Season 3 review LINKBy Jillian Kuras
Today's article will cover season three. Season three was filled with great singers and great performers, however, much like season two, the end result was a let down for me. But before we get into all that, let's quickly review the year that was season three.
When the top 12 started, I already knew Diana and LaToya would be season favorites of mine. And the first night of the finals did not disappoint me at all. LaToya and Diana were strong so I was happy there. Two of my other favorites, Amy and Jennifer, were a little off however and both only had average performances.
When the top 12 started, I already knew Diana and LaToya would be season favorites of mine. And the first night of the finals did not disappoint me at all. LaToya and Diana were strong so I was happy there. Two of my other favorites, Amy and Jennifer, were a little off however and both only had average performances.
But for me the best surprise of the night came from Jasmine. Her version of Inseparable was not only phenomenal, but I think it was one of her best of the whole season. So I was now officially a Jasmine fan as well.
The week that the top seven took the stage was one of the best and worst weeks of the season. The theme was Barry Manilow and some of the contestants had personal bests. This was when Diana sang One Voice and finally started getting the credit she deserved from Simon (and America). This was the night Jasmine blew me away with I'll Never Love This Way Again. LaToya impressed me with All The Time and Jennifer sounded incredible on Weekend in New England. Then, disaster struck.
The following night was one the wackiest results shows in history. Ryan decided to divide the remaining seven contestants into 2 groups based on the votes. Group one was LaToya, Jennifer and Fantasia. Group two was Diana, Jasmine and John Stevens. George was told he was smack dab in the middle. He was then told that because he was safe, he should go stand with the other 3 contestants who were also safe. George looked nervous but the three divas (as they were named by Simon) seemed confident in thinking they were the top 3. They cheered and waved George over.
This prompted Ryan to say, "George, I asked you to stand with the top 3. You chose the wrong group". That's right America! The bottom three was actually Fantasia, LaToya and Jennifer.
Even though the Divas may not have deserved their bottom three placement, Simon was quick to point out that both Diana and Jasmine had been amazing the night before so he didn't want to take anything away from them. I always remembered that comment from Simon, mainly because he was rarely so nice.
So of course, that was the night my girl Jennifer was eliminated. I was sad for a long time after that
Speculation ran wild the next day as to why these 3 were the bottom. To me, two possibilities were most obvious. One, these three had many of the same fans and simply split the vote. Or two, because these three had been doing so well, America seemed to think they would be okay and didn't vote enough. Whatever the reason, Jennifer's elimination was far too early.
(T)he elimination of George Huff (left) us with "The Battle of the Divas" as it was so highly promoted. The remaining four ladies were Diana, LaToya, Jasmine and Fantasia. The first three were huge favorites of mine pretty much since day one so I was really excited. As for Fantasia, much like Ruben last year, I was in that other percent of people who just didn't care for her. I will quickly try to explain why.
I always thought Fantasia was interesting and quirky in her own way. Her style was definitely different than some of the other pop artists in the competition. She was a true R&B/Soul singer. And while a lot of people love this type of music, I personally do not. I actually found Fantasia to be somewhat boring. She had no range to her voice and (again much like Ruben) sounded exactly the same to me week after week.
Simon once told Fantasia her voice sounded like Donald Duck on helium. But to me, that was how it sounded every week. Sure she was out of the ordinary and had a good personality, but I just did not like her voice. I always felt like her voice was more style over substance. Sorry America.
Going into the final four, there was a 75% chance that someone who I absolutely loved was going to win. Jasmine seemed to be slowing down as the weeks progressed so I was almost certain it would not be her. So I was desperately hoping for a Diana/LaToya finale.
All this hope came crashing down the week of the top four when LaToya was eliminated. I think LaToya had the voice of an America Idol, no question. However, Simon brought up the topic of her personality several times. He commented more than once that he thought she was coming across as too serious or too conservative. I always viewed this as classiness (much like Kim Locke the previous season) so I was really unhappy when LaToya was cut.
Well, as we all know by now Fantasia was crowned America's third Idol. Even though the vote totals were not announced on the results show, Ryan did reveal them on his daytime talk show. The difference between Fantasia and Diana was just a little more than one percent. So even though the producers wanted America to think Fantasia ran away with the title, it was actually quite close.
I really don't want to sound like a broken record, but for me, this season was almost a complete repeat of last year. Last year's final came down to Ruben and Clay- Ruben (who won) I felt had a very one dimensional voice. Clay on the other hand had great power and range to his voice. The same can be said about Fantasia and Diana, at least in my opinion.
