If there was any one contestant to appear on stage during the Top 32 of Season 3 who would be remembered more for her appearance than for her voice, Briana Ramirez-Rial was that semifinalist. What was even more amazing was the disparity between her appearance and her voice. Watch her sing Norah Jones's "Don't Know Why" during her Group 2 performance below:
While Briana wasn't that bad looking back at this performance, Simon and Randy just felt something was off about the whole spectacle. Once those two drove the nail into her coffin, Briana's apparent tweaking out on the couch next to Ryan while she was supposed to be asking for votes didn't help her cause. In effect, Briana was ahead of her time, and had she appeared on the show in the future (especially the most recent edition) she probably would have made it further.
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.
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.
Leah LaBelle was widely considered to be a true contender on the third season of Idol at the outset, as she was selected as a wild card choice by Paula Abdul. Unfortunately, the then-17-year-old faltered on her most important performance when she took on The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" during Top 12 week. Watch the performance below:
Despite her early exit, Leah has gone on to carve out a career in the music industry, taking one step at a time and making friends with some powerful figures and up-and-coming artists like Keri Hilson, Steph Jones and even Jordin Sparks. Leah is definitely one of the faces to watch in terms of new artists that will be rising in the ranks in years to come.
Fantasia gave some lively performances on Idol's third season, but she sounded best when she took on slow ballads. On Top 5 night, Fantasia sang "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life" by Barbara Streisand for the Big Band theme. Watch the performance below:
Although it was not nearly as magical as her "Summertime" performance, Fantasia was able to connect with the audience on a personal level, especially because she dedicated the song to her daughter.
Jennifer Hudson's stay on Idol's third season is considered by many to be on the short side, but others believe her vocals were not up to par at the time compared to their strength nowadays. An example of a performance that many could agree was one of Jennifer's bright spots was her performance of "I Have Nothing" during Top 8 week for the "Songs of the Cinema" theme night, which received overwhelming praise from the judges (and Quentin Tarantino). Watch the performance below:
Jennifer's choice of a bored and tired song (that has only increased in both counts as the seasons have gone by) actually worked to her advantage here, as her vocals fit the song to a T. Even though she only lasted one more week on the show, her performance of "I Have Nothing" will always be a reminder of the early talent of a promising young star who has made something of her career.
In results that could be seen only as an overwhelming sense of nostalgia for Season 7, voters in IDOL LIVE's poll of the week chose that season's "Idols Live!" tour as their favorite.
It was nothing short of a slaughter in last week's poll, with 243 votes going to the tour for the season of the Davids in 2008. That's a ridiculous 94% total take of the 256 votes cast in all. None of the other tours got so much as an honorable mention.
In this week's edition of the poll of the week, readers are asked which lead-off single of Carrie Underwood's is their favorite. Voting will be open for exactly one week.
Season 1 (2002) 1 (0%) Season 2 (2003) 1 (0%) Season 3 (2004) 1 (0%) Season 4 (2005) 2 (0%) Season 5 (2006) 3 (1%) Season 6 (2007) 2 (0%) Season 7 (2008) 243 (94%) Season 8 (2009) 3 (1%)
John Stevens provided one of the most unintentionally funny performances ever delivered on Idol during Season 3's Top 9 week with his take on Elton John's "Crocodile Rock." Relive the classic moment below:
Although John deserves plenty of props for trying on the song, his shrieky "la la la la la"s were enough to send any self-respecting artist's head into violent bouts of shaking of disapproval. Regardless of the fact that John would only last three more weeks on the show, this performance alone was worth him taking away a spot from more "deserving" contestants, and since he's a nice guy he gets a pass for the performance. That does not change the fact that it's memorable, though.
Now that it is official that Paula Abdul will not be returning to Idol for its ninth installment, it is a good time to look back at some of the judge's most memorable moments on the show. Therefore, IDOL LIVE is counting down Paula's Top 5 most memorable moments from the show (not including her off-show antics. There are too many of those to include here and could fill up their own alternative countdown).
5) Arm in a sling and a broken nose
Paula is no stranger to injury, but when she showed up to critique the Top 7 finalists (including Jennifer Hudson) in Season 3 wearing a sling, everyone had questions about what was the cause. It turned out that Paula's thumb suffered a freak manicure accident, and so she had to keep her thumb from coming into contact with anything or she would be sent into "excruciating pain."
This was not the only time Paula hurt herself during the Idol season. Just two days before the sixth season's finale, Paula tripped on her dog and broke her nose. Oh Paula...
4) A moth, a melon and a fortune cookie
Idol's fifth season was full of bad jokes (i.e. Taylor Hicks' victory), but the worst one possibly came on Top 24 results night when Paula was asked by Ryan Seacrest to give advice to Kevin Covais and Jose "Sway" Penala, one of whom was about to be eliminated from the show. As usual, Paula did not disappoint:
Even though it came early on in this season, this one-liner has stuck with Paula to this day and symbolizes that poorly-placed humor sticks out like a sore thumb on this show.
3) Performing like it's the first time
When Paula took to the Idol stage for the first time in the series' existence to perform her new single "(I'm Just) Here For the Music," the excitement was through the roof. When it came time for the actual performance, however, many considered it to be a let-down:
Sure, Paula's choreography is unsurpassed and still seems to be top-notch after all these years, but her lip-synching was not the right kind of example to set for the finalists considering they were receiving feedback from her on their singing among other things. Still, this performance is one for the Idol history books.
2) The affair of the century
Although accusations of an affair between Paula and Season 2 disqualified contestant Corey Clark were still two years away, the decision to include a sketch of Paula having a dinner date with Simon Cowell, complete with sexual tension and suggestive undertones.
