idol memories...

That hug came about two weeks early, but it might have happened Wednesday night too.

We're down to the last two, and the first male/female finale since season one. 

There will be plenty of time to focus on what's to come with the little bit country girl and the boy who's a little rock and roll.  So today is a good day to reflect on the (long) season we're ending.

Every season has its share of memorable moments.  Some are good; some are not so good.  There are performances from past seasons that we still discuss today.  There are disasters from past seasons, the memories of which still make us cringe.  Bo's two performances and Carrie's rendition of Crying from this past week will rank as three of the finest vocal performances given on the Idol stage.  But they are still fresh in our memories, so I'm looking past those.

But there were several great performances throughout the competition.  What performances stick out in my mind as noteworthy?  I've thought about that since saying farewell to Vonzell.  I made a list.  I took some off.  I remembered others.

So here they are, with videos attached, if you care to relive along with me, the ten most memorable performances of American Idol, season four.

10.  Janay Castine and I Wanna Love You Forever.  I said memorable performances, not best performances.  We didn't know Janay, except for the brouhaha during the Hollywood episodes between her groupmates and the parents.  But when she took the stage in the first semi-final round, it became quite clear to most everyone that Janay, although adorable, had no business on any stage of any kind.  And yet she outlasted Aloha, Sarah, Melinda and Celina, before being taken out of our collective misery in the final cut to the final twelve.  She's gone, but she hasn't been forgotten.

9.  Carrie Underwood and Could've Been. We knew of Carrie, certainly, through her audition and the rather extensive coverage given to her in the Hollywood episodes.  But when she took the stage in the first semi-final girls v. other girls round, and actually made me like a (cough) Tiffany song that I vaguely recalled from two decades ago, I knew she was a shoo-in for the final four.  And, if I remember correctly, I said so at the time.  I know that the performance most remember was either Alone or Crying, but I still remember this one as the one which impressed me the most.

8.  Nadia Turner and You Don't Have to Say You Love Me.  Pretty much any time Nadia took the stage in her too-brief tenure she gave us something to remember, be it a stunning outfit or a rooster on her head.  But when I remember Nadia, all fauxhawks aside, it is this performance, from the first finals episode -- 60s night -- that, in a competition filled with hamburger, she was, indeed, a steak.

7.  Constantine Maroulis and I Think I Love You.  Okay, so this wasn't the finest vocal performance ever, but I will never forget and always be grateful that The Partridge Family was finally recognized on the Idol set.  And to think it was the Greek rocker heartthrob that not only paid respect to David Cassidy, but also to the millions of us early seventies teenyboppers who loved this song.  This was the only moment of this season that I jumped up and down.  And he hadn't even begun to sing yet.

6.  Bo Bice and For the Love of Money.  I really did not think Bo would choose this number, so I picked it as a major fantasy in the pre-Gamble & Huff fantasy idol entry.  So, when he announced that he would fulfill that hope, I could've been knocked over with a feather.  And he didn't just do the song, as it is played each week as the intro to Donald Trump's interview show.  He made it a Bo Bice song, which will always be attached, in Idol terminology, to his name.

5.  Jessica Sierra and Total Eclipse of the Heart.  Jessica had, in some ways, become the also-ran to Carrie and Nadia during the semi-finals and the early part of the finals.  And then she sang this on Billboard #1 night, delivering one of the most beautifully-sung, gut-wrenching performances we had seen to date.  And it took her out of that bottom three she had found herself in the week before.  But it wasn't enough to save her, as she found herself gone the following week.  But whenever I hear this song, I think of her.

4.  Scott Savol and On Broadway.  Scott knew his clock was ticking when he performed this song, and it was possibly the most relaxed performance of his in the entire competition.  He used it as a personal message, delivering much of it directly into Simon's face, much to the delight of Simon, who had told him the week prior to pack his bags.  He sent it as a message to the many critics who screamed foul at Scott remaining the competition while Constantine had been booted the week before.  It was his best performance of the entire season, and it was on his last night.  People everywhere called it "George Benson's On Broadway."  It isn't.  It's a song that belongs to The Drifters.  And to Scott Savol.

3.  Anwar Robinson and What a Wonderful World.  I liked Anwar to this point.  He was attractive, sweet, and a teacher.  When he took the stage in the third semi-final round, in gray slacks, black sweater with his hair pulled back and he delivered this song, like turned into love.  Instantly.  I still pull this video up from time to time to relive the days where I thought Anwar was the best contestant on that show.  Too bad he failed to live up to the promise of that night.  But that night, and that performance, ranks as one of my favorite all-time, all-season American Idol performances.  As do the next two.

2.  Bo Bice and Whipping Post.  I knew Bo was in the competition, of course, with all of the talk of the two "rockers."  But I didn't know Bo until he picked up that mic stand and left me silent, mouth gaping and heart pumping.  In one moment he turned American Idol on its ear, pulling out something that we'd never before seen in this competition.  And it would've been my most memorable moment this season, except it got beat out by a pout.

1.  Constantine Maroulis and Bohemian Rhapsody.  It was such a tough call to decide between my #1 and #2.  At one point I considered a tie, but I have togive the nod to this performance.  I wasn't a fan of Constantine's, going into this night.  I appreciated his variety and his unpredictability, but really didn't give him much credit.  This performance changed all that.  It's a song that's been tried before.  But, he grabbed this icon of a number by its throat, threw caution and everything else to the wind, and turned in a terrific, fearless, magnetic performance, one in which, whenever I hear Freddie Mercury, I will remember Constantine's final notes.

So there you have it.  Those are my memorable moments.  What are yours?


*  NOTE:  If the videos don't play at first, clear media player and click again.  Sometimes it will not load on the first attempt.  But, better yet, right click/save target as to your own computer and keep these performances for yourself.  (It saves my bandwidth that AOL tends to shut off if it's exceeded.)