American Idol (Season 6)
Encyclopedia
The sixth season of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

 premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 as a two-night, four-hour premiere special on January 16 and January 17, and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...

, Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...

, and Randy Jackson
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius "Randy" Jackson is an American bassist, singer, record producer, music manager, A&R executive, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is best known as a judge on American Idol and executive producer for MTV's America's Best Dance Crew...

 returned to judge once again, and Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...

 returned as host. Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...

 won the competition with Blake Lewis
Blake Lewis
Blake Colin Lewis is an American singer-songwriter and beatboxer who was the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. His major label debut album A.D.D. was released on December 4, 2007 through 19 Recordings/Arista Records. On October 30, 2007, his first single "Break Anotha" was released....

 as the first runner-up and Melinda Doolittle
Melinda Doolittle
Melinda Marie Doolittle is an American singer who finished as the third place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol...

 finishing third. Jordin Sparks is also the youngest winner of the competition, winning at age 17 as well as the first winner from outside the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

.

Auditions

The Auditions were held in the following cities:
Episode Air Date Audition City Date First Audition Venue Callback Date Callback Venue Golden Tickets
January 16, 2007 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

September 8, 2006 Target Center
Target Center
The Target Center is an arena in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is sponsored by Target Corporation. The arena has a capacity of 20,500 people. It contains 702 club seats and 68 suites....

September 12, 2006 Minneapolis Convention Center
Minneapolis Convention Center
The Minneapolis Convention Center is a large convention center located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is located one block away from Nicollet Mall near Orchestra Hall. The Minneapolis Convention Center has a quadruple-domed roof and because of its volume can host multiple events on the...

17
January 17, 2007 Seattle, Washington September 19, 2006 KeyArena
KeyArena
KeyArena at Seattle Center , is a multipurpose arena, in Seattle, Washington. It is located north of downtown in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, the Century 21 Exposition...

October 2-3, 2006 W Hotel 14
January 23, 2007 Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

September 3, 2006 FedEx Forum October 5-6, 2006 Memphis Cook Convention Center 22
January 24, 2007 New York, New York August 14, 2006 Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....

August 30, 2006 Chelsea Piers
Chelsea Piers
Chelsea Piers is a series of piers on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City that was a passenger ship terminal in the early 1900s that was used by the RMS Lusitania and was the destination of the RMS Titanic....

, New York
35
January 30, 2007 Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

August 21, 2006 Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex
Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex
The Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex is a sports, convention and entertainment complex located in Birmingham, Alabama...

September 29-30, 2006 Sheraton Hotel 20
January 31, 2007 Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

August 6, 2006 Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl (stadium)
The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...

, Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

September 26, 2006 Millennium Biltmore Hotel
Millennium Biltmore Hotel
The Millennium Biltmore Hotel, originally named the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel of the Biltmore Hotels group, is a luxury hotel located on Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Upon its grand opening in 1923, the Los Angeles Biltmore was the largest hotel west of Chicago, Illinois in...

40
February 6, 2007 San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

August 11, 2006 Alamodome
Alamodome
The Alamodome is a domed 65,000 seat, multi-purpose facility that is primarily used as a football/basketball stadium and convention center in San Antonio, Texas, U.S...

August 26, 2006 Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center 24
Total Tickets to Hollywood 172


Auditioning contestants were required to be between the ages 16 and 28 on August 6, 2006 (born between August 7, 1977 and August 6, 1990). Guest judges were used for audition this season.

Guest judges -

Jewel
Jewel (singer)
Jewel Kilcher , professionally known as Jewel, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actress and poet...

 - Minneapolis audition

Carole Bayer Sager
Carole Bayer Sager
Carole Bayer Sager is an American lyricist, songwriter, singer, and painter.-Introduction:Born in New York City, Sager graduated from New York University, where she majored in English, dramatic arts and speech...

 - New York audition

Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...

 - Los Angeles audition

Many of the people who auditioned had trouble with the double doors, with many often going towards the wrong door on their way out; this was spoofed by Idol later in the season with "audition footage" featuring Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....

. This did not seem to be a problem for the seventh season as both doors were accessible.

An elderly man named Sherman Pore auditioned in Los Angeles this year after a successful petition drive to convince the producers to waive the age-limit rule so he can audition. He explained that he did it to ease the pain and suffering of his female companion who was dying of cancer, but had died shortly before he can audition before the judges. He later released an album for the benefit of cancer research. Another contestant that year was Melissa Sgambelluri
Melissa Sgambelluri
Melissa Sgambelluri is an American actress, dancer,and singer, most famous for her appearances on American Idol Seasons 5 and 6 as the "fountain girl"...

, also known as "Fountain girl" for her appearance in the promo and opening sequence celebrating in a fountain after winning her golden ticket.

Jordin Sparks, the eventual winner this season, failed to pass through her audition in Los Angeles, but later won an audition in Seattle as a reward for winning a local Fox-affiliate-sponsored contest called Arizona Idol.

