Idol definitely ended on a high. This has probably been the strongest season since twelve (talent wise). It wasn't that hard to narrow down the best performances of the season so here you all go! In my opinion these are the top twenty best performance from the final season of American Idol. This is the last time I'll talk about this but notice how #1 & #2 are from the first week, and nearly the last week. If you're confused as to why Trent Harmon won, there's your momentum. Momentum toward the end beats a high starting point and a kind of high ending point.
20. DALTON RAPATTONI
"Bird Set Free" (Top 4)
He really tapped into the softer part of himself tonight and I think it really worked. It was like he picked his performances tonight because he knew he was going to be in the bottom two this week. The lyrics of the song were really interesting, I don't mean to be shady but they go "I don't care if I sing off key...I sing for love" ...That's sort of what I feel like Dalton does? His performance are never really vocally strong but literally everything else he does gives off that illusion and I thought it was beautiful to see him really open up tonight. Keith hit it on the nose. "I'd rather a failed attempt than soulless perfection" and Dalton attempts to push his limits every week, he's a hard worker and I think I started liking him tonight. I don't know...
19. TRISTAN MCINTOSH
"Go Rest High on That Mountain" (Top 8)
Why didn't Tristan have a piano every week? I don't mean to sound rude, but most of the times Tristan went up to perform it all sort of just felt like a joke. She looked confused, uncomfortable and forgot what pitch was every time she was on that stage. That all went away the week she ditched the up tempo numbers and stripped it back to just her piano so she could focus on her vocals. Her voice absolutely soared. I talked every week about her voice not being at it's full potential but her rendition of this song was pretty darn close.
18. AVALON YOUNG
"Earned It" (Top 8)
The most underrated contestant this season. She was extremely original, wickedly marketable, fun and she had a nice voice on her. This voice was showcased during her soulful rendition of "Earned It". It was current, she managed to keep us engaged the whole time and it felt like it could have been her record. I wanted to punch the public for putting her in the bottom three that week.
17. OLIVIA ROX
"Unconditionally" (Top 10)
Does Olivia smile too much? Yes. Is she uncoordinated on stage? Yes. Can she absolutely sing circles around more than half of the contestants from this season? Sweet baby, Jesus, yes she can! A beautifully simple first half before she hit a run whose last note was so high it ended in heaven. The last half was just as impressive. Eliminated way too soon.
16. MACKENZIE BOURG
"You Are So Beautiful" (Top 8)
When MacKenzie sang "you are so beautiful" and stared into the camera I said thank you. This song is everything I hoped for and everything I needed out of MacKenzie. It was simple, he wasn't straining for those notes which is usually my pet peeve of his. This song couldn't have come at a more perfect time after Harry got on his case about the duet (because he had absolutely no idea what he was singing about) and not being able to connect and then coming out here and interpreting the lyrics as strongly as he did. AND he did it without a guitar! MacKenzie came out and made a 50+ year old song sound like he just wrote it.
15. DALTON RAPATTONI
"God Only Knows" (Top 4)
After spending time in the bottom two, Dalton came out as emotional as ever. It really helped that the performance was always ridiculously stripped back (for a Dalton performance). I actually really loved this performance from him! It was stripped back and the song went somewhere really special. He went through so much in the song, the look on his face, his eyes, it looked as if he was unraveling in front of our eyes and it was just beautiful. I'm not sure if he was pulling from his experience in the bottom two, because he looked pretty down after that too, but this was the best I've ever heard him. This performance totally flipped my position on how I feel about Dalton
14. MACKENZIE BOURG
"Billie Jean (Top 5)
I always love when this song is slowed down with an emphasis on the lyrics because you hear how interesting and weird they are. MacKenzie did that like an expert, his vocals were restrained but he knew when to use his upper register (and he used it legally and it made me happy) there was one point where his voice cracked at the top but it sounded devine. The chorus change up could have absolutely have made the song crash and burn but it actually was a welcomed change and gave the song some more depth.
13. TRENT HARMON
"Simple Man" (Top 5)
Trent basically did what he did well the first performance (he performed a very awkward "Counting Stars" well vocally, but looked a mess on stage) and implemented it into a much better performance. His voice sounded beautiful, the staging was very intimate and did I mention how good his voice sounded? The arc for the song was beautiful, it started out quiet and at the end he was pleading. This also ended with Jennifer's monologue about being on the show and watching things as beautiful his performance and Trent tearing up as well. I got so emotional, baby.
12. MACKENZIE BOURG
"Roses" (Top 14)
I don't know if I said this before but I got really, really strong Alex Preston vibes from him. Looking at him when he's singing is beautiful because he just looks absolutely consumed. I'm pretty sure I saw his eyes roll back in happiness at one point. It's really hard for me to get into new songs but MacKenzie did that with this performance. Then he sung "get you out of that dress," everyone took their pants off in the audience.
11. AVALON YOUNG
"Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" (Top 14)
"How y'all doin'? HOW Y'ALL DOING?!" Avalon is absolutely perfect. Her stage presence is out of this world. Her stage presence is out of this world, unlike most of the other young contestants, she looks like a veteran on that stage. Harry spoke so much in the auditions about a "bookend" for the show. End the show with someone winning who can be as successful as Kelly, the original Idol. Avalon is a very, very viable R&B/Soul singer. Once again a ridiculously underrated performance from an even more ridiculously underrated contestant.
