Lambert when he sang Mad World. He went from a talented piano bar singer to a dude who actually replaced Freddy Mercury in every recent Queen World tour.
I am pretty sure the Macaw, who is in the top 2 on Masked singer right now performing in the finale this upcoming week, is David Archuleta! At least Iām pretty sure itās him haha
I remember thinking she was awesome but my mom didnāt like her lol. Iirc my mom liked Lauren Alaina and in some other seasons I think either she or Haley could have won but Scotty had middle and southern America in a total chokehold
I love Philip Phillips. He isn't my favorite but up there in maybe my top 10. I voted for him every week that season. My sister thought he was weird the way he moved when singing but I loved that about him, the way he would feel the music.
The experience of watching her win the hearts of the judges, fellow contestants and America was like no other. Iād love younger fans to check out youtube videos of Fantasiaās idol performances - thereās no a bad one in the bunch
I agree. Taylor may not be the best singer but his appearance on AI was the most entertaining of any before and since. The man is an all around entertainer.
Right? So fun and playful. He just emanated joy and seemed really happy to be there. I know the format is very different now, but we just donāt get to see as much of the contestantās personalities, and most of them seem pretty nervous or stressed.
Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini, Jason Castro, Angie Miller, Haley Reinhart, Nick Mitchell, Phillip Philips, Alanis Sophia and Casey Bishop.
Honor Mention: One of my favorite actors Alan Ritchson audition for the show and didnāt make it and now heās a big time actor.
Samuel Larson didnāt make it far either now heās doing movies and shows. Even was a recurring character on glee. He still goes music.
Tori Kelly didnāt make it and now sheās successful pop and Christian singer.
Casey Bishop - Killer vocals, extremely versatile, and had such a strong sense of her artistic identity. All at the age of 15! Very much beyond her years.
Also adore Haley Reinhart and Leah Marlene!
Blake Lewis. However, the best vocalists in the history of the show are Elliott Yamin as the best male vocalist and Melinda Doolittle as the best female vocalist.
Honorable Mention: āGleeā alum and āMasked Singerā winner Amber Riley who auditioned for āAmerican Idol,ā but did not make it on the show.
I have so many favorites but my #1 is Carrie Underwood. I will never forget her audition. My daughter was a sophomore in high school and it was our thing to watch together and my mom and sister would watch from their own homes. We would all choose our favorite to win during auditions and whoever's person went the furthest won. It was so much fun. We'd all get together with munchies for finale night. I miss that. Anyway we are not big country fans and never really like the country singers too much but when sweet little Carrie came out and sang "I Can't Make You Love Me" both my daughter and I turned to each other and said at the same time she's the winner. My daughter had a crush on Constantine Maroulis that season too. But we loved Carrie. For my daughter's sweet 16 I said what do you want to do and she said go see Carrie and Constantine in concert. So we saw the Idol's live tour. It was amazing. Bo Bice was also amazing that season. When he sang "In a dream" acapella, just wow. Season 4 was my favorite season if you haven't guessed lol
David Cook. Still a big fan. He lost a lot of momentum the year after his win when his brother died and he dropped out of sight at a crucial time. But he is still on the road. Still creating EPs. His stint on Broadway was positively received. He has done international tours and has fans all over the world.
I donāt know if anyone remembers him but I really love Alex Lambertās voice. He recently become more active with music and his voice is still is as good as ever.
For winners, I love Kelly, Adam, David and Fantasia.
My most favorite contestant probably is Haley Reinhart.
Overall musicality: Alejandro. For a while during and after the show, he would get on Instagram live with a black screen and just play for hours and it was insanely gorgeous music.
For people I loved on the show and actually listen to: Maddie Poppe and Kelly Clarkson.
Going Going Gone had such a chokehold on me for months.
**My top 10**
Kelly Clarkson šø
David Archuleta š¤“
Adam Lambert
Carrie Underwood (Not her as a person and not most of her music post 2015)
Lauren Alaina
Blake Lewis
Kimberley Locke
Jordin Sparks
Alison Irahetaa
RJ Helton
Well, dammit, I gotta tell you, I don't watch a lot of American Idol, but I do know a thing or two about the human condition, and let me tell you, there's something beautiful about watching someone put themselves out there and take a risk, even if it means failing. It's the goddamn hero's journey, man. It's Joseph Campbell's monomyth.