Hollywood rounds

The so-called "Hollywood" phase of the audition process was held over four days in mid-November 2006 at the Orpheum Theatre
Orpheum Theatre (Los Angeles)
The Orpheum Theatre on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, California, opened on February 15, 1926, as the fourth and final Los Angeles venue for the Orpheum vaudeville circuit. After a $3 million renovation, started in 1989, it is the most restored of the historical movie palaces in the city.The...

 in Los Angeles.

The first round consisted of each contestant singing one song a capella of their own choosing in front of the judges and all the other contestants of the same gender. Contestants were then told whether they were moving on or going home, in groups of six. This extended over the first two days, first females, then males.

The second round took place on the second and third day, and consisted of groups of three or four contestants choosing, rehearsing, and then performing one of nine pre-selected songs. Groups were reviewed and contestants were then judged individually as to whether they were moving on or going home.

The third round took place on the fourth day, and consisted of individual contestants performing a song from a pre-selected list, accompanied by a piano and backup singers. Contestants were again informed of whether they had made the cut or not.

Cut down to 24

The final pre-audience voting cut down took place at the Pasadena Civic Center on January 14 or 15, 2007, just before the regional audition shows began airing. Without any further auditioning, but possibly with some audience research having taken place, the 40 remaining contestants were reduced to 24. In a process taking a whole day, contestants wait in a sitting room until one by one, they go up an elevator and take a long walk to the other end of the Center's Gold Room. Then the three judges told them whether they have made it onto the stage show or are cut. Those cut at this phase included the "fountain girl" in the opening credits, Melissa Sgambelluri
Melissa Sgambelluri
Melissa Sgambelluri is an American actress, dancer,and singer, most famous for her appearances on American Idol Seasons 5 and 6 as the "fountain girl"...

.

The 24 semi-finalists were announced February 14, 2007.

Semi-finalists

The semi-finals began on February 20. There were three shows each week for the three weeks of the semi-finals. The February 20 through May 16 shows originated from CBS Television City
CBS Television City
CBS Television City is a television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of North Fairfax Avenue...

 in Hollywood.

There are no format changes from season 4 and 5. The semi-finals featured the contestants (24 total) divided by gender with the 12 male singers singing on Tuesdays and the 12 female singers on Wednesdays. Each person had the chance to select a song to sing live in front of the judges. Following the show's airing, each U.S. timezone would have two hours to vote by phone or by text-messaging. On Thursday, the two of each group with the lowest amount of votes were eliminated each week until the finals.

Females

Sabrina Sloan (born October 31, 1979) is a 30-year-old (27 at the time of that show) and is originally from Mission Viejo, California
Mission Viejo, California
Mission Viejo is a city located in southern Orange County, California, U.S. in the Saddleback Valley. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities ever built under a single project in the United States, and is rivaled only by Highlands Ranch, Colorado, in its size...

 but now calls Studio City, CA her home. Sloan toured the United States as part of the Broadway musical Hairspray
Hairspray (musical)
Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...

 under her maiden name, Sabrina Scherff. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

 in Musical Theatre and Communication Studies. She was later signed to a recording contract with Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...

, as part of a duet with Sundance Head. She was also part of the First National Tour cast with another Broadway musical, In The Heights
In the Heights
In the Heights is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story explores three days in the characters' lives in the New York City Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights....

.
Antonella Maria Barba
Antonella Barba
Antonella Maria Barba is an American singer who placed in the top 16 on the sixth season of American Idol. She was eliminated before the top 12 were chosen.-Biography:...

  (born November 26, 1986) is a 23-year-old (20 at the time of that show) who auditioned with her best friend Amanda Coluccio and made it to Hollywood. An undergraduate at The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...

, she is originally from Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Point Pleasant is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 18,392...

. She made it to Round 3 with Coluccio and both passed the group round (although their third member, Baylie Brown, did not). Coluccio was eliminated in the cut for the top 40. While Barba appeared on the show, racy photographs of her emerged, including photographs of Barba topless along with other women on a beach. These pictures received mainstream attention including a February 27, 2007 featured article in USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

, a full segment concerning the controversy on the February 26, 2007 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...

 and also on multiple episodes of MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

's Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...

 (as recent as March 2007). Photos of Barba posing in a wet t-shirt in the fountain of the National World War II Memorial
National World War II Memorial
The U.S. National World War II Memorial is a National Memorial dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II...

 in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 also surfaced; however, Barba's friend Coluccio has stated that the sexually explicit photos were fake.
Leslie Hunt (born March 23, 1982), a 27-year-old dog walker (24 at the time of that show) from Chicago, Illinois, who was featured in an American Idol commercial before Season 6 started. She is a self-described indie rocker. She suffers from the autoimmune disease lupus
Lupus erythematosus
Lupus erythematosus is a category for a collection of diseases with similar underlying problems with immunity . Symptoms of these diseases can affect many different body systems, including joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart, and lungs...

.
Alaina Alexander (born July 21, 1982) auditioned in Los Angeles. She is 27 years old (24 at the time of that show) and is from West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...

