10 Worst Performances of American Idol 7

It's time for me to state the obvious (again): Bad performances are a part of every season of "Idol", and they're often more memorable than some of the good performances. Sometimes we feel bad for the contestants, sometimes we shake our heads at their mistakes and sometimes we can only laugh.

As no season would be complete without them, it's only proper to honor them with their own Top 10 list. You may not agree with my picks, but as I said in my last post, this is my list and these are my opinions.

10. Michael Johns - "Light My Fire"

The judges heaped all kinds of praise on early "chosen one" Michael for this pimp spot performance from the first week of Semifinals. Following the judges' lead, most of America raved about it as well. When you actually listen to it though, all you hear is an off-key, warbled impersonation of Eddie Vedder singing Jim Morrison. It was head-hangingly ridiculous.

9. Ramiele Malubay - "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind"

Ramiele had been just mediocre enough to stay in the competition each week up to this point despite the fact that she was rarely very interesting (her playing up her Filipino heritage didn't hurt either). With this awkward performance where her voice was drowned out by the band and she couldn't seem to find the beat or the notes she finally got her walking papers.


8. Carly Smithson - "Total Eclipse of the Heart"

The deep-voiced verses that climbed into the shoutfest chorus that ended as a cracking glory note where Carly looked like she was trying to take a dump on stage all added up to a mess. It wasn't too different from her other performances in that she tried to do too much and failed, but this one was especially bad. The fact that Chikezie went home the same week as this display of dreck is further evidence of how unfair this competition can be.

7. Kady Malloy - "Who Wants to Live Forever"

Kady was pretty much doomed going into the last week of Semifinals due to her lack of a distinctive musical personality, her cold presence and the fact that she'd been awful the week before. She didn't do anything to raise her stock after this performance of a boring 80's Queen song where the pitch was all over the place.




6. Amanda Overmyer - "Carry On Wayward Son"

Rather than trying to shout an entire song, Amanda tried to prove she could really sing. All she proved was that she couldn't, as she didn't hit a single correct note. Throw in the scary streaks in her hair, the lyrics that were meant to be sung by a man and the odd dancing and you have a true Hall of Shamer. Amanda also may have gotten the surest sign in "American Idol" history that she was confined to a limited niche when Randy told her the song had "too much melody".

5. Chikezie - "More Today Than Yesterday"

Even I can admit when my favorite contestant screwed up. In his first week on the Semifinal stage Chikezie started completely off-key and then turned a fun, upbeat song into a snoozer while wearing his now-infamous orange suit. After he directed some sarcastic remarks at a critical Simon I actually started to wonder if I'd like him as much as I had based on his interviews. Thank goodness the voters gave him another week to redeem himself (and boy, did he ever!).

4. Kady Malloy - "Magic Man"

My mother best summed up this off-key, off-the-beat horrorfest by saying it was the type of performance where she couldn't wait for it to end because it was so painful. Kady officially became next week's target after surviving this train wreck and sending the more likable Alaina Whitaker home.

3. Kristy Lee Cook - "Rescue Me"

The first girl out of the gate on the first week of Semifinals, Kristy, arguably the least soulful singer who ever lived, decided to tackle Fontella Bass' signature tune...with the flu. Her bug-eyed expressions, robotic stage movements and strained notes (combined with the visibly underwhelmed guys watching from the sidelines) set the stage perfectly for what her improbable "Idol" run would be like. The fact that she survived the death spot after this performance is a testament to the importance of early screen time.

2. Amy Davis - "Where the Boys Are"

It was no surprise that Amy lasted only one week after this debacle. I'm not positive, but I'm guessing that if you plotted each note she hit on some sort of a graph not a single one would land on the "proper melody" line. After her elimination she said that she had trouble adjusting to the floor monitors since she was used to using ear monitors. Now we have to spend the rest of our lives wondering if she could've impressed us had she had the right equipment.


1. David Archuleta - "We Can Work it Out"

Little David got the pimp spot for the first week of Finals and the expectation was that he'd close the show on a high note. Instead, David forgot the lyrics several times, kept losing the pitch and generally looked uncomfortable the whole way. It was at that very moment America realized the pageant boy was human after all. It didn't matter though, as he still ended up making it to the finale without hitting the Bottom 2 or 3.

Dishonorable Mentions:

David Cook - "Happy Together"
Asia'h Epperson - "All By Myself"
Michael Johns - "Go Your Own Way"
Michael Johns - "Dream On"
Jason Castro - "Mr. Tambourine Man"

Most singers probably wouldn't want to end up on a list like this. After all, who wants to be remembered for doing poorly? I say earning a spot on a list like this is an honor. If you're mediocre and forgettable people will forget about you altogether. At least this way you're a part of "American Idol" history, and you're failing among some of the best.

Next time: The 10 Oddest Performances of American Idol 7. If there was a really bad performance that appears to have been overlooked here, check out my next post. It may show up!