I realized I haven't written for the blog for a few weeks now and have been racking my brain as to what to write about this time. So I turned on my PC, opened my media player and funny, first thing I wanted to hear was Blake Lewis' Idol rendition of "You Give Love a Bad Name".
I remembered my reaction when I watched this performance, it was a jaw-dropping, heart-stopping and most of all a brave take on an "anthem" song from Bon Jovi. It kind of inspired me to list out the most, shall I say, daring performances from the last three seasons of American Idol.
These are in random, and comments follow after each performance. This is gonna be hard to narrow down, but I've decided to focus on four of the most unconventional, surprising and gallant performances that Idol contestants have decided to shake up and truly, truly made it their own.
Blake Lewis, You Give Love A Bad Name (originally done by Bon Jovi)
I made this music player at MyFlashFetish.com.
Probably Season 6's most dynamic performer, he used his mad beatbox skills to give a nice cool, modern sound to this classic rock anthem, taking the focus slightly away from his vocal abilities and more so to his ability to take the crowd in and truly entertain.
David Cook, Hello (originally done by Lionel Richie)
I made this music player at MyFlashFetish.com.
This was a very, very bold take on an otherwise generally known as a mushy, mellow song. For me it was a perfect example of just letting it go and letting the music do the talking. If David Cook were to put out a record right now, I'd be more than happy to shell out some bucks for his album.
Chris Daughtry, Walk the Line (originally done by Johnny Cash)
I made this music player at MyFlashFetish.com.
Now this is the perfect example of sheer bravery. Johnny Cash is an icon and updating an icon's song is like trying to turn water into stone. But Chris worked it out, and look where he is right now.
Katharine McPhee, Bringing out the Elvis in Me (originally done by Faith Hill)
I made this music player at MyFlashFetish.com.
Katharine, from the get go, has said that though she loves country music, it's not exactly what she would like to sing, so I was very glad she stayed true to what she said and shook up this song to fit her own vocal stylings. It was sexy yet understated and the bluesy element fused in the song was just right to win the judges' favor for the performance.
Honorable mention should be given to Bucky Covington's Superstition back on Stevie Wonder night on season 5. I liked how his voice turned this otherwise very R&B song somewhat country. I just can't find an mp3 to post here so kudos still.
Tags: American Idol
# posted by Sheena @ 7:31 PM
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