. Before her American Idol 6 audition, Alexander revealed that after struggling for six years to make it in the music business in Los Angeles she had decided she was not going to sing anymore and had decided to go to college instead. She considered American Idol to be her last chance to pursue a singing career. For her Los Angeles audition, Alexander sang "Feeling Good" by Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...

.
Nicole Tranquillo (born August 13, 1985) is 24 years old (21 at the time of that show) and is from Wernersville, Pennsylvania
Wernersville, Pennsylvania
Wernersville is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,494 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Wernersville is located at .-History:...

. She gained a vocal major at the University of the Arts
University of the Arts (Philadelphia)
The University of the Arts is one of the United States' oldest universities dedicated to the arts. Its campus makes up part of the Avenue of the Arts in Center City, Philadelphia...

. She auditioned in Memphis.
Amy Krebs (born May 2, 1984) is 25 years old (22 at the time of that show) and is from Federal Way, Washington
Federal Way, Washington
Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. Federal Way is located between Seattle and Tacoma. Its western boundary is Puget Sound. It is bordered by Des Moines on the north, Kent, unincorporated King County, and Milton on the east and Tacoma and Fife on the south...

. She is fluent in German. She auditioned in Seattle.

Males

Jason "Sundance" Head (born January 22, 1979) auditioned in Memphis and lives in Porter, Texas
Porter, Texas
Porter is an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Texas within the metropolitan area. In 2010, its population estimated 25,627. Schools in Porter are operated by the New Caney Independent School District.-Government and infrastructure:...

. He is a 32-year-old (28 at the time of that show) and is the son of Roy Head
Roy Head
Roy Head is an American singer, best known for his hit "Treat Her Right."-Career:Head achieved fame as a member of a musical group out from San Marcos, Texas known as The Traits. The group's sponsor landed their first recording contract in 1958 with TNT Music in San Antonio, Texas while they were...

, who had a number-two single with "Treat Her Right" in 1965; the song was second on the charts to The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

, which Jason said made his dad dislike them. He sang the classic hit "Stormy Monday
Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)
"Call It Stormy Monday " is a blues song written by T-Bone Walker and first recorded in 1947. Confusingly, it is also sometimes referred to as "Stormy Monday Blues", although that is the title of a 1942 song by Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine...

."
Jared Cotter
Jared Cotter
Jared Lincoln Cotter is an American pop/R&B singer, songwriter and model. He has hosted a number of TV shows, and he co-wrote the number 1 song "Down" by Jay Sean.-Biography:...

  (born June 17, 1981) is from Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens, Queens
Kew Gardens is a triangular-shaped neighborhood in central Queens bounded to the north by the Jackie Robinson Parkway , to the east by Van Wyck Expressway and 131st Street, to the south by Hillside Avenue, and to the west by Park Lane, Abingdon Road and 118th Street...

, New York (listed as Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

 on the show) and attended Newfield High School
Newfield High School
Newfield High School is a public high school in Selden, New York, which is located in Suffolk County, Long Island in the United States. It is located 1 mile north of Middle Country Road on Marshall Drive.-History and Overview:...

. He is 30 years old (25 at the time of that show) and auditioned in New York City. Cotter played basketball in college, but quit to start his music career. He currently works at FUSE. His rendition of "Let's Get It On" dedicated to his parents was named one of VH1's most memorable reality moments. Cotter also worked with singer-songwriter Jay Sean, featuring in the album My Own Way
My Own Way (album)
My Own Way is the second studio album by British Contemporary R&B singer Jay Sean, released May 12, 2008 on Jayded Records and 2Point9 Records. Recording sessions took place from 2006 to 2009. Production was handled by Jay Sean and several other recording producers, including Jared Cotter, J remy,...

 and co-writing the Billboard #1 hit "Down
Down (Jay Sean song)
"Down" is an R&B-electropop song by British artist Jay Sean. The song was released in North America as his debut single from his first album there, All or Nothing. In other markets, including the UK, the song serves as Jay Sean's lead single from his third studio album. The single features American...

".
Adrian Joseph "A.J." Tabaldo (born January 3, 1985) auditioned in Los Angeles and is from Santa Maria, California
Santa Maria, California
Santa Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...

. He is 26 years old (22 at the time of that show). Tabaldo is half-Filipino and half-Portuguese, and auditioned for American Idol five times.
Nicholas "Nick" Pedro (born July 9, 1981) is 30 years old (25 at the time of that show). He auditioned in New York and is from Taunton, Massachusetts
Taunton, Massachusetts
Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...

. Pedro dropped out of the competition the previous season after forgetting the lyrics of "Buttercup" in Hollywood. This audition, he gave a soulful rendition of "Fly Me to the Moon" which earned him a second chance to fulfill his Idol aspirations. Nick's feat seemed especially noteworthy as, unlike all other contestants making it this far, Nick received no experience ever onstage prior to Idol.
Rudy Cardenas (born April 3, 1978) auditioned in Seattle and is from North Hollywood, California. Originally from Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, the 33-year-old (28 at the time of that show) is part of a Los Angeles-based band called M-Pact. In his audition, he sang Journey rock classic "Open Arms". Although Simon was unimpressed with his singing, Rudy made it to Hollywood with the support of the other two judges. In Hollywood, he sang "How Deep Is Your Love
How Deep Is Your Love
"How Deep Is Your Love" is a pop song recorded by the Bee Gees in 1977 and released as a single in September. Originally intended for Yvonne Elliman, it was ultimately used as part of the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever. It was a number three hit in the United Kingdom and Australia...

