Photo via screenrant.com
As a prelude to the twelfth season of American Idol, rather than do a normal preview of this season’s talent, I wanted to do something with a more historical scope. My Reality Check podcast partner-in-crime Tiffany (@TVProducerLady) and I jumped on Skype for a couple hours and went through every single top 12 (13 in some seasons) finalist in all eleven previous seasons and discussed them ad nauseum.
We didn’t come up with a specific algorithm to grade each finalist. We looked at how well they did in their season and also, what kind of impact they’ve made after Idol. And it doesn’t only have to be in music. Jennifer Hudson says hello. We averaged our lists together and spit out a pretty raucous top 20.
We’ll first look at the five honorable mentions who didn’t make the top 20 list.
David Archuleta: Who knew that seventh season runner-up David Archuleta would be so famous in the Philippines?
Crystal Bowersox: In one of the decisions just about anyone would go back and change, Bowersox lost to the worst winner in American Idol history, Lee DeWyze. That should be the last mention of DeWyze anywhere on this list. Crystal has a new album dropping later this month and she’s set to play Patsy Cline in a Broadway production.
Tamyra Gray: Her fourth place finish in the inaugural year of the show was a disappointment, but she wrote Fantasia’s first single I Believe, acted in the TV show “Boston Public”, and married sort-of-back-in-the-day Kenny G lookalike Sam Watters from Color Me Badd. He doesn’t look like Kenny G anymore.
Blake Lewis: Lewis’ runner-up finish to Jordin Sparks in season six was the last time a female has won the show. Since then, Lewis released A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream) (which I kind of liked), Heartbreak On Vinyl, and has Portrait Of A Chameleon on track for release later this year. But really, he’s this high on our list because of this great Idol moment.
20. Taylor Hicks
Season: 5
Place: 1
At the age of 29, Taylor Hicks was the oldest winner in Idol history. With his salt and pepper hair color, he also looked like the oldest. Even after his debut album went platinum, Hicks’ pop career didn’t set the world on fire. It was still the lowest selling first album by an Idol winner at the time. I’m sure they’d love for their winners to sell so much now, ahem Lee DeWyze (wait, I said I wasn’t bringing up his name again).
He was dropped by Arista in 2008 and since then, has gone the independent route. That being said, Hicks is doing his thing in Vegas, performing five times per week. Does he make you proud?
19. Jessica Sanchez
Season: 11
Place: 2
Jessica may have been hardest to place because Tiffany and I both rated her on what we expect her to do since she hasn’t even released her first album yet. But she’s an explosion waiting to happen. If the Idol voting demographics were fair, Sanchez would’ve won her season last year. It’s not, and it didn’t happen. (Really, Idol should just do an all-male show since that’s all who the viewers vote for.)
Sanchez’s music career is ready to blossom. She’s going to be huge in the Philippines. Yes, bigger than David Archuleta. Her first single is set to come out soon and it’s with Ne-Yo. And she’s set to do “Glee”. While it’s hard to predict someone’s success, I have a feeling that if we did this list two years from now, we would probably have her ranked too low.
18. David Cook
Season: 7
Place: 1
I will admit to being a little disappointed with how Cook has done so far. I thought he’d be another Daughtry with his strong vocals. He breezed through season 7 of American Idol doing very creative riffs on songs like Billie Jean, Eleanor Rigby, and my favorite, his reworking of Lionel Richie’s Hello.
By the way, the guy deserves props from me for dating Kimberly Caldwell a few years ago.
17. Scotty McCreery
Season: 10
Place: 1
McCreery is another who may end up much higher on this list if we were to put it together in a couple years. He has the it factor. I can see that and I’m not a huge country fan. I’ll let my buddy Matt Bjorke explain.
Taken from his review of McCreery’s album, Clear As Day:
From the very first moment I saw Scotty McCreery sing “Your Man” in his American Idol audition, I figured this was a kid who could have a career in country music and throughout the show, I was one of the ‘critics’ who kept steady with my belief in his chances at a big career and now, as the champion of the 10th season of American Idol, he has the chance to join Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the most successful winners of the show with the strong album that is Clear As Day, Scotty’s Mark Bright-produced 19/Interscope/Mercury Nashville album.
