Idol Chatter & Voice Views

He was known as the King of Pop. His sudden death has millions mourning.

And Michael Jackson’s musical influence certainly spilled over to the Idol stage. In fact, his music played a large role in determining the winner of the last two seasons.

Think about it.

What performance propelled eventual winner Kris Allen into the season eight finals?

Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.”

What performance established eventual winner David Cook as a frontrunner in season seven?

Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”

Of course, a key to the success of David Cook’s performance was that he didn’t sing “Billie Jean” the way Michael Jackson did. He chose the Chris Cornell version of the song.

It was a wise move because, over the years, when Idol contestants tried to mimic Michael Jackson … well, it seldom came off well.

Perhaps that’s why contestants didn’t try it more often over the years. During the season eight semifinals, Paula Abdul told contestant Stephen Fowler that singing a Michael Jackson tune was like the kiss of death because so few contestants can measure up to the original.

Stephen, it should be noted, tried to sing “Rock With You” and did not make the finals.

Of course, a couple of weeks later, Idol held a Michael Jackson theme week during the finals. Go figure.

Below is a list of Michael Jackson songs Idol contestants have performed during the finals, with links to videos of those performances.

The first two are worth checking out for old time’s sake. But if it’s quality you’re looking for, head straight to David Cook’s aforementioned rendition of “Billie Jean” and to Adam Lambert’s performance of “Black and White.”

If you know of performances I’ve missed, let me know. I’ll gladly add them to the list.

Meanwhile, enjoy the memories. I’ll sure we’ll be hearing more Michael in the Idol years to come.

Note: Since this blog was posted, Fox and American Idol have announced that they will rebroadcast the “Michael Jackson Songbook” episode from season eight. The show will run from 8 to 10 p.m. Monday. Of course, if you’d rather not wait, you can follow the links below and watch all the performances in a much shorter span of time.

Season 1:

Nikki McKibben: “Ben”
Justin Guarini: “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”

Season 4

Nikko Smith: “I Want You Back” (The Jackson 5)

Season 5

Ace Young: “Butterflies”

Season 7

David Cook: “Billie Jean”

Season 8
(Michael Jackson week performances)

Adam Lambert: “Black and White”
Allison Iraheta: “Given to Me”
Alexis Grace: “Dirty Diana”
Danny Gokey: “PYT”
Megan Joy: “Rockin’ Robin”
Li Rounds: “The Way You Make Me Feel”
Scott MacIntyre: “Keep the Faith”
Michael Sarver: “You Are Not Alone”
Jasmine Murray: “I’ll Be There”
Matt Giraud: “Form of Human Nature”
Kris Allen: “Remember the Time”
Jorge Nunez: “Never Can Say Goodbye”
Anoop Desai: “Beat It”