" together with Chris Sligh, Blake Lewis, and Tom Lowe
Tom Lowe (performer)
Thomas Peter "Tom" Lowe is an English-born singer and actor.-Personal life:Tom Lowe was born in Stockport, England to his parents, Peter and Margaret Lowe...

 in group round. The judges were impressed by their vocals.
Paul Kim (born March 26, 1981) auditioned in Los Angeles. He is from Saratoga, California
Saratoga, California
Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, directly west of San Jose, in the San Francisco Bay area. The population was 29,926 at the 2010 census....

, and attended Monta Vista High School
Monta Vista High School
Monta Vista High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in the Silicon Valley city of Cupertino, California, USA. Part of the Fremont Union High School District, the school serves most of the suburban residential and industrial technology enriched area of western Cupertino...

. Kim is 30 years old (25 at the time of that show), and being Korean-American, his motivation for auditioning was to alter the stereotypical Asian image that William Hung gave during the previous seasons. His performance received unanimous praise from the judges as Randy mentioned that Kim has one of the best male vocals he has heard this season. In contrast to their early praise, the judges mentioned when they put him through that Paul made it to the top 24 by "a split decision". He sang barefoot during all of his performances.

Top 24

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Stephanie Edwards "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?
How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?
"How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" is a song by Prince. It is a ballad of romantic longing with some gospel elements. On his original recording of the song, which was released as the non-album B-side to his 1982 single "1999", Prince performs most of the song in his falsetto range, with his own...

" (Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...

)
Safe
2 Amy Krebs "I Can't Make You Love Me
I Can't Make You Love Me
"I Can't Make You Love Me" is a 1991 popular song, written by Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin and recorded by Bonnie Raitt on her Luck of the Draw album from that year. In August 2000, Mojo magazine voted "I Can't Make You Love Me" #8 on its The 100 Greatest Songs Of All Time list...

" (Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...

)
Eliminated
3 Leslie Hunt "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
(You Make Me Feel like) a Natural Woman
" A Natural Woman" is a 1967 single released by American soul singer Aretha Franklin on the Atlantic label. The record was a big hit for Franklin, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became a standard song for her...

" (Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

)
Safe
4 Sabrina Sloan "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" (Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

)
Safe
5 Antonella Barba "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" is a song performed by American rock band Aerosmith for the 1998 film Armageddon. Written by Diane Warren, the song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 . The song stayed at number one for four weeks from September 5 to September 26, 1998...

" (Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...

)
Safe
6 Jordin Sparks "Give Me One Reason
Give Me One Reason
"Give Me One Reason" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman. It was released on her 1995 album New Beginning. It is also Chapman's biggest US hit to date, reaching #3 on the US Hot 100. Chapman also performed the song six years before its release, on the December 16, 1989...

" (Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...

)
Safe
7 Nicole Tranquillo "Stay
Street Player
-Personnel:*Chaka Khan – lead vocals, background vocals*Tony Maiden – guitar, percussion, lead vocals, background vocals*Kevin Murphy – keyboards*Bobby Watson – bass, percussion*David "Hawk" Wolinski – keyboards, background vocals...

" (Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...

)
Eliminated
8 Haley Scarnato "It's All Coming Back to Me Now
It's All Coming Back to Me Now
"It's All Coming Back to Me Now" is a power ballad, written by Jim Steinman. According to Steinman the song was inspired by Wuthering Heights, and was an attempt to write "the most passionate, romantic song" he could ever create. The Sunday Times posits that "Steinman protects his songs as if they...

" (Pandora's Box
Pandora's Box (band)
Pandora's Box was a female pop music group assembled by Jim Steinman in the 1980s. Some of its members had previously worked with Steinman, in the ensemble Fire Inc., on the album Bat Out of Hell, on live shows and on other studio recordings...

)
Safe
9 Melinda Doolittle "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone
(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone
" Since You've Been Gone" is a classic song by R&B singer Aretha Franklin. Released from her Lady Soul album in 1968, the song was successful, debuting at #32 on the Hot 100, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and spent three weeks at #1 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart...

" (Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

)
Safe
10 Alaina Alexander "Brass in Pocket
Brass In Pocket
"Brass in Pocket" is a single by The Pretenders. It was written by Chrissie Hynde and James Honeyman-Scott, and produced by Chris Thomas.-Release:...

" (The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...

)
Safe
11 Gina Glocksen "All by Myself
All by Myself
"All by Myself" is a power ballad written and performed by Eric Carmen in 1975.The verse is based on the second movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18...

" (Eric Carmen
Eric Carmen
Eric Howard Carmen is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist.He scored numerous hit songs across the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Raspberries , and then with his solo career, including hits such as "All By Myself", "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", "She Did It",...

