The Official Soul Patrol Headquarters

A look at my favorite American Idols from Seasons 1-3

An interesting thing about having a blog is how you end up revealing things you otherwise might never have revealed, at least not to the entire world. For example, in my last blog entry, I revealed that one of my favorites from American Idol Season 5 was Kevin Covais.

That's right. I liked Chicken Little. As a matter of fact, I feel like listening to some Covais right now.

Yes, I know. You all think I'm certifiably crazy.

And you wouldn't be the only ones. Right now, 5 men in white coats are trying to break my door down so they can haul me away.

So since I already have one foot in a padded room, I figured I would go all out and reveal who I liked during each season of American Idol. And today I'll cover Seasons 1-3.

So let's start with Season 1. And my first thought is "My how different that season was compared to today." The format was different back then. They performed on different stages. Ryan Seacrest had a co-host. Simon Cowell was only semi-rude. Paula Abdul made sense when she talked.

Another thing that was different back then is that just about every singer that was on the stage was pretty well like by the public. There were no Kevin Covais' or Sanjaya Malakar's back then. So my favorites for Season 1 may not cause me to get an extra shot of medicine if and when I'm carted off to the nuthouse.

So let's hear it for Adriel Herrerra.

Adriel had a very smooth voice and a great stage presence. He really seemed to put all of himself into a song when he sang. He had a natural nervousness that was very evident when talking to the camera and walking out on stage. But once he started singing, the nervousness just melted away and he gave consistently solid performances.

The format from Season 1 doomed Ariel, in my opinion (three groups of 10, with only three people from each group moving on). With the format of today, I think he would have stood a much better chance.

Sadly, I can not find any information on Adriel today. As far as I can tell, he is not publicly performing anymore.

The other two people I liked the most during Season 1 were Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini. I have to admit, though, that I did not much care for either of them in the beginning. However, they both grew on me during the season.

So now it's time to talk about Season 2. And what I thought would be an odd pick at the time turned out to be one of America's favorites.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Clay Aiken.

At first I thought Clay's audition was a set up,

that he would be one of those people who thinks he can sing but really can't. However, the moment he sang that first note I fell in love with him. He had such a powerful voice, and it sounded very much like the voice I had always wanted for myself. Clay was a nerd, but a confident nerd. He knew he was a great singer and didn't let anyone stop him.

I thought in the beginning I would be one of the few people to like him because, as Simon said, "you don't look like a star." And I thought I was right when he didn't make it out of his group of 8 to move into the Final 12. But then came the Wildcard round, and he was voted back into it by America. And they kept voting for him week after week.

Clay was really my only favorite for Season 2. Which means that my picks for the first two seasons weren't that bad. See, I'm not a complete nut.

Ah, but then there is Season 3. And while both contestants have been roundly criticized, one of them is considered to be one of the worst singers ever to be on American Idol.

First up, and the less controversial of the two, is Final 8 eliminee, Jon Peter Lewis.

(click the video to be taken to YouTube, where you can watch it)

Lock me up and throw away the key if you want, but this was an awesome performance by a great singer. And I know I wasn't alone, cause this performance won JPL America's vote for the Wildcard night (yes, I did vote for him

).

JPL has a terrific vocal range that covers three octaves (and that is not common). He can hit those low notes just as easily as he can hit the high ones. And when he needs to, he can move in and out of falsetto seamlessly.

In addition to his voice, what I liked most about JPL from the beginning was that he was not afraid to take risks. Even when he dancing like a fool on stage, he had fun with it. (Yes, I am quite aware of the fact that I didn't say the same thing about Taylor at first. There is no reason to use that aganist me in my competancy hearing.)

Jon Peter Lewis recorded his first single, Turn to Grey, in 2004. You can watch it on YouTube if you want, though you naysayers will be forced to eat crow. JPL released his first album, Stories From Hollywood, on November 7, 2006. Visit Jon Peter Lewis' Website for more information about the album.

So that brings me to my final favorite of the day. And I don't care if this adds 20 years to my sanitarium stay, I am gonna say that, without a doubt, this next favorite has one of the best voices to ever sing on the American Idol stage.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you John Stevens.

That's right. One of the most maligned, dumped on, criticized singers in all of AI history is one of my all-time favorites. And no amount of medicine the men in white coats give me will ever change my opinion on this.

From the moment John did a Dean Martin impression at his audition, I fell in love with this guy. And when he obliged the judges and sang in his own voice, I knew right then and there that I wanted him to win.

I also knew right then and there that he wouldn't. It was obvious from the start that John doesn't have a voice or style that can easily sing other genres, which is what AI thrives on. And that is exactly what happened. John struggled trying to adapt his voice and style to fit he genre of the week. When John was allowed to be John, he was the best. When John was forced to be someone and something else, he wasn't.

And it was his inability to adept to the different genres that has caused so many people to deride him, both then and now. His advancement each week caused a lot of controversy, especially after the infamous LaToya London, Fantasia Barrino and Jennifer Hudson bottom 3 following the Final 7 performances.

But you know what? If people can't see or understand that John is a singer specifically made for one style of music, then so be it. I still say John was, and is, one of the all-time best. And that is why he is one of my all-time favorites.

John did release one album of cover songs, Red, in June 2005. He is currently in his third semester at Berklee College of Music. Visit John Stevens' Website to listen to the album and for more information about him.

So there you go. There are my favorite Idols from the first three seasons. Some day I'll do another entry about my favorite Idols from the rest of the seasons. But for now, the men in white coats have finally broken through my front door. Maybe they will let me go if I play the video of Sanjaya Malakar doing David Letterman's Top 10 list.

So leave a comment and tell me whether or not you think my favorite idols are enough to have me committed. And let me know who your favorites were during the first three seasons.

Tags: Taylor Hicks, American Idol, Birmingham, Alabama