Country music fans take care of their artists and McCreery’s looks, sound, and charm will power him to continued success. And his future re-invention when he becomes 30 will bring him even more fans. The kid’s got a bright future ahead of him.
And he big timed Jack Black!
16. Ruben Studdard
Season: 2
Place: 1
Even though now superstar Kelly Clarkson won the first season, American Idol didn’t really become water cooler talk until Ruben vs. Clay in season two. Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken should have Fox stock. Those two, along with Simon Cowell, are really the reason American Idol took off. Studdard, the cool dude with the velvety voice faced off against Aiken, the goofy kid with the adult contemporary power pipes. Both men played their parts perfectly. It was Team Clay vs. Team Ruben and it seemed like everyone had an opinion.
Studdard’s releases have been an absolute mixed bag. His first release, Soulful was up and down and lacked actual soul. The Return was awful. But 2012’s Letters from Birmingham showed that Studdard has what it takes to make a great album. It’s soulful, heart-wrenching, and has a relationship theme. Can Studdard make a comeback ten years after Idol made him famous (or did he make Idol famous)?
15. Constantine Maroulis
Season: 4
Place: 6
How can someone who was eliminated at the halfway point of his season be on this list? It’s because of what he did after Idol. And really, the only thing memorable about his Idol run was how he’d eye f*** you in every song.
It wasn’t what Maroulis did in the music game that put him on our list. It’s what he’s done on Broadway. He starred as the lead in “Rock of Ages”, earning a Tony nomination. He’s currently in the works to be in “Jekyll And Hyde” with Deborah Cox which started off-Broadway and is slated to move on Broadway later this year.
(I actually met him at the Idol auditions in San Diego several years ago. He might’ve been up all night partying as he absolutely didn’t want to be there so early in the morning. And I don’t blame him. Thankfully, he wore sun glasses. I was scared he’d eye f*** me again.)
14. Diana DeGarmo
Season: 3
Place: 2
Diana DeGarmo may have very well have won many of the American Idol seasons that weren’t hers. And the only reason she didn’t win hers is because she ran into the juggernaut that was Fantasia. DeGarmo, much like Constantine, is on this list because of what she’s done on the stage, not in the recording studio.
She’s done Broadway versions of “Hairspray” and “Hair”, and has done other off-Broadway productions since 2005. She even joined the cast of the soap opera, “Young And The Restless” in 2011.
In a fun piece of Idol trivia, she and Idol alum Ace Young are set to be married later this summer after getting engaged in 2012. They’ve even teamed up for a TV show on the Hallmark Channel.
13. Kimberly Caldwell
Season: 2
Place: 7
Caldwell was one of the first Idol sex symbols, lasting as long as she did more so because of her looks than her vocals. And she’s used those looks as well as an engaging personality to become big in the hosting world. Tiffany, who is a producer in that world says that Kimberly is in big demand.
She’s hosted shows on CBS, Fox Sports, MTV, VH-1, and the Oxygen Network. She also used her Idol roots to host many shows pertaining to the TV show, which has always made an impression on me. She hasn’t forgotten where she came from.
12. Phillip Phillips
Season: 11
Place: 1
The guy with the most redundant name in the business also has a chance, alongside Scotty McCreery, to make Idol winners important again. Since Jordin Sparks’ win in season six, Idol winners haven’t been much of a big deal. Both McCreery and Phillips have a chance to do what Daughtry, Clarkson, and Carrie Underwood did before them – become real pop stars. He was the most interesting and bland contestant all at the same time. He just didn’t seem to care, which is part of his charm.
His single Home is the most successful American Idol single in seemingly forever. It’s everywhere. You see it used in tons of TV packages and commercials. His first album The World From The Side Of The Moon is solid work. He performed the National Anthem at the first game of the 2012 World Series. And his single Gone, Gone, Gone is just as catchy as Home is.