)
Safe
12 Lakisha Jones "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going
And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going
"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is a torch song from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, with lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger...

" (Jennifer Holiday)
Safe

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Rudy Cardenas "Free Ride
Free Ride (song)
Free Ride is a song written by Dan Hartman and performed by The Edgar Winter Group. The single, engineered by Jim Reeves, was a top 20 U.S. hit in 1973, hitting number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. The song is sometimes mistakenly attributed to The Doobie Brothers or Boston, perhaps because of...

" (Edgar Winter Group)
Eliminated
2 Brandon Rogers "Rock with You" (Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

)
Safe
3 Sundance Head "Nights in White Satin
Nights in White Satin
"Nights in White Satin" is a 1967 single by The Moody Blues, written by Justin Hayward and first featured on the album Days of Future Passed.It is in the key of E minor Aeolian.-Single releases:...

" (The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....

)
Safe
4 Paul Kim "Careless Whisper
Careless Whisper
"Careless Whisper" is a 1984 single by George Michael , released by Epic Records in the UK, Japan, and other countries; and by Columbia Records in North America. The song was George Michael's first solo single although he was still performing in Wham! at the time...

" (Wham!
WHAM!
Wham! were a short-lived British musical duo formed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in the early 1980s. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK due to a naming conflict with an American band....

)
Eliminated
5 Chris Richardson "I Don't Want to Be
I Don't Want to Be
"I Don't Want to Be" is a song by Gavin DeGraw appearing on his 2003 debut album Chariot. It was released as a single in Australia in 2004, and in the UK in 2005....

" (Gavin DeGraw
Gavin DeGraw
Gavin Shane DeGraw is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is known for his songs "Chariot", "Follow Through", "I Don't Want to Be" , "In Love with a Girl", and "Not Over You".-Early life:DeGraw grew up in the Catskills in South Fallsburg,...

)
Safe
6 Nick Pedro "Now and Forever
Now and Forever (Richard Marx song)
"Now and Forever" is the title of a 1994 song written, produced and performed by the American singer-songwriter Richard Marx...

" (Richard Marx
Richard Marx
Richard Noel Marx is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and 1990s, including "Endless Summer Nights", "Right Here Waiting", "Now and Forever", and "Hazard"...

)
Safe
7 Blake Lewis "Somewhere Only We Know
Somewhere Only We Know
"Somewhere Only We Know" is a song performed and composed by English alternative rock band Keane, officially released as their third commercial single, and appearing as the opening track of their debut album, Hopes and Fears as the first single...

" (Keane)
Safe
8 Sanjaya Malakar "Knocks Me Off My Feet" (Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...

)
Safe
9 Chris Sligh "Typical
Typical
"Typical" is the Grammy Award nominated debut single from New Orleans rock group Mutemath. The song was written in 2003 by Paul Meany and Darren King. The digital single was released on April 10, 2007. A physical single was released in the UK only on August 27, 2007. Josh Harris club remixes of the...

" (Mutemath)
Safe
10 Jared Cotter "Back at One
Back at One
Back at One is an album by Brian McKnight released September 21, 1999, by Motown. Certified triple platinum in the US, the album is his best-selling album with McKnight at the height of his career.- Track listing :...

"(Brian McKnight
Brian McKnight
Brian McKnight is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, producer, and R&B/Pop musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays nine instruments: piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions, trombone, tuba, flugelhorn and trumpet....

)
Safe
11 Aj Tabaldo "Never Too Much
Never Too Much
"Never Too Much" is a song by the late R&B singer/songwriter Luther Vandross. The song was released in 1981, as the title track of the album of the same name. The title track hit number one on the soul singles chart and peaked at number thirty-three on the Hot 100...

" (Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...

)
Safe
12 Phil Stacey "I Could Not Ask for More
I Could Not Ask for More
"I Could Not Ask for More" is a song composed by American songwriter Diane Warren and originally recorded by American recording artist Edwin McCain. McCain's version was released on January 11, 2000 as the last single from his third studio album, Messenger. In 2001, American country music artist...

" (Edwin McCain
Edwin McCain
Edwin McCain is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Career:While his albums are released under his name, he does have a permanent band, referred to as the Edwin McCain Band...

)
Safe


Group Performance:Sowing the Seeds of Love
Sowing the Seeds of Love
"Sowing the Seeds of Love" is a 1989 song and single by the British group Tears for Fears from their 1989 album The Seeds of Love.A worldwide hit, it reached the top five in the UK, Canada , Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and the Netherlands. In the US, it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot...

"(Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...

)

Guest Performance: Fantasia
Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia Monique Barrino commonly known as Fantasia, is an American R&B singer, Broadway and television actress who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the reality television series American Idol in 2004. Following her victory, she released her debut single, "I Believe", which...

 performed "I'm Here" from The Color Purple
The Color Purple (musical)
The Color Purple is a Broadway musical based upon the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker. It features music and lyrics written by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, with a book by Marsha Norman. It ran on Broadway in 2005 and has been touring throughout the US...