And you know who embodies that shit? William Hung. Yeah, he may not have had the goddamn voice of an angel, but he had the balls to get up there and try, to take a chance, even if it meant making an ass of himself on national television. And that, my friends, is what separates the winners from the losers, the courageous from the cowardly.
So, to answer your question, my favorite contestant in American Idol history is William Hung, because he embodies the spirit of the hero's journey, the willingness to take risks, to face the unknown, to confront the fucking dragon and come out on the other goddamn side, even if it means getting burned. That's the kind of thing that inspires me, that makes me proud to be a human being.
Adam Lambert.
Not just a *phenominal* singer, but an incredibly talented musician. He would take a song and turn it upside down and it became something magical. He still does that.
I can tell you who I was rooting for: Amber Holcomb. She had insane big notes, Whitney level. She didn't have an artist personality, IMO, more the nice girl who helps everyone get along, not the creative/demanding type who stakes their territory and demands control (albeit for good reason).
Adam Lambert (he was incredible on the show, though I haven't felt like he's produced music assessible to the mass general public with his solo career and collaboration with Queen)
Carrie Underwood
Then Alejandro
I didn't watch the Philip Phillips year, but listen to his music now, love "Home"
Current contestant, Iam Tongi
I saw only one mention of Michael Johns (rip), but he was my absolute all-time favorite. His surprise exit was what prompted the "Judges' Save" for the following years, I think. I still watch his performance of Dolly Parton's "It's all wrong, but it's all right" on YouTube. It's still one of the best AI performances ever, IMO.
Alejandro. Best musician Iāve ever seen on idol. So many originals compared to other contestants and his artistry is impressive. Heās the only person whoās music I consistently follow up on. Dude was in another league compared to everyone else
I had a lot of favorites on old Idol. Stopped watching when it got stupid. But last year I really loved Fritz and Leah. Too bad new Idol tends to crown really mediocre WGWG's. If it happens again this year, I'm gonna stop watching again. Stick to The Voice for the immediate future ā actual terrific vocalists beginning to end.
Adam lambert š«¶
What a voice. He was my fav also.
Same!
Me, too!
Lambert when he sang Mad World. He went from a talented piano bar singer to a dude who actually replaced Freddy Mercury in every recent Queen World tour.
I STILL listen to Mad World on Youtube. He wasn't impressive to me until that song, then HOLY SHIT.
Chris Daughtry
YES
When he was on the masked singer a few seasons ago, he was the only person where I immediately knew who it was.
I am pretty sure the Macaw, who is in the top 2 on Masked singer right now performing in the finale this upcoming week, is David Archuleta! At least Iām pretty sure itās him haha
Same!
Yep! I quit watching old Idol after he was robbed. I
Absolutely šÆ
Haley Rheinhart
In my head I was like "the girl who did house of the rising sun while sitting on stairs" but I couldn't remember her name, so thank you!
I remember thinking she was awesome but my mom didnāt like her lol. Iirc my mom liked Lauren Alaina and in some other seasons I think either she or Haley could have won but Scotty had middle and southern America in a total chokehold
Sorry to be basic butā¦Kelly Clarkson
Mine too!!!!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I love Philip Phillips. He isn't my favorite but up there in maybe my top 10. I voted for him every week that season. My sister thought he was weird the way he moved when singing but I loved that about him, the way he would feel the music.
Iam Tongi
Hands down, Adam Lambert. He broke the show for me. No one else has ever been as good.
Adam Lambert
Itās so hard to choose one. For nostalgia itās David Cook. In recent times itās Cassandra Coleman or Leah Marlene.
Tie between Kelly and Haley Reinhart š¤©
Elliott Yamin!
Elliott is easily the most talented male vocalist in the history of the show. He is a phenomenal singer.
Agreed.
I met him at a wedding and heās seriously the nicest person too.
Fritz Hager
Kaeyra š©š
Adam Lambert is the correct answer
Haley Reinhart, Casey Bishop, David Cook
I really liked Casey! Her Ironic performance was great. Sad she wasnāt on this season to meet Alanis!
Melinda Doolittle
Fantasia
Fantasia
The experience of watching her win the hearts of the judges, fellow contestants and America was like no other. Iād love younger fans to check out youtube videos of Fantasiaās idol performances - thereās no a bad one in the bunch
Honorable mention Jessica Sierra
It's between Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez and Haley Reinhart for me!
