The end of American Idol Season 11 is nigh, which means it’s time for the Idoloonie Nation to reflect on the always accessible “Top 25 Performances of All-Time” lists in their brains, then ask the question: “Who gets added from the latest crop of singers, and who gets cut?”
I limited my countdown to competitive performances on live shows — meaning semifinals, finals, and wild cards count; exit performances, auditions, and Hollywood Week do not — and still ended up with two or three dozen amazing moments left on the outside looking in. (Oh how “This Ain’t a Love Song,” “A House Is Not a Home,” and “It’s All Wrong But It’s All Right” forced me to consider making this a Top 30 list!) I also decided on allowing only one performance per contestant in the Top 25 (because, really, I couldn’t justify a list that was all Fantasia-Kelly-Cookie-Haley-Kradison). But, hey, no one said this exercise would be easy, right?
So check out my 25 Best Idol Performances list below, then hit the comments and tell me what I got right, what I got wrong, who got snubbed, and who never should’ve made my list in the first place. Then get to work and post your own Top 25!
And for all my American Idol news, interviews, and recaps, follow me on Twitter @MichaelSlezakTV. (p.s. I’ll be live-blogging tonight’s Season 11 performance finale, so join me at TVLine for all the good fun!) Follow @MichaelSlezakTV
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25. Pia Toscano, “All in Love Is Fair” (Season 10)
24. Clay Aiken, “Solitaire” (Season 2)
23. Jessica Sanchez, “And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going” (Season 11)
22. Jason Castro, “Hallelujah” (Season 7)
21. Allison Iraheta, “I Can't Make You Love Me” (Season 8)
20. Kendra Chantelle, “Georgia on My Mind” (Season 10 — Wild Card)
19. Jordin Sparks, “I Who Have Nothing” (Season 6)
18. Crystal Bowersox, “Me and Bobby McGee” (Season 9)
17. Chris Daughtry, “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)” (Season 5)
If I were to choose one best performance for each contestant and rank them overall this would be my list:
1. I Believe – Fantasia
2. Mad World – Adam Lambert
3. Don’t Play That Song – Kelly Clarkson
4. My Funny Valentine – Melinda Doolittle
5. This is a Man’s World – Joshua Ledet
6. If I Can Dream – Elliott Yamin
7. Broken Wing – Jordin Sparks
8. Imagine – David Archuleta
9. And I’m Telling You – Jessica Sanchez
10. Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Katharine McPhee
11. Don’t Rain on my Parade – Latoya London
12. For the Love of Money – Bo Bice
13. Hemorrhage – Chris Daughtry
14. Alone – Carrie Underwood
15. People Get Ready – Crystal Bowersox
16. Superstar – Ruben Studdard
17. Whole Lotta Love – Elise Testone
18. Billie Jean – David Cook
19. Bridge Over Troubled Water – Clay Aiken
20. Circle of Life – Jennifer Hudson
21. I’ll Stand by You – Pia Toscano
22. This Ain’t a Love Song – Lakisha Jones
23. Heartless – Kris Allen
24. A House is not a Home – Tamyra Gray
25. Bennie & the Jets – Haley Reinhart
Back-to-back series premiere: Anne Heche ('Hung') stars in this comedy as a pretty terrible wife and mom who survives a near-death experience to find she now receives messages from God.
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