The big, fat kiss that topped off the scene was the icing on the cake. It's pretty certain, however, that something like this would never have happened in any season after this.
1) Seeing the future!
This will forever and always be known as the most memorable moment of Paula's Idol career. As you all remember, things got hectic on Top 5 night in Season 7 as the judges were asked to write down comments for each of the Top 5 finalists' performances and deliver them all at once. Paula was noticeably caught up in the impromptu change in procedure and gave us all this gem:
Now, say what you will about Paula and her crazy antics, but you can't deny this was hilarious. It might not be her most proud moment, but to Idol fans it is without a doubt her most memorable one. Once again Paula, thanks for all the fun you've given us over the past seven years and good luck in your future endeavors.
The early favorite to win the whole thing back in Season 3, LaToya London, was prematurely eliminated during Disco week, finish in fourth. One week earlier, LaToya gave her most memorable performance since her "All By Myself" launched her into the Top 12, as she took on "Don't Rain On My Parade" as one of her selections for Big Band week in the Top 5. Watch the performance below:
This performance was a little out of character for LaToya, which is in part why it worked so well for her. Instead of her usual power ballads, LaToya was able to step out of her comfort zone and win praise from all the judges, including Simon giving her a "10 out of 10," which is something rare in and of itself.
It was five years ago this week when Diana DeGarmo took to the stage and earned herself a ticket to the finale in Season 3 when she nailed her performance of "Don't Cry Out Loud" by Melissa Manchester. The song, which was chosen by former Sony BMG boss Clive Davis, allowed Diana to show off her range, especially her high notes, and the final note was among the longest glory notes ever held on the show. Relive the moment below:
Although the judges had nothing but praise for the performance, with Simon telling her to write a letter to Davis thanking him for booking her a place in the finale, Diana's reprise of the song one week later did not go over as well, and the judges made that be known in their critiques. Still, even five seasons later, "Don't Cry Out Loud" remains one of the most critically acclaimed performances this show has ever seen.
Season 3's George Huff was the last man standing on his season, as he finished fifth. Before meeting the end of his Idol journey, he was able to charm America with his great personality and soulful singing chops. Goerge proved he was a top competitor in the first week of the finals when her did Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay" for Soul night. Refresh your memory of the five-year-old performance below:
George's performance was not the highlight of the night, but it certainly was a crowd pleaser and set him up for a healthy run.
Last night's elimination episode was all about Carrie Underwood, which was probably a good thing because the results were really dull. Carrie's performance of her latest single "I Told You So" as a duet with the song's original owner, Randy Travis, was the highlight of the night. Despite the creepy feeling one gets when seeing a man twice Carrie's age sing a love song with her, the performance was one of the purest vocal showcases Carrie has ever done on the show. But obviously the Carrie of today dwarfs her 2005 counterpart before she was given the crown.
Aside from this, the night was empty of surprises, except for the fact that DialIdol was right about Alexis going home and Allison joining her in the Bottom 3. The Ford video was a little more exciting than usual, but Ryan's failed water balloon lob at Simon was unnecessary (if it even happened). Someone should find the unlucky audience member that was allegedly pegged by the errant throw. The new feature of showing the aftermath of eliminations was a nice addition but if that is what we were waiting for the "reality portions" of the show that were being hyped up, that's really sad.
Brad Paisley's performance was boring but he sounded good, while the lip-synched group performance was pointless. It will be interesting to see how Scott handles the tour considering all he seems to do is sit at the piano. If the tour is anything like it was last year, though, he should be all set because he won't have to participate in the usual group extravaganzas.
One of the only touching moments of last night's elimination round was Michael's teary story about his three-and-a-half-year-old daughter asking him why he doesn't want to live with them (Michael's family) anymore. That got the audience to put some effort into showing emotion, which is more than can be said about its reaction to Alexis' singing for her life.
Alexis is a sweet girl, but her nerves got the best of her during her performance last night (and understandably so). This whole judges' immunity thing is really weighing the suspense factor down, as we all knew Simon was merely toying with Alexis' hopes when he said they were considering using the save on her. While she was performing her heart out, the judges were probably plotting where they would go for dinner later on while in their huddle.
Still, Alexis had nothing but respect for the judges and their decision and, in keeping with her last name, was very gracious after hearing the news, saying "things happen for a reason." With Alexis gone, that leaves just three girls left in the competition, and by the looks of things, we could be down to just one female competitor by Top 6 or earlier. Season 3, anyone?
One of the more memorable moments of last night was when Simon told Ryan that he would not take back his "indulgent rubbish" critique, rather stating that Adam's performance was much worse than he originaly thought when he watched it back, which prompted the strongest response from the audience of the night.
As for IDOL LIVE's predictions, this week was another not so good one. For my original predictions I had Jasmine going home last night, and obviously she went home last week so that was just not going to happen anyway. That makes me 0-3 for my original predictions. As for my pre-results show predix, I had the right Bottom 3, but Alexis went home instead of her Bottom 2 mate, Michael. That makes me 0-3 in that bracket, but to be fair, we never really got a straight answer on who went in what order last week, so for all I know I could be 2-3. Oh well, until official word surfaces i will not give myself the benefit of the doubt.
Looking ahead to next Wednesday (Thanks a lot, President Obama), expect some predictable song choices and a whole lot of copycat performances. In other words, see Season 3's Top 10 night.
IDOL LIVE is the place to stay up to date with the most current news on past, present and possibly future American Idol contestants, in addition to discussing the show in real-time as it happens.
