Who will be the final “American Idol”? Dalton? La’Porsha? Trent? (Photo property of FOX, FremantleMedia North America & 19 Entertainment)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
It is hard to believe that American Idol will crown its final winner on Thursday.
Before we find out if La’Porsha Renae, Trent Harmon or Dalton Rapattoni will be the bookend to Kelly Clarkson, Jake’s Take looks at the ten best performances from the FOX Singing Competition’s final year.
MacKenzie Bourg’s final song on “American Idol” gave everyone chills and made his hometown very proud. (Photo property of FOX, FremantleMedia North America & 19 Entertainment)
10-MacKenzie Bourg: “Hallelujah”
I was blown away that MacKenzie Bourg was eliminated after this superb performance! This song has been performed by so many artists on Reality TV talent competitions it is not even funny. MacKenzie’s version of this song belongs at the top with fellow Voice alum Matthew Schuler and friend-of-the-blog Branden James’ superb versions. While it was simplistic like Matthew’s, MacKenzie’s emotional vocals shot listeners in the dark like Branden’s operatic cover. I believe that he made his hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana very proud.
9-Olivia Rox: “Unconditionally”
Olivia Rox was robbed this season! I honestly believed that she would be a part of the final season’s Top Five. Her stage presence rivaled some of her not-ready-for-prime-time competitors (rhymes with Bee Lawn & Anna Fella), and her voice was so pleasant to the ear. Hopefully, someone in the industry signs her!
8-Avalon Young: “Stitches”
Avalon was another artist who was surprisingly eliminated before her time this season. She blew me away throughout the competition, and my admiration for the San Diego native grew when she was able to hang with Season Two winner Ruben Studdard during Top 24 week. Avalon also had a star-making moment when she covered the Shawn Mendes track during Top 10 week and like a tearful Neal Sedaka said to Clay Aiken 13 years ago, Shawn “forever lost his song” to Avalon.
Tristan McIntosh soared when she tackled country hymn “Go Rest High On That Mountain.” (Photo property of FOX, 19 Entertainment & FremantleMedia North America)
7-Tristan McIntosh: “Go Rest High On That Mountain”
A lot of fans in the Idol universe were mad that Tristan made it to the Top 10 over several top female contenders such as Jenn Blosil, Jenna Renae, Shelbie Z and Emily Brooke. They were about to go ape crazy later when Olivia Rox was eliminated later that night, so Tristan had to step up to the plate to sooth the raging fans. For all his faults (including throwing friend-of-the-blog Clark Beckham under the bus last season), Idol in-house mentor Scott Borchetta made one of the best decisions during his two-year run when he shut down Tristan’s first song choice of Zedd’s “Clarity.” It made Tristan think bigger, and it lead her to her best moment on the show.
6-Dalton Rapattoni: “Bird Set Free”
I am very grateful that I had the ability to see Dalton cover this song live when I was in Los Angeles. After delivering hit and miss performances over the past few weeks, Dalton used his inspiration from his Sia session and gave an impeccable performance that put him in Idol’s finale. This was not only his personal best but probably one of the best male vocals of the final season.
Sonika Vaid rocked out to Evanescence during Top 10 week. (Photo property of FOX, 19 Entertainment & FremantleMedia North America)
5-Sonika Vaid: “Bring Me to Life”
When La’Porsha threw down the gauntlet during Kelly Clarkson week, only Sonika was able enough to pick it up and slam it back down. She gave me chills when she covered the Amy Lee Daredevil song. Her stunning vocals blew me away and proved herself worthy to be a part of Season 15’s Final Five!
4-La’Porsha Renae: “Glory”
Last year, two impeccable powerhouse singers India Carney and friend-of-the-blog Sharon Irving performed definitive versions of Common and John Legend’s Oscar-winning song on their respective talent competition shows. Like those two fabulous women, La’Porsha breathed new life into the tune and delivered one of the best Top Four vocal performances of all-time with her velvet vocals.
3-La’Porsha Renae & Trent Harmon: “See You Again”
Idol duets. Some are extremely memorable such as Adam Lambert & Allison Iraheta’s “Slow Ride”, Haley Reinhart & Casey Abrams’ “Moanin’” and Jessica Sanchez & Joshua Ledet’s “I Know You Were Waiting for Me,” while others such as Lazaro and Angie Miller’s Season 12 disaster were just plain abysmal. La’Porsha and Trent’s cover of the Fast & Furious 7 track belonged in the former category. Their voices beautifully blended and both of them delivered one of the best duets in the Jennifer Lopez era of Idol.
2-Trent Harmon: “Chandelier”
Just like Dalton, Trent had a standout night thanks to guest mentor Sia Furler. After Emily West, Jordan Smith and Idol alums Clark Beckham, Rayvon Owen and Tyanna Jones made their outstanding marks on the tune; I was worried that Trent was not going to be up for the challenge. However, he surpassed my expectations! I was very grateful that I watched this performance live from Studio 36 with my fellow journalists, and we were all blown away by Trent’s master class vocal performance.
1-La’Porsha Renae: “Diamonds”
The title of “Queen of Season 15” and the number one spot in this final Best Idol Performances countdown belongs to La’Porsha Renae! Ever since she auditioned, I knew that there was something special about her. After delivering powerful moments throughout the season and going toe-to-toe with Fantasia in the Top 24 round, La’Porsha had her star-making when she tackled future mentor Sia’s penned tune that had both judges Keith Urban and Jennifer Lopez on their feet and had original winner (and guest judge) Kelly Clarkson declare her the winner of this season. Hopefully, America makes Kelly’s prediction a reality.
What were your favorite performances of American Idol’s final season?
I do not own any of the clips that were featured in this article. They belong to FOX, NBC and Clark Beckham.