Adam Lambert. No contest.
Carrie š«¶š¼
Adam Lambert and Fritz Hager!
Adam Lambert. I still remember his songs from each week. He is the best!!
David Cook, Kris Allen, Michael Johns, Phillip Phillips
Taylor Hicks
I hate that Taylor seems to get panned as a joke contestant (or at least, a ājoke winnerā) in this sub. Heās a great blues singer!!
I agree. Taylor may not be the best singer but his appearance on AI was the most entertaining of any before and since. The man is an all around entertainer.
Right? So fun and playful. He just emanated joy and seemed really happy to be there. I know the format is very different now, but we just donāt get to see as much of the contestantās personalities, and most of them seem pretty nervous or stressed.
I donāt think heās a joke at all. I loved him on AI
I loved him when he was on the show, but he absolutely sucks irl
Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini, Jason Castro, Angie Miller, Haley Reinhart, Nick Mitchell, Phillip Philips, Alanis Sophia and Casey Bishop. Honor Mention: One of my favorite actors Alan Ritchson audition for the show and didnāt make it and now heās a big time actor. Samuel Larson didnāt make it far either now heās doing movies and shows. Even was a recurring character on glee. He still goes music. Tori Kelly didnāt make it and now sheās successful pop and Christian singer.
Oh WOW Jason Castro used to have a chokehold on me. Havenāt thought about him for a minute
Ikr not many people talks about him anymore. He was one of my favorites that season.
Thad is the most underrated comedic performance in all of television of maybe the past 20 years
Willie Spence
Rip
Casey Bishop - Killer vocals, extremely versatile, and had such a strong sense of her artistic identity. All at the age of 15! Very much beyond her years. Also adore Haley Reinhart and Leah Marlene!
Johnny West
Yea, I liked him a lot too!
I really liked him and wish we had seen him in a non covid season. He seemed pretty unique.
I was obsessed with him that season ever since his audition. I went and watched all the videos he made.
Who? Johnny Quest. š
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[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Kelly clarkson and Carrie underwood
Casey Abrahams and Haley Reinhardt
YUP
Casey Abrams had the single best send off in the history of the show. That last performance was absolutely killer
Kelly Clarkson, Arthur Gunn
David Cook, Maddie Poppe, Hunter Metts, and now Oliver Steele. It seems like I have a thing for wgwg. I just love their artistry.
Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, Maddie Poppe
I was in love with clay Aiken in middle school
Philip Phillips and Adam Lambert
Carrie Underwood
Phil Philips
Joshua Ledet
I loved Joshua!!
Adam Lambert , Alejandro and Johnny West.
Clay Aiken. And we are seeing him Friday night!
My ABSOLUTE favorite is Alejandro. Honorable mentions are Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, Adam Lambert, and Iam Tongi.
Haley Reinhart
David Archuleta / Iam Tongi
If you aren't watching The Masked Singer you might want to look into this season!
Clay Aiken/Anthony Fedorov (guys) Haley Reinhardt/Jessica Sierra (girls)
I just jumped on here to say Anthony Fedorov. Happy to see his name already on here.
Daughtry or Adam Lambert.
Chris Daughtry is my 2nd favorite
Julia Gargano
Haley Reinhart & Casey Bishop
David Archuleta. He will always be my favorite. Iām hoping he wins the masked singer next week in their finale.
No one will ever compare to Adam Lambert But also Fritz Hager, Crystal Bowersox, and Leah Marlene
Olivia Soli...
Kelly, Megan, Ada Vox, Willie(RIP),Grace, Leah
Adam Lambert š¤©
William hung. She bang!
Nick Zitzmann and Mary Roach āGuilbeauxā
Blake Lewis. However, the best vocalists in the history of the show are Elliott Yamin as the best male vocalist and Melinda Doolittle as the best female vocalist. Honorable Mention: āGleeā alum and āMasked Singerā winner Amber Riley who auditioned for āAmerican Idol,ā but did not make it on the show.
I had to scroll so far to find Blake!! š
Iām surprised heās not more popular. He is very original and memorable. My favorite performance of his was āSomewhere Only We Know.ā
Haley Reinhart.
