American Idol Top Moments
The world's greatest reality TV singing competition is back to glue you to the idiot box.
Tune in to the premiere of American Idol Season 10 on Star World, Astro Channel 711 on Thursday, 20th January 2011 at 6pm, with a primetime repeat at 8pm. Adam Lambert may be today's definition of glam, but who better to school the sex symbol but the grandmasters of glam themselves - KISS. We bet Gene Simmons will one day join the judging panel though.
Blake Lewis
This singer-songwriter cum beatboxer blazed new trails on Idol with his flash and extremely unique style. While his post-Idol career may not match up to luminaries like Kelly Clarkson and Chris Daughtry, nonetheless he's had pretty good success on the dance charts, having released his second album, 'Heartbreak' on Vinyl in 2009.
Bo Bice
How could he not have won, with those shampoo-commercial locks and manly beard? One of the original rockers that joined American Idol, along with his polar opposite Chris Daughtry, Bo hasn't been heard much from lately... Perhaps a Loreal ad may revive his career.
David Archuleta and David Cook
The Two Davids, David Archuleta and David Cook, represented a clash between two generations - one a fresh-faced kid with stars in his eyes and the other a rocker with a steady grin. David Cook may have emerged victorious, but he's got a lot of catching up to do if he's gonna overtake the popular Archuleta.
Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia Barrino's voice is the stuff of legend. There's a reason why she won American Idol, and it's because beyond a shadow of a doubt she was the most electrifying singer that season. While she may not be as ubiquitous as Jennifer Hudson, she's a staple for listeners of great soul music and with a third studio album out now, she'll go far, if not further.
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson was eliminated from Idol way too early, but ever since, she's gone on to release critically acclaimed albums, win an Oscar for singing in a movie, and generally kick @ss all around. Living proof that not winning the competition may not always be the worst thing that can happen to you.
Sanjaya
Ah Sanjaya. You will not be remembered for your singing skills, or lack of, but for that amazing hair that you one day insisted into turning into a ponytail-mohawk hybrid that possibly had come alive through the intervention of an evil force.
William Hung
Bumbling, lovable, dripping sincerity from every pore, and, oh yeah, famous for singing Ricky Martin's 'She Bangs' in the most tuneless way possible. That and accompanied with strange hand and arm movements in an attempt that could be called 'Dancing'. And went on to international stardom.
Chris Daughtry’s shocking departure
American Idol's most famous rock star, Chris Daughtry, was one of the favourites to win Idol Season 5. In fact, his rendition of Fuel's 'Hemorrhage' was so friggin' awesome, the band offered him a spot as the leading front man - while he was still on Idol! But of course, drama knocked on Idols' door when Chris was, like Jen Hudson, controversially eliminated, finishing fourth in the competition. We swear we could hear hearts break from across the Pacific Ocean.
David Archuleta mesmerizes the world
with just one song
During the Top 20 stage of Idol Season 7, the then 16-year-old David Archuleta shyly walked onto the stage, looked nervously at the crowd, belted out his own version of John Lennon's classic 'Imagine' and shyly walked off the stage. That was when little Archie captured the hearts of gajillions worldwide.
J-Hud voted off
Jennifer Hudson, arguably one of the most talented contestants the show has ever seen, was controversially voted off Season 3 of the show, finishing in seventh place.
That week the show's 3 divas, Fantasia Barrino, LeToya London and Hudson placed in the bottom 3, to the dismay of the show's judges, who dubbed the ladies the three best singers of the season. Hudson's vote-off inspired a new Idol rule, producers now allow the judges to save one contestant from being voted off each season.
Jennifer didn't stay down for long though. Instead of retreating into a corner, Hudson scored the role of a lifetime in the movie adaptation of the Tony-Award winning Broadway show, Dreamgirls, beating Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino, who also auditioned for the part.
Hudson ended up winning the Oscar and Golden Globe for her portrayal of Effie White.
Kelly Clarkson becomes first American Idol
In 2002, a small-town girl named Kelly Clarkson thrilled millions and became the first ever American Idol, beating runner-up Justin Guarini by a mile. Kelly went on to become the most successful Idol ever until another small-town girl named Carrie Underwood came along. It didn't matter though, 'cos by that time, Kelly is already a superstar in her own rights.
Robin Williams is Russian Idol
During an Idol special in Season 7, Idol Gives Back, funnyman Robin Williams played fake Russian Idol winner with a bad sense of humour, Ivan Poppinoff (but please, call him Bob). Bob did what no other Idols have done before: he made fun of Simon Cowell, made him smile for a bit and he even managed to grab a piece of his tush. Yowza!
Sanjaya’s hair-raising pony-hawk
Move over David Beckham, your Mohawk has been out-hawked! In Season 6, Sanjaya Malakar sang No Doubt's 'Bathwater' sporting a 'hybrid' Mohawk which is made out of multiple ponytails. It was like nothing we have seen before, and Idol host Ryan Seacrest even christened it the Ponyhawk. Sadly, that was Sanjaya's fifteen minutes of fame.
Simon and Paula's French kiss
During Season 2's finale, Fox showed a mini-clip of Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell's alleged 'affair', in which they shared a three-second Frencher (!!). We don't know what's worse: The goose bump-raising liplock, Simon's porn-ish acting skills, or the cheesy music playing in the background. It's just gross.
Simon, We're Brothers Forever!
Remember Renaldo Lapuz? The guy who sang a self-written tune titled 'We're Brothers Forever' during the audition rounds of Season 7 wearing a feather-covered white hat with the word "SIMON" printed on it and a metallic silver cape? The cool dude managed to touch everyone's heart with his theatrics on the show, albeit knowing he has no chance to make it to the Hollywood rounds. God bless his soul, this man.
William Hung (She) Bangs it!
Ricky Martin's 'She Bangs' was an alright song until a modest boy came and made it a complete laughing stock - literally! On Idol Season 3, University of California student William Hung gained fame with an off-key audition performance of that song, and there were no dry eyes left at the judges' table. Of course, those were tears of laughter.
Adam Lambert upstages KISS
KISS is a multi-award winning rock band that has sold 100 million albums worldwide. They were named by VH1 as 10th on their list of the '100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock' and much respected until they performed at the finale of Season 8 with rising rock star Adam Lambert. The runner-up performed two songs with KISS and they were blown away. Critics raved that Glambert upstaged the rock gods with his never-ending soaring vocals that very night. And thus, a new rock god was born (according to Kara DioGuardi, at least).
