'American Idol' was my ENTIRE childhood, and when I first heard the show was being revived after less than two years with Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie as the judges, I was hesitant. However, within the first ten minutes of the first episode of the season, I was hooked again - it brought back so many memories.
Here are some of my favorite American Idol performances of all time, in no particular order:
Those whistletones!!!! I was definitely too young to remember Kelly Clarkson actually winning the first American Idol title, but her music has shaped my entire life and I couldn't make a list of Idol performances without including her on it!
I got the incredible opportunity of seeing Carrie Underwood on tour during my freshman year of high school, and she has PIPES! She is one of the best performers I have ever seen live and her American Idol win paved the way for so many other country artists (such as Kellie Pickler, Lauren Alaina, and Scotty McCreery).
Although I rooted for Lauren Alaina during season 10 of American Idol, thinking back on it, Haley Reinhart was absolutely robbed of first place in 2011. This performance of The House of the Rising Sun has over 4.6 million views on YouTube for good reason!
Season 9 of Idol was pretty irrelevant, but I had a huge crush on Andrew Garcia and this cover of Straight Up is so fun! I still watch it to this day. I wish Paula Abdul had still been a judge when he sang it, I would've loved to see her reaction to it.
Glover is one of American Idol's lesser known winners, since her win came during season 12, when the show was beginning to lose traction. I did not really pay attention to her season, but she is one of the best vocalists to come out of the show. Her rendition of Love Song is beautiful!
Joshua Ledet was ROBBED. Out of all of the performances on this list, this is the one that I keep coming back to time and time again. Nothing tops this.I'm not going to lie - I wanted Adam Lambert to win season 8 of Idol. However, this performance is the only one I vividly remember from this season, for good reason. Kris Allen's twist on Kanye West's Heartless is one that I will never forget!
I will forever be upset that Katharine McPhee did not beat Taylor Hicks during season 5 - this was the first season that I watched religiously, and I remember sitting at the TV with my mom and both of us legitimately crying at her loss. Thankfully, she has managed to stay in the spotlight through television and Broadway, and this performance will always stick with me.
Lauren Alaina will always be my favorite American Idol contestant, and I am so proud of the success she has had to this day. Her Top 4 performance of Martina McBride's Anyway was incredible for so many reasons - first of all, her vocals were on point, but she also sang this right after her hometown of Rossville, GA was hit by major tornados. By advancing from top 4 to top 3, she knew that she would be able to return home for her hometown visit, and had to hit close to home with her song choice.
Although this season of Idol has been going on for a little under a week, I am already rooting for Catie Turner after her audition:
She is super quirky and talented, and I feel like a lot of young girls will be able to relate to her! I am so excited to see where the rest of this season of Idol will go.
