elimination of Melinda Doolittle the following week, was still disappointing.

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Flashback: Paris Bennett's "Kiss"

It's hard to believe how much stronger the Top 5 of Idol's fifth season is compared to the five remaining competitors we have now, but just watch Paris Bennett's performance of Prince's "Kiss" in the Top 5 round, one of two songs she performed that night, below:

Paris selected the song in the theme of contestants' birth year, while the other song she performed that night (Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You") was for the current Billboard chart theme. Although Paris was able to show off her bubbly personality, but unfortunately she couldn't withstand the popularity of her four peers. Still, it's amazing to look back at the stark differences between what he had then and what we're left with now.

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Flashback: Anoop Desai's "Dim All the Lights"

It was only a year ago that Anoop Desai was a casualty of the judges' save, as he was eliminated in sixth place during Disco week. Anoop gave it his all on his rendition of Donna Summer's "Dim All the Lights" (and even got the coveted pimp spot) but it wasn't enough to overcome. Watch the performance below:

Anoop actually did very well on the song and the judges sans Simon seemed on board the Anoop train as well. Fortunately for Anoop, this showing hasn't seemed to scar him in the long run.

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Flashback: Ace Young's "That's All"

The last thing Ace Young got to sing on Idol's fifth season before being eliminated was none other than "That's All," which isn't much of a send-off song. Maybe it was the slicked-back bun? Or possibly it was Simon's mostly positive critique. Either way, Ace went out on a high note with the performance, which can be relived below:

The style of music Ace was saddled with during the Great American Songbook theme was not ideal for him, but he made the best of it. Too bad the performance was pretty boring compared to what else he delivered to audiences during the season.

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Flashback: Camile Velasco's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"

Back on Idol's third season Camile Velasco took on Jasmine Trias in the "battle of the pretty Hawaian girls," and as Top 9 week demonstrated the competition was only big enough for one of them. As a result, Camile's version of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" during Elton John week ended up being her swan song while Jasmine narrowly escaped elimination. Watch the performance below:

Camile gave it her best but the song was too much of a storm for her to weather, and Simon's brutal critique was totally appropriate. Still, Camile has the perfect voice for an R&B career, and hopefully she will be able to make it in the industry sometime soon.

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Flashback: Jim Verraros's "Easy"

Jim was one of the worst finalists in Idol history, and the greatest evidence of this was his showing during Top 10 week on the show's first season. The only thing that was more surprising than him being the second one to get the boot that night was the fact that he wasn't the first. Watch his performance of "Easy" during Motown Week below:

Jim didn't deserve Paula's non critique, but she was still new at the Idol game back then so she gets a pass. Still, it's somewhat of an honor that he will forever be able to say he was the second finalist to ever be eliminated from the show (and the first 9th-place finisher), right?

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Flashback: Julia DeMato's "Breathe"

Julia DeMato had a storied journey on Season 2 of Idol before she was eliminated prematurely in 10th place, but it was good that she went out on a positive note with her rendition of Faith Hill's "Breathe." Watch the performance below:

Julia earned praise for her performance, especially considering how far she came from some of her earlier efforts on the show. And even her one time rival Kimberly Caldwell shed some tears after her friend was eliminated. Even though it wouldn't stand up to many performances that would come in subsequent seasons, Julia did well for herself here.

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Flashback: Mikalah Gordon's "Love Will Lead You Back"

Mikalah Gordon is one of the most memorable finalists from Idol's less recent history thanks to her bubbly personality. Her vocals, however, were never impressive while she was on the show, partly because she was only 17 when she finished 11th on the show's fourth season. Watch her performance of Taylor Dayne's "Love Will Lead You Back" below:

Mikalah received mild criticism from Randy and Paula, but Simon unleashed his signature "complete and utter mess" tongue-lashing for her pitchy take on the song. Despite her seemingly weak exit, Mikalah outlasted many others to finish 11th on her season, which should be respected since she was fairly young at the time.

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Flashback: Brandon Rogers' "You Can't Hurry Love"

It was exactly three seasons ago that Brandon Rogers performed his first (and last) song in the finals of Idol's sixth season. His take on Diana Ross's "You Can't Hurry Love" was unfortunately his weakest showing on the show, and it came back to bite him. Watch the performance below:

The judges were hardly forgiving of Brandon's forgotten lyrics or his sharp notes, as Simon said "complete letdown." Oh well, at least Brandon got to work with Diana Ross out of his time on the show.

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