A few weeks ago, I posted two promos for American Idol Season 10. Now, here's the new teaser or promo for American Idol Season 10 featuring, yes, ALL the winners! They all share their individual stories and how the show helped them become who they are now.
Crap! Can I seriously die now? Haha. Of course I'm kidding, but this promo just brought out the inner fanboy in me. Really. I was seriously not excited with the new season AT ALL, but this slew of promos with the winners makes me all giddy and stupid. Haha. Enjoy!
Just like Carrie Underwood at #11, I expect to receive a couple of criticism soon for putting the original American Idol at just #8. Again, let me explain..
Kelly Clarkson is possibly among the Top 5 most popular contestants to ever come out of Idol - even after 9 years - and is often called the best contestant EVER. Well, I would say she's had an amazing post-Idol career - possibly one of my favorite post-Idol contestants. But somehow, that doesn't play into my favorites. Yes, it can affect a little - case in point, Brooke White - but it can just do so much.
Kelly was an absolute stand out on Season 1, even from her very first live performance. She was definitely my favorite of the night, and I was so glad she moved on. Really. Imagine what the competition would have been like without her! Travesty. Haha. Well, it's kind of hard for me to really analyze the progression of Season 1, since I knew all of the results before even watching, but from what I understand it took a while for Kelly to become a frontrunner. Somehow, it seemed that even after a few weeks into the Finals, Tamyra Gray and Justin Guarini were still the ones who were expected to do better than any other contestants. I even read somewhere that Tamyra lead the betting odds, followed by Justin, then Kelly.
I guess the main thing that disappointed me about Season 1 was - well, the main thing was really the lack of great talent in the Top 10 - but the other worst thing about that season was how karaoke Idol was. Haha. I mean, when did Kelly or any of the other contestants, for that matter, really show any musical relevance? Probably never! At least, not that I can think of. Quite frankly, Kelly would've killed it in a more recent season, I think. I would've loved to hear the types of performances she would do and I wonder if she would've gone the pop-rock route on the show. Anyway, my point is that watching Season 1 back, all I got from Kelly Clarkson was an outstanding karaoke version of the songs and not much more. It was a bit disappointing although it's not her fault.
Now, was Kelly the rightful winner? Honestly, a part of me would've liked Tamyra Gray to win Season 1 - or at least make the final two - but I don't think she could've had nearly the success Kelly did. So, yes, Kelly was the right winner. But if I'm being honest, when the name Kelly Clarkson comes to mind, I instantly think of everything she has done post-Idol and that's not to say she wasn't great on the show because I thought she had an amazing voice. However, the first season, as I've said, was definitely more karaoke compared to the seasons after that and the song choices were much more limited since the show was still in its incipient stages and hadn't yet earned its credibility. Therefore, Kelly just got to live up to her true potential after the show.
That's why I cannot rank her any higher than this if I'm being completely real. When I first set up my rankings a few months ago, Kelly was about a couple of spots higher than this - just like Carrie Underwood. But a big part of that was because I almost felt obligated to have her that high. But alas, I am keeping my list 100% real! So, deal with it. Haha.
Now, as I've said, I didn't watch Season 1 but I definitely liked what I already knew about Kelly, and it just got better with her debut album, Thankful. Yes, I wasn't entirely a Kelly Clarkson fan convert after that - even though I really enjoyed her single, Miss Independent - but it was her second album, Breakaway, that got me into the whole Clarkson bandwagon. Then, she released My December, and I thought I got to appreciate her as an artist even more. Truth be told, her progression as an artist really made me admire her more than anything else - aside from her amazing voice, of course.
Favorite performance(s): Kelly absolutely gave a ton of showstoppers in the first season. My favorite, however, was her sassy take on Stuff Like That There. Of course, Natural Woman was a classic Kelly performance and so was her coronation song, A Moment Like This.
Now, as I've said, I didn't watch Season 1 but I definitely liked what I already knew about Kelly, and it just got better with her debut album, Thankful. Yes, I wasn't entirely a Kelly Clarkson fan convert after that - even though I really enjoyed her single, Miss Independent - but it was her second album, Breakaway, that got me into the whole Clarkson bandwagon. Then, she released My December, and I thought I got to appreciate her as an artist even more. Truth be told, her progression as an artist really made me admire her more than anything else - aside from her amazing voice, of course.