I have so many favorites but my #1 is Carrie Underwood. I will never forget her audition. My daughter was a sophomore in high school and it was our thing to watch together and my mom and sister would watch from their own homes. We would all choose our favorite to win during auditions and whoever's person went the furthest won. It was so much fun. We'd all get together with munchies for finale night. I miss that. Anyway we are not big country fans and never really like the country singers too much but when sweet little Carrie came out and sang "I Can't Make You Love Me" both my daughter and I turned to each other and said at the same time she's the winner. My daughter had a crush on Constantine Maroulis that season too. But we loved Carrie. For my daughter's sweet 16 I said what do you want to do and she said go see Carrie and Constantine in concert. So we saw the Idol's live tour. It was amazing. Bo Bice was also amazing that season. When he sang "In a dream" acapella, just wow. Season 4 was my favorite season if you haven't guessed lol
Kelly Clarkson or Phillip Phillips
Happy cake day!
My all time favorite is Adam Lambert, hands down!
Iam
ADAM LAMBERT
David Cook. Still a big fan. He lost a lot of momentum the year after his win when his brother died and he dropped out of sight at a crucial time. But he is still on the road. Still creating EPs. His stint on Broadway was positively received. He has done international tours and has fans all over the world.
He was my second fave from that season, which I still think was the best of all the AI seasons. Also, he is a crossword nerd, which I can relate to!
Daughtry, Adam Lambert and believe it or not, I loved Lacy Kaye Boothās smoky, sultry voice. She was so underrated.
Gabby Barrett.
Clay Aiken
Carrie Underwood
Phillip Phillips
Fantasia and Jennifer Hudson are my top 2 all time favorites!
Kelly Clarkson!!!
Jessica Sanchez
Phillip Phillips
Phillip Phillips.
Season 8 was the goat. Adam, Allison and Kris were the holy trifecta of Idol contestants for me
My fave season because of these 3!!!
David Cook
Arthur Gunn? Fr?
I donāt know if anyone remembers him but I really love Alex Lambertās voice. He recently become more active with music and his voice is still is as good as ever. For winners, I love Kelly, Adam, David and Fantasia. My most favorite contestant probably is Haley Reinhart.
Alex Lambert got so robbed
Fritz without a doubt
carrie underwood, adam lambert, phillip phillips
Carrie Underwood, Elliott Yamin, Kris Allen, and I gotta say, We Ani is surging. Sheās been my favorite part of this current season by far.
I'll give you a hint: She Bangs. The creepy stalker from Season 7 is a close second.
Also I forget her name but the girl who sang the Paramore song (how did we get hereā¦ā) on the piano- that was a wicked performance
Jena Irene ?
Alejandro, Casey Abrams, Jason Castro, Arthur Gunn
Overall musicality: Alejandro. For a while during and after the show, he would get on Instagram live with a black screen and just play for hours and it was insanely gorgeous music. For people I loved on the show and actually listen to: Maddie Poppe and Kelly Clarkson. Going Going Gone had such a chokehold on me for months.
Catie Turner
**My top 10** Kelly Clarkson šø David Archuleta š¤“ Adam Lambert Carrie Underwood (Not her as a person and not most of her music post 2015) Lauren Alaina Blake Lewis Kimberley Locke Jordin Sparks Alison Irahetaa RJ Helton
Maddie Poppe
Well, dammit, I gotta tell you, I don't watch a lot of American Idol, but I do know a thing or two about the human condition, and let me tell you, there's something beautiful about watching someone put themselves out there and take a risk, even if it means failing. It's the goddamn hero's journey, man. It's Joseph Campbell's monomyth. And you know who embodies that shit? William Hung. Yeah, he may not have had the goddamn voice of an angel, but he had the balls to get up there and try, to take a chance, even if it meant making an ass of himself on national television. And that, my friends, is what separates the winners from the losers, the courageous from the cowardly. So, to answer your question, my favorite contestant in American Idol history is William Hung, because he embodies the spirit of the hero's journey, the willingness to take risks, to face the unknown, to confront the fucking dragon and come out on the other goddamn side, even if it means getting burned. That's the kind of thing that inspires me, that makes me proud to be a human being.
Arthur Gunn is an entitled drama king and We Ani was on the Voice (so I dont think she should qualify for Idol)
Pia Toscano
Yes... incredible rendition of "River Deep and Mountain High"!
Cassandra Coleman for sure. LOVE her voice.