.

Top 20

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Gina Glocksen "Alone
Alone (Heart song)
-Céline Dion version:Céline Dion covered "Alone" for her 2007 album Taking Chances. It was released as the second single in Europe and North America, and third in the United Kingdom...

" (i-TEN)
Safe
2 Alaina Alexander "Not Ready to Make Nice
Not Ready to Make Nice
"Not Ready to Make Nice" is a country pop song co-written and performed by the American all-female band Dixie Chicks for their seventh studio album Taking the Long Way...

" (Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...

)
Eliminated
3 LaKisha Jones "Midnight Train to Georgia
Midnight Train to Georgia
"Midnight Train to Georgia" is a 1973 number-one hit single by Gladys Knight & the Pips, their second release after departing Motown Records for Buddah Records...

" (Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight & The Pips were an R&B/soul family musical act from Atlanta, Georgia, active from 1953 to 1989. The group was best known for their string of hit singles on Motown's "Soul" record label and Buddah Records from 1967 to 1975, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight...

)
Safe
4 Melinda Doolittle "My Funny Valentine
My Funny Valentine
"My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart musical Babes in Arms in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green...

" (Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...

)
Safe
5 Antonella Barba "Because You Loved Me
Because You Loved Me
"Because You Loved Me" is a song from Céline Dion's album Falling into You, released as the first single on February 19, 1996 in North America and Japan. In other parts of the world it was released in May 1996 as the second single, after "Falling into You"....

" (Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...

)
Safe
6 Jordin Sparks "Reflection
Reflection (song)
"Reflection" is a song featured on the soundtrack of the 1998 animated film Mulan, recorded by American recording artist Christina Aguilera. In the months before the recording of the track, Aguilera approached RCA, which gave her the chance to record the theme song to the film Mulan...

" (Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...

)
Safe
7 Stephanie Edwards "Dangerously in Love
Dangerously in Love
Dangerously in Love is the debut solo album of American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles, released on June 22, 2003, by Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in 2002 to 2003 at several studios, during the hiatus of her then-group Destiny's Child...

" (Beyoncé)
Safe
8 Leslie Hunt "Feeling Good
Feeling Good
"Feeling Good" is a song written by English singer-songwriters Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the 1965 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd starring Cy Grant, who sang the original version of the song...

" (Cy Grant
Cy Grant
Cy Grant was a Guyanese actor, singer, writer and poet, who in the 1950s became the first black person to appear regularly on British television...

)
Eliminated
9 Haley Scarnato "Queen of the Night
Queen of the Night (song)
"Queen of the Night" is a song co-written and performed by American pop/R&B singer Whitney Houston. It was the fifth and final single released from the multiplatinum The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album...

" (Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...

)
Safe
10 Sabrina Sloan "All the Man That I Need
All the Man That I Need
"All the Man That I Need" is a song written by American songwriters Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore. The song was first recorded under the name "All the man I need" by singer Linda Clifford, in 1982, for her album I'll Keep on Loving You. Pitchford and Gore had in mind Clifford and her husband...

" (Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...

)
Safe

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Phil Stacey "Missing You
Missing You (John Waite song)
"Missing You" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by British musician John Waite. It was released in June 1984 as the lead single from the album No Brakes...

" (John Waite
John Waite
John Charles Waite is an English rock singer and musician. He was lead vocalist for The Babys and Bad English. As a solo artist, he scored several international hits, including 1984's "Missing You", a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, reaching #1 in the...

)
Safe
2 Jared Cotter "Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On is the twelfth studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye, released August 28, 1973, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles...

" (Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....

)
Safe
3 AJ Tabaldo "Feeling Good
Feeling Good
"Feeling Good" is a song written by English singer-songwriters Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the 1965 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd starring Cy Grant, who sang the original version of the song...

" (Cy Grant
Cy Grant
Cy Grant was a Guyanese actor, singer, writer and poet, who in the 1950s became the first black person to appear regularly on British television...

)
Eliminated
4 Sanjaya Malakar "Steppin' Out with My Baby
Steppin' Out with My Baby
"Steppin' Out With My Baby" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin and introduced in the 1948 musical film Easter Parade. There it was sung by Fred Astaire as part of a dance number involving Astaire on stairs and three different dance partners....

" (Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....

)
Safe
5 Chris Sligh "Trouble
Trouble (Ray LaMontagne song)
"Trouble" is the first track on the debut album of the same name by Maine folk singer Ray LaMontagne. The album was released by RCA on September 14, 2004...

" (Ray LaMontagne
Ray LaMontagne
Raymond "Ray" Charles Jack LaMontagne is a Grammy-award winning American singer-songwriter. LaMontagne has released four studio albums, Trouble, Till the Sun Turns Black, Gossip in the Grain and God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise. He was born in New Hampshire and was inspired to create music after...

)
Safe
6 Nick Pedro "Fever" (Little Willie John
Little Willie John
William Edward John was better known by his stage name Little Willie John. Many sources erroneously give his second name as Edgar...

