An Open Letter

Our relationship is based on a cycle of abuse. You get my hopes up, and send them crashing to the ground. Week after week, I come crawling back to you, and you consistently fail me. It’s been so long since you thought about my needs. After our encounters, I walk around in a storm for a week, telling everyone I hate you, saying I’ll never let you back in my life, that we’re through For Real This Time, and yet every week, I find myself in your grip. You tell me that I’m wrong, prove to me that you couldn’t care less about what I think. You’ve done this for FIVE years now – you get me excited about our relationship and then you break my heart. You are such a waste of time.

I’m speaking, of course, about this season of American Idol. I have liked American Idol before America even did. I remember watching previews for it in the summer of 2002, between my sophomore and junior years of college, and distinctly thinking that it would be important for me to watch this show. But this season and last season to some extent have become more caricature than anything else. The excitement of American Idol comes from that feeling of discovering raw talent – where one moment a contestant seemed to be just another awkward teenager in an uncomfortable top, the performance makes them come alive somehow and you get to share in that moment of greatness. So:

Faith’s Favorite Overlooked American Idol Performances

I’ve selected these performances because they have in some respect stayed with me. I YouTube them in the wee hours, typically after a particularly dismal AI week (which has been much of this season). My other criteria is that when I hear the original on the radio, I think of this performance. For your assistance, I've included YouTube links to all the performances.

George Huff “Take Me To the Pilot” George Huff was probably best known for a calf bounce, painfully evident in the clip because he bounces in and out of the screen. Still, he had a great smile and an infectious enthusiasm that marked him as one of the few performers in recent memory that seemed to actually be having fun (I'm looking at you Underwood!).

LaToya London, “Somewhere” Perhaps a bit oversung, but I love this song and this episode has my favorite celebrity judge of all time: Quentin Tarantino. You wouldn't think Tarantino would be all up in the American Idol, but if you think about his role in pop culture, it kind of makes sense. He too is a student of pop culure.

Chris Daughtry, “Walk the Line” I loved Chris, which is why he finished fourth. Chris came in a line of “Rockers” on AI, including Bo Bice and Constantine Maroulis. But Bo was just all right for me. He sorta seemed to sing the same song every week. Something country-rock ish. But Chris has a great sense of self, meaning you could give him some ridiculous theme (American Songbook? Jigga what?) and he could come up with something like this.

Clay Aiken, “This is the Night” I have long since given up trying to defend my affection for Clay. Yes, it’s cheese. And yes, I love it. Would someone please cast this boy as Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat already?

Tamyra Gray, “A House is Not A Home” Everyone and their mom has performed this song on AI at some point, but Tamyra’s understated version is absolutely the best.

Carrie Underwood, “Alone” Not a fan of the Underwood. Don’t love country music, and she always had a deer-in-headlights look that I found off-putting. It was this performance, however, that showed her range, and made me wish she hadn’t gotten pigeonholed as Country so soon. Also check out the cool shoulder twitch. Carrie Underwood also had a knack for making it look easy. A lot of contestants are up there working it and it shows -- you end up feeling kind of sorry for them and you want to let them take a nap. She pulls off those top notes without sounding shrill (I'm looking at you Jordin!)

Kelly Clarkson, “A Moment Like This” Okay, okay, so the performance I like is technically after she already won it. Kelly is one of the most consistent Idol performers ever. Before Idol became the extended Ford/Coke commercial it is today, before 17 bamillion people started voting every week, before the flashy lights and backup bands and celebrity judges, there was just Kelly, excited that she’d won a record contract. Watch it and try not to get choked up. (Also note the presence of Season 1 Seacrest co-host Brian “The Dunk” Dunkleman – whatever happened to that dude?)

Now, here's where the "making connections" part comes in. Compare ANY of those performances to Blake’s supposed “breakout” “You Give Love a Bad Name," which Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly (who should know better!) has called "audacious and unexpected." This person is in the FINAL TWO? Do you see why I'm upset?