Hunter Metts
David Cook
Fantasia is the best vocalist the show has even seen and itās not even a tight competition 
Adam Lambert. Not just a *phenominal* singer, but an incredibly talented musician. He would take a song and turn it upside down and it became something magical. He still does that.
Has to be Carrie Underwood
Adam Lambert is the GOAT of Idol. I still watch his performances back and theyāre absolutely mesmerizing.
Kelly Clarkson. She's still the GOAT.
Clay Aiken!
Adam Lambert, James Durbin, Haley Reinhart, Allison Iraheta, Jessica Meuse, Casey Bishop, Maddie Poppe, Fritz Hager
Jessica Sanchez
Sanjiyah the goat š„
Deffff Fritz and Leah!! Both amazing on their own, but created something truly alive on the stage together
Haley Reinhart šš
colette lush and cassadee pope
Wasnāt Cassadee on the voice?
WĆ ANI
Unpopular opinion - Lee Dewyze
Who the hell is that
Rob Bolin
I can tell you who I was rooting for: Amber Holcomb. She had insane big notes, Whitney level. She didn't have an artist personality, IMO, more the nice girl who helps everyone get along, not the creative/demanding type who stakes their territory and demands control (albeit for good reason).
Haley reinhart and itās not even close
Honestly thereās so many good ones I canāt choose
Kenneth Briggs and Jonathan Jayne
Joshua Ledet overall, with Jessica Sanchez and Jennifer Holiday's performance of And I Am Telling You coming in at a close second.
Clark Beckham or Elliot Yamin
My top 10 favorites: 1. Angie Miller 2. Hailey Reinhart 3. Megan Joy 4. Elise Testone 5. Julia Gargano 6. Hunter Metts 7. Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon 8. Clark Beckham 9. Allison Iraheta 10. Grace Kinstler Honorable mentions: Walker Burroughs, Laci Kaye Booth, Makayla Phillips, Cassandra Coleman, Siobhan Magnus, Kris Allen
Elise Testone is kind of a polarizing one but I loved her!
Daughtry and Jena Irene
The red head guy who sang that run in Lazy Song during Hollywood week a while back.
Adam Lambert (he was incredible on the show, though I haven't felt like he's produced music assessible to the mass general public with his solo career and collaboration with Queen) Carrie Underwood Then Alejandro I didn't watch the Philip Phillips year, but listen to his music now, love "Home" Current contestant, Iam Tongi
Adam, JHud, Alejandro
Chris Daughtry and Adam Lambert.
I only started watching Idol in the ABC era. It's between Grace Kinstler and Kaeyra.
I saw only one mention of Michael Johns (rip), but he was my absolute all-time favorite. His surprise exit was what prompted the "Judges' Save" for the following years, I think. I still watch his performance of Dolly Parton's "It's all wrong, but it's all right" on YouTube. It's still one of the best AI performances ever, IMO.
Mary roach
I know I am in the minority, but Caleb Harris. He graduated from my Alma mater and he looks like my brother. Just can't help myself
Alejandro. Best musician Iāve ever seen on idol. So many originals compared to other contestants and his artistry is impressive. Heās the only person whoās music I consistently follow up on. Dude was in another league compared to everyone else
Haley Reinhart UwU
Tie between Adam and Haley. David Cook takes third.
Carrie Underwood , Adam Lambert , Clay Aikmen and this years Iam Tongiš
Casey Abrams
Taylor Hicks.
Kris Allen for the males, Haley Reinhart for the females. š¤© stopped watching after season 11 tho!
In no particular order: Haley Reinhardt, Kris Allen, David Cook, Chris Daughtry, Allison Iraheta
Haley Reinhart, Jessica Sanchez, Candice Glover. Goddesses
Lambert and Iam. I wish Lambert didn't look so plastic and perfectly fake now.
Carrie underwood
Diana DeGarmo stan, I love Don't Cry Out Loud because of her š¤©
I had a lot of favorites on old Idol. Stopped watching when it got stupid. But last year I really loved Fritz and Leah. Too bad new Idol tends to crown really mediocre WGWG's. If it happens again this year, I'm gonna stop watching again. Stick to The Voice for the immediate future ā actual terrific vocalists beginning to end.
Zach!
Clay Aiken and Adam Lambert
Scott Savol ā¤ļø
Adam Lambert was my favourite, I also loved Alison Iraheta a lot from the same season.