)
Eliminated
7 Blake Lewis "Virtual Insanity
Virtual Insanity
"Virtual Insanity" is the lead single from British Acid Jazz band Jamiroquai's third studio album, Travelling Without Moving. The song reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted at #38 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart upon the single's release in America in 1997...

" (Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...

)
Safe
8 Brandon Rogers "Time After Time
Time after Time (Cyndi Lauper song)
"Time After Time" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper, released as the second single from her album She's So Unusual. It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 9, 1984, and remained there for two weeks...

" (Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...

)
Safe
9 Chris Richardson "Geek in the Pink
Geek in the Pink
"Geek in the Pink" is a 2006 single by Jason Mraz from his album Mr. A-Z.In 2007, American Idol contestant Chris Richardson performed "Geek in the Pink", which subsequently garnered the song mass recognition and increased downloads at the United States iTunes Store. "Geek in the Pink" peaked at #22...

" (Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz
Jason Thomas Mraz , also known as Mr. AZ and Mr. Raz, is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy ", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, "Mr. A-Z", in 2005, that Mraz achieved...

)
Safe
10 Sundance Head "Mustang Sally
Mustang Sally (song)
"Mustang Sally" is an R&B/straightforward blues first recorded by Mack Rice in 1965. It gained greater popularity when it was covered by Wilson Pickett on a single the following year. Pickett's version was also included on his 1967 album The Wicked Pickett....

" (Mack Rice
Mack Rice
Mack Rice , is a American songwriter, whose compositions have been performed by many well-known artists, including The Staple Singers, Ike and Tina Turner, Albert King, Johnnie Taylor, Shirley Brown, Rufus Thomas, Etta James, Billy Eckstine, Eddie Floyd, Buddy Guy, The Rascals, Wilson Pickett,...

)
Safe


Group Performance:"Joy to the World
Joy to the World (Hoyt Axton song)
"Joy to the World" is a song written by Hoyt Axton, and made famous by the band Three Dog Night. The song is also popularly known by its opening words, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog"...

" "(Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...

)

Guest Perfromance:Kellie Pickler
Kellie Pickler
Kellie Dawn Pickler is an American country music artist and television personality. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol, eventually finishing in sixth place. In 2006, she signed to 19 Recordings and BNA Records as a recording artist, releasing...

 "I Wonder."

Top 16

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Jordin Sparks "Heartbreaker
Heartbreaker (Pat Benatar song)
"Heartbreaker" is a song recorded by Pat Benatar on her 1979 album In the Heat of the Night. Written and composed by Geoff Gill and Clint Wade, it reached No. 23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It is a staple of her live shows....

" (Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...

)
Safe
2 Sabrina Sloan "Don't Let Go (Love)
Don't Let Go (Love)
"Don't Let Go " is a 1996 Grammy-nominated single by En Vogue from the Set It Off soundtrack, also appearing on the group's third album, EV3. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of over 1,000,000 units. The song was the last single by En Vogue to feature former band member Dawn...

" (En Vogue
En Vogue
En Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...

)
Eliminated
3 Antonella Barba "Put Your Records On
Put Your Records On
"Put Your Records On" is a song by English soul singer–songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae from her debut album, Corinne Bailey Rae . Written by Rae, John Beck, and Steve Chrisanthou, it was released as the album's second single in February and early March 2006 throughout Europe and as the lead single in...

" (Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist from Leeds, who released her debut album Corinne Bailey Rae in February 2006....

)
Eliminated
4 Haley Scarnato "If My Heart Had Wings
If My Heart Had Wings
"If My Heart Had Wings" is a song by country music singer Faith Hill. It is on her 1999 album Breathe. The fourth and final single released from that very successful album, it hit number 3 on the Hot Country Songs chart in 2001, and number 39 on the pop Billboard Hot 100.It was subsequently...

" (Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...

)
Safe
5 Stephanie Edwards "Sweet Thing
Sweet Thing (Chaka Khan song)
"Sweet Thing" is a soul single that was first a hit with Rufus featuring Chaka Khan when they recorded the song in 1975 eventually reaching number-one on the R&B singles chart and number five on the pop chart...

" (Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...

)
Safe
6 Lakisha Jones "I Have Nothing
I Have Nothing
"I Have Nothing" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston and released as the third single from The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album on February 20, 1993 by Arista Records. The song was written by David Foster and Linda Thompson, and produced by Foster...

" (Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...

)
Safe
7 Gina Glocksen "Call Me When You're Sober
Call Me When You're Sober
"Call Me When You're Sober" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. The song was written by Amy Lee and Terry Balsamo and produced by Dave Fortman and it was included on their second studio album The Open Door. On July 30, 2006 several radio stations played the track before its official...

" (Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...

)
Safe
8 Melinda Doolittle "I'm a Woman
I'm a Woman
I'm a Woman is a 1963 song and album by Peggy Lee, arranged by Benny Carter. The title song, one of Lee's signature songs despite reaching a minor peak of number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, has been covered by many artists....

" (Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...