10. LA'PORSHA RENAE
"Stay With Me" (Top 3)
La'Porsha wasn't set on this song from the get go and I understood why. But she sang the mess out of this performance. Even though she wasn't feeling the song, the emotion that just exuded from her jolted through the arena up and down like electricity. That's what a performer is supposed to do...perform. And she performed the living daylights out of this.
09. TRENT HARMON
"When a Man Loves a Woman" (Top 8)
Now, I'm a little biased because I absolutely love this song and thought it was perfect for his voice. His voice is so powerful and the fact that he's so good at conveying his emotion really uplifted the whole performance. His sort of nasally tone actually really worked for me in this performance, especially when he hit that extremely, extremely high note in his falsetto. I looked away and shuddered (in the best way possible, of course), there were eargasms everywhere, if I'm being honest. I agree with JLO, I love it. I love it. I love it. I think this performance might have made me a Trent Harmon fan.
08. LA'PORSHA RENAE
"Halo" (Top 8)
When La'Porsha steps out onto the stage to sing it's a masterclass. Everything about this woman is so powerful, from her voice, to her angelic positioning on stage, to the stares she gives into the camera - it looks like she's staring into my soul. She has a way of making a performance extremely dramatic without turning it into something theatrical and over the top. When the music stopped and she took us to church at that acapella moment, I couldn't hold in my love. That kiss to the camera at the end was everything
07. SONIKA VAID
"Safe and Sound" (Top 14)
So as I was watching Sonika perform, a light bulb went off in my head. This girl can actually win this whole competition. Her voice is absolutely stunning. She has impeccable vocal control and was she transitioned into her head voice I got goosebumps. This was one of two times the whole night I got goosebumps. I was basically Keith this entire performance. Those last few notes just took me to that place I need to be.
06. TRENT HARMON
"Sharp Dressed Man" (Top 4)
The first of two stellar performances of the week where Trent decided to start stepping up his game. Trent played Idol like a master, saving his best performances for the last few weeks. His growth arc on the show was tremendous and this performance signified the change from dark horse to front runner. THOSE. VOCALS. THOSE. POSES. THAT. SWAGGER. I don't say swagger, I hate the word but he has so much swag that he made the word for me. He's so natural, he's so confident, ...that is what you call fire. This was Trent's breakthrough performance for me.
05. SONIKA VAID
"Bring Me to Life" (Top 10)
Sonika's voice is absolutely perfect. The minute she starts taking stage presence classes, she'll be a forced to be reckoned with. That being said, at least she was trying and it wasn't uncomfortable to watch. As soon as she pulled that mic out of the stand and strutted to the front of the stage, I knew she came to fight. The last few moments of that performance was absolute perfection. She channeled the drama of the song, the danger of the song and she never lost the pitch. And, girl, she brought all of the necessary attitude and sass that we've all been waiting for her. The last moments as she went up note by note was near perfection. I am so glad that she got to go after La'Porsha's superb performance because it really just fired Sonika up and give her the best performance she's had the whole competition.
04. LA'PORSHA RENAE
"No More Drama" (Top 5)
THAT. IT. WHAT. I'M. TALKING. ABOUT. Okay, whatever, let's skip the fact that La'Porsha sang her BUTT off during this performance. Let's talk about the actual performance itself. This performance, to me, is very reminiscent of Jessica Sanchez when she sang "And I Am Telling You", where the emotion, the pain, the anger and the frustration were just furiously leaking out of her to the point where she just lost it at the end. Screw it, let's talk about her voice, it was in top form tonight. The growls, the literal anger in her voice when she emphasized the phrase "no more drama" was just so powerful it was amazing to watch. Damn, I thought she needed a medic at the
03. TRENT HARMON
"Waiting Game" (Top 3)
I hope Trent puts out a song like this on his debut album. His voice was so beautiful when he performed this. All of his strengths were magnified with this performance. His vocal technique, his restraint, his vibrato, his falsetto. The third line of the chorus brings chills to my arms every time I hear it. Trent OWNED the second half of the live shows without a doubt and this performance cemented it.
02. LA'PORSHA RENAE
"Diamonds" (Top 10)
Really, La'Porsha? We're just going to steal everybody's edges on the second live show? MY girl La'Porsha looked like a star tonight. It felt more like I was watching a performance on an awards show as opposed to American Idol. Her voice was in TOP FORM tonight. She didn't over sing, she gave just the perfect amount of runs, the perfect amount of sparkles (shine bright like a diamond, La'Porsha was SHINING BRIGHT IN THAT OUTFIT, YES MA'AM). She just jumped into the song, didn't she? Her lower register is like a gift from God, no? That growl? I thought that was as good as it was going to get but after she hit that chorus and got into that groove, and she stared the camera dead in the face, then started feeling herself, everything about this performance had excellent written all over it. I was Kelly the entire performance, dancing and praising the ground she walks on. They're constantly looking for new Idol moments and not only did she give one tonight, she's given one nearly every time she's stepped on the stage. Harry said it for us all, the reaction in the studio was her critique.
01. TRENT HARMON
"Chandelier" (Top 4)
The second of two stellar performances when Trent Harmon begun to peak. When Sia told him to sing it up the octave and he did it I got goosebumps and sat back in my seat. I tweeted that this is probably the best performance of the season before the song even started. ...And then he started singing. And I held myself. I was watching American Idol and I was holding myself because the vocal was so extraordinarily gorgeous. The restraint in his voice was juxtaposed with the power, him holding back was probably what made the performance so thrilling because we knew he could take it up there at any moment. I honestly don't know what I would have done if he started belting it, I probably would have had a panic attack and had to leave the room.
No comments:
Post a Comment