The remaining nine American Idol contestants will take on the songs of John Lennon and Paul McCartney Wednesday night.
It’s not exactly a fresh theme for the show.
Idol used the exact same Lennon-McCartney songbook back in Season 9.
And, back in Season 7, they had the contestants sing songs by The Beatles for two straight weeks.
Which, if I recall correctly, turned out to be not the wisest of decisions, even with that super talented Season 7 cast.
But let’s forget the stumbles for a moment and take a look back at the memorable performances from those shows.
They could serve as a sort of lesson for the Season 12 cast.
They should be required viewing for the new Idol judges before they start raving over what they hear Wednesday night.
Because, this folks, is how it’s done.
Crystal Bowersox — “Come Together”
Kara DioGuardi called this performance “slinky and sexy.” Three years later, I still don’t understand how Crystal Bowersox wasn’t the Season 9 champ.
Casey James — “Jealous Guy”
This was probably Casey’s finest moment on Idol, and the performance that made me start taking him seriously as a musician rather than just Kara’s “eye candy.”
David Archuleta — “The Long and Winding Road”
The second week of Beatles songs in Season 7 was a letdown after a string of stellar performances the week before. One exception: This vocal from David Archuleta.
David Cook — “Eleanor Rigby”
Hey, it might have been The Beatles, but it didn’t mean David Cook couldn’t rock out. He still ranks as one of the best contestants ever at changing up songs.
Brooke White — “Let It Be”
And this is one of my favorite Idol performances of all time. Simple, heartfelt and Brooke White at her down-to-earth best.
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9 Comments
Season 7 for the Win!! Thanks for adding David Archuleta’s “Long and Winding Roads”
New Album: “No Matter How Far” due out March 26.
Clips on ITunes and Amazon.
yup, David Archuleta – he NEVER disappointed me on Idol, and hasn’t since! Great voice, great musician, great person. Thanks for highlighting his Long and Winding Road!
Thanks for these videos! They for sure show us how it is done. And they are all still doing music and I saw that @thedavidcook and @davidarchie again made the Forbes Top Idol Earners again this year!
Great videos !! And I agree about David Cook, I love the way he changes up songs !!
You picked some great performances that haven’t been outdone by anyone in any other season. I often come back and listen to David Archuleta’s version of this song he being my all time favorite idol contestant. Enjoying his new music along with his previous while waiting for his return.
Let’s give props to Clay Aiken for his perfect rendition of “Here There & Everywhere”. That performance, as vocally challenging and pretty as it was, also demonstrates the blatant sabotage of the producers on the finale performances show by screwing with the lighting to make Clay look bad and like he’s in a halloween skit.
Randy called it a safe song, which is a wtf moment since that song requires such control and an amazingly wide vocal range. Try to imagine Ruben singing that song. Never happen. LOL.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFT7WmIZSRA
I’d like to add to the list Taylor Hicks’ soulful version of “Something” in Season five: http://youtu.be/JKsJ6jxlWJo
Hey, folks, I didn’t mean to exclude anyone from before Season 7. Fact is, while I think I’ve watched every finals performance show of Idol since the show started to air, I didn’t start blogging until Season 7. So I only picked the best Beatles performances from Beatles nights since then.