11. Elliott Yamin
Season: 5
Place: 3
During season five, Yamin was the diabetic kid who couldn’t hear and had a bad grill, but had such a soulful voice. He’s the most awkwardly impressive Idol contestant ever, showing that charisma and singing chops could go a long way on such a cosmetic show. Yamin is a Popblerd favorite as Big Money and I both feel like he has a crazy R&B album in him.
Yamin has stayed busy, constantly touring and creating album after album. He’s the most successful Idol artist who didn’t have a deal with a major label. He released his self-titled album in 2007. He then released two holiday albums back to back before coming back with Fight For Love in 2009. He released an album in Japan before 2012’s Let’s Get To What’s Real. Each of his regular US releases are consistently good.
This is still my favorite single from an American Idol alumnus ever.
63 comments
GG says:
Mar 18, 2013
Hi Lily,
1. It’s a subjective list. Just opinion. Everyone’s would be different.
2. I gathered the facts. And I used them to place him in honorable mention.
I think what I was looking for is just different in what you’re looking for in this kind of list, which is great. Would love to see your top 20 list!
George Bounacos says:
Mar 18, 2013
I have to say that I think David Archuleta would be overwhelmed with happiness to see such valiant defenses of his work. This level of support is touching for any artist.
Yet one of the issues I’ve learned in 30+ years as a musician and as a paid music journalist is that there are no absolutes. (smile)
When we say things like Archuleta’s version of Imagine is “universally acknowledged as one of the best performances ever…” then we get into absolute territory, right? It was good. It was darn good. It was one of the best that year. I don’t know that it was one of the best songs performed of the thousands of songs in nearly 500 episodes (although that would be a cool list too, huh?)
And right now David Archuleta has an album due to drop any hour although he is apparently in the middle of his two year mission so he is indeed a busy young man.
GG and his co-author have said from the beginning that this list was subjective. For what it’s worth, my opinion is that his American Idol performances put him in the top 3, maybe even the top 4. I know Carly Smithson is a fine singer (with a top 40 album and Cirque du Soliel gig for 2 years) and I know that Syeesha Mercardo was even better than Smithson. David Cook? Eh, maybe. I think a 3 way final of Mercado, Smithson and Archuleta wouldn’t have shocked anyone.
There was a huge gap in Idol that year between the top 4 or 5 voices, and the rest of the group. It was evident on tour and in who has done different things since Idol.
Bottom line, Archie fans, I got beat up on my site a month ago by the Kris Allen fans. We all love our favorites and support them. And I promise you that they’ll all say that Allen’s version of “Ain’t No Sunshine” or “Heartless” is one of the best ever, so forth. And we all know that Kris Allen is a fine entertainer and the second best singer (if that) on American Idol that year.
These difference of opinion make the world go ’round. Rather than going Team Archie 24/7, open up to a few new artists. Talk about this season — is anyone close to the people on this list? Talk about the new release, and why you love it.
This year, I’m in love with Candice, Curtis and and Kree. I think in mid-March that Candice or Amber should win. Why not Curtis or Kree? Marketability, fan friendliness, ability to adapt, etc. Candice and Amber can and will sing anything. Kree isn’t in their league vocally, and I’m not sure how Curtis will fare on theme nights.
But this list always struck me as subjective. I thought Katherine McPhee didn’t belong on it, and the gang made an eloquent defense of her. If the new Archie album spawns a hit or so, I’ll bet he’s on a future list.
What say y’all?
GG says:
Mar 18, 2013
Someone should send this to Archie so he sees his loyal fanbase come to his defense.
I think the key is that this list was put together to do the following:
– Create talking points for Idol fans
– Remember some of the older contestants who some may have forgotten
– Hype up the new season
And I think we succeeded. People can disagree with our rankings and Tiffany and I aren’t mad. It’s just our collective opinion. She had J-Hud at number 1 and I had Kelly at number 1. So it’s not like we agreed with everything either.