And also like last year, I felt the judges and producers did a good job swaying America to vote for Fantasia as they did for Ruben. First of all, just like Ruben had been given his Ruuuuuuuuuuuben nickname, how many times did we hear about the BoBo? And Fantasia "BoBo" Barrino? Like I said previously, when a contestant's future is solely based on the hope that America remembers them and picks up the phone and votes, every little thing counts.
Another example which I know not only I was upset about, but several people in the voting public were, was something that happened towards the end of that season. When the show was down to the final three (Fantasia, Diana and Jasmine), FOX announced on its American Idol website a special Thursday night episode which would highlight the original auditions of the current top three.
That week, the top three performed on Tuesday, on Wednesday night's results show Jasmine was eliminated, and on Thursday the special audition show aired. For the first hour we saw the Atlanta auditions. Of course this included Fantasia. Her entire audition was shown including her singing and the judges' comments. The second hour was a repeat of the Hawaii auditions where both Jasmine and Diana originally tried out. After sitting through the entire hour not only was Jasmine not shown, but neither was Diana! Jasmine I could maybe understand, since she had been eliminated the night before. But Diana was competing in the finals! And of course the next day everyone was talking about how great it was to see Fantasia's audition again.
And my final example on this subject happened just minutes after Diana and Fantasia finished singing in the Tuesday night finale. Afterwards, I kept FOX on to watch the news. The top story was of course American Idol, and several people were interviewed- including Simon. When asked how he would rate the night's performers on a scale of one to ten he replied that he would give Diana a six overall, and Fantasia a nine based on her last two songs. So even though both of the girls had one weak song and two strong songs, Simon overlooked Fantasia's weakness, but yet Diana's was held against her.
Best Performance of Season Three 5th Place- Don't Rain On My Parade by LaToya London
This was a theme that suited LaToya perfectly. It allowed her to show her personality through her singing. And as always the vocals on this song were amazing. LaToya could hit the high notes like nobodies business.
4th Place- Circle of Life by Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer actually had a lot of great moments in my opinion but I chose this one because I felt it was a turning point for her. After a rocky start the first few weeks of the top 12, this was when she really started to pull herself together. She also received the most votes this night out of all eight contestants.
Bronze Medal- I'll Never Love This Way Again by Jasmine Trias
For those of you who were doubting Jasmine's talent by the end of the season, I strongly urge you to revisit this performance. This was a season highlight for me out of all the contestants.
Silver Medal- No More Tears/This Is It by Diana Degarmo
I chose both of these songs because she sang them on the same night (Disco night). This was the night that Simon said even though he had told her she was too young for this competition all season, that he was going to take it all back. This night greatly helped her to nearly win the whole season.
Gold Medal- All By Myself by LaToya London
Not only the best of the season, but one of my favorites in AI history. What made it even more amazing was that no one knew who she was at this point. She sang this during the top 32 and it was the first time America was introduced to LaToya. As I said, I actually had to rewind this performance several times because I was so amazed at how good it was.
Worst Performances of the Season 5th Place- It's Raining Men by Jasmine Trias
I always thought of Jasmine's voice as sweet and soothing but still in training. I thought she had the potential to be powerful but that she wasn't quite their yet. So when she took on this Weather Girls song, which had previously been sung by both Kelly Clarkson and Kim Locke, I knew it was going to be tough. Her voice just wasn't big enough for it yet.
4th Place- A Little Less Conversation by JPL
This was the first night we saw JPL's crazy dancing (if you want to call it that). Even though a good chunk of America found him entertaining, I thought of this performance was nonsense. He was so out of breath from doping around the stage that he could barely finish the song. And while it may have entertained, this is a singing competition not Friday night at the Comedy Connection.
Bronze Medal- Desperado by Camile Velasco
This was just another dreary performance from Camile. For someone who showed so much potential, watching her suffer like she did was torture for us too.
Silver Medal- You Keep Me Hanging On by Leah LaBelle
This was Leah's one and only top 12 performance and understandably so. Not only did she forget the whole last 20 seconds of the song and instead tried to cover by improving, but the vocals were so far from the other contestants. Simon told her to pack her suitcase and that she did.
Gold Medal- Crocodile Rock by John Stevens
When I heard the theme was going to be Elton John I immediately thought John Stevens was going to rule the night. If only he had picked a ballad like Daniel, he just may have. Instead he picked this quick pop song and even tried to shake up his performance. The result was a somewhat in tune yet laughable performance.