But, I love the comments and the attention the list has received. Keep them coming!
Lily Ti says:
Mar 19, 2013
George, I agree with much of what you said. I was a music major in college. (concert piano and voice)I just think that if AI is primarily a singing contest that David should have been near the top 5 on this list. Though his “type” of music isn’t my favorite, I have seen him live and his vocal skill is amazing. He also has amazing natural ability and technical skill, given his vocal chord issues.Umm, I have seen so many acts live and have to say that David ranks right up there with some of the best vocally. I got the same feeling seeing him live as I did the first time I saw Stevie Wonder, and that is saying something. David is primarily a vocalist, like Celine or Buble, but that is all he needs to be. He is far more interesting than most pop singers, I think..
I just can’t see Hicks, Caldwell, or Degarmo pulling this off..the list just baffels me, with all due respect:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4favK3tpJA
No real bells or whistles, just a singer. And still so young. So I guess we will all see, but I do believe we have not heard the last of young David. He had a plan it seems and has held back due to this mission thing. I suspect he will be very big. Isn’t he only 22 or something? lol
GG, I do agree with you about Elliott Yamin. I would have to think hard about a top 20 list, tho. Jhud would be near the top, so would David. Caldwell, DeGarmo, and Hicks would not have made the cut, for me vocally. And if I may indulge in a little subjectivity.. NO WAY CONSTANTINE;)
GG says:
Mar 19, 2013
Hi Lily,
Respect your opinion. I just didn’t want to make this a list about singing only. The show was never called singer’s idol. They knew they were opening up a nice launching pad for careers inside of all entertainment.
If it’s all about voice, no way Caldwell or Constantine makes the list. Though, DeGarmo has chops. And Hicks has an appeal that many of the contestants didn’t. That goes a long way on Idol. T
Lilt Ti says:
Mar 19, 2013
OH, George, I think I said the Imagine performance was unanimously recognized not universally..lol I meant by the judges. I have heard interviews since by J-lo, Simon, Randy and Keith all mention that performance, but do agree that it would be very difficult to get universal consensus..on anything:)
Lily Ti says:
Mar 19, 2013
GG, True, some acting careers and stage careers have been launched. Point taken. Also I can see Cook as a music producer down the road. He has a way of turning a tune.
GermanyLCT says:
Mar 19, 2013
Ok if you set aside all that David has done in Asia, and only include what he’s done in the U S, writing a bestseller, being the first youngest to guest on with the Mormon tabernacle Choir, recording with Myley Cyrus, on ICarly, Hannah Montanna, several Teen Choice Awards, Best Latino Artist AND several charity organizations, and solo tours along with Demi Lavato,… Still wasn’t enough?
GG says:
Mar 20, 2013
@Lily – I think you’re right about Cook. Could see him do more stuff on the other end. I think he’s really good and has probably underachieved for whatever reason.
@GermanyLCT – Sincerely and I’m not saying this as a diss toward David, but not really. All the artists who did something on that show were on bit parts in TV shows or recorded goofy stuff. The key is staying relevant through whatever you’re doing and outside of his diehard fans, no one really knew what Archie was up to. The fact that I had to research that he was a star in the Philippines means that no major US media outlet thought it was important enough, American Idol included, to let fans know.
Now, when he’s back in the US and if he has a hit record, or if he becomes a judge on The Voice, then we’d be able to rank him much higher. Again, if we redo this list again in 2 years, it may be entirely different.
Jana says:
Mar 22, 2013
http://ow.ly/jkzvt
Listen to the new DA CD streaming on BILLBOARD.
GG says:
Mar 22, 2013
Feel free to link it here Jana!
germanyLCT says:
Mar 23, 2013
Good morning/afternoon, GG! Just wanted to introduce you to David. This is David from March 2012 to March 2013. Have a great weekend!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=24g2TKF_Urs
GG says:
Mar 24, 2013
Thanks! You too!