)
Safe

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Blake Lewis "All Mixed Up" (311
311 (band)
311 is an American rock band from Omaha, Nebraska. The band was formed in 1988 by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Nick Hexum, lead guitarist Jim Watson , bassist Aaron "P-Nut" Wills and drummer Chad Sexton...

)
Safe
2 Sanjaya Malakar "Waiting on the World to Change
Waiting on the World to Change
"Waiting on the World to Change" is the first single released from John Mayer's 2006 studio album, Continuum. The song enjoyed commercial success as a single and won the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards...

" (John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...

)
Safe
3 Sundance Head "Jeremy
Jeremy (song)
"Jeremy" is a song by the American grunge band Pearl Jam that features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by bassist Jeff Ament. "Jeremy" was released in 1992 as the third single from Pearl Jam's debut album, Ten . The song reached the number five spot on both the Mainstream...

" (Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...

)
Eliminated
4 Jared Cotter "If You Really Love Me
If You Really Love Me
"If You Really Love Me" is the title of a song written by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright. Wonder recorded the song and released his version as a single from his 1971 album Where I'm Coming From. The single proved very successful, peaking in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 , Billboard's R&B...

" (Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...

)
Eliminated
5 Chris Richardson "Tonight I Wanna Cry
Tonight I Wanna Cry
"Tonight I Wanna Cry" is a song co-written and recorded by Australian country music artist Keith Urban. It was released in November 2005 as the last official single off Urban's Be Here album. It peaked at number 2 on the U.S...

" (Keith Urban
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...

)
Safe
6 Brandon Rogers "I Just Want to Celebrate
I Just Want to Celebrate
"I Just Want to Celebrate" is a song recorded by American rock band Rare Earth. It served as the lead single from their 1971 album One World and the band's fifth single overall. "I Just Want to Celebrate" peaked at #7 on the pop charts and would be Rare Earth's final top 10 single. It would be the...

" (Rare Earth
Rare Earth (band)
Rare Earth is an American rock band affiliated with Motown's Rare Earth record label , who prospered in 1970-1972. Although not the first white band signed to Motown, Rare Earth was the first big hit-making act signed by Motown that consisted only of white members...

)
Safe
7 Phil Stacey "I Need You
I Need You (LeAnn Rimes song)
"I Need You" is a song performed by American country pop artist, LeAnn Rimes. It was released on July 18, 2000 as a single from Jesus: Music From & Inspired by the Epic Mini Series. It spent 25 weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart and peaked at #11...

" (LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes is an American country/pop singer. She is known for her rich vocals and her rise to fame as an eight-year-old champion on the original Ed McMahon version of Star Search, followed by the release of the Patsy Cline-intended single "Blue" when Rimes was only age 13, resulting in her...

)
Safe
8 Chris Sligh "Wanna Be Loved" (dc Talk
Dc Talk
DC Talk , is a Grammy-winning Christian rock music trio. The group was formed in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max Smith. They have released five major studio albums together: DC Talk , Nu Thang , Free at Last , Jesus Freak , and Supernatural...

)
Safe


Group Performance:Stealers Wheel
Stealers Wheel
Stealers Wheel are a Scottish folk rock/rock band formed in Paisley, Renfrewshire in 1972 by former school friends Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty.The band broke up in 1975 and re-formed without Egan and Rafferty in 2008.-Biography:...

"(Stuck in the Middle with You
Stuck in the Middle With You
"Stuck in the Middle with You" is a song written by Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan and originally performed by their band Stealers Wheel....

)"

Guest Performance:(Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...

)"Wasted
Wasted (Carrie Underwood song)
"Wasted" is Carrie Underwood's sixth and final single from her multi-platinum debut Some Hearts.The single began receiving country radio airplay as an album track, causing it to place on the US Country chart weeks before its official release as a single....

."

Top 12 finalists

The 12 finalists were announced on March 8, 2007. As in past years, the top 12 will appear on the annual compilation album while the top 10 will be the participants in the American Idol summer concert tour
American Idols LIVE! Tour 2007
American Idols Live! Tour 2007 was a summer concert tour in the United States featuring the top 10 contestants of the sixth season of American Idol, which aired in 2007. It was sponsored by Kellogg's Pop-Tarts...

. Also as in past years, one finalist was eliminated every week, with the exception of the April 25 show, when all contestants were declared safe. As a result, two of the participants were eliminated on the May 2, 2007 results program.

The following is first in reverse chronological order by elimination date, then in alphabetical order by family name, where applicable.

Jordin Brianna Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...

  (born December 22, 1989) is a -year-old (17 at the time of the show) from Glendale, Arizona
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....

 who auditioned in Seattle. She was a contestant on America's Most Talented Kid
America's Most Talented Kid
America's Most Talented Kid was an American television series that originally aired on NBC on March 28, 2003. In each round, three age groups...

 in 2003 and also appeared on the program's Tournament of Champions, on which she sang the Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...

 ballad "Because You Loved Me
Because You Loved Me
"Because You Loved Me" is a song from Céline Dion's album Falling into You, released as the first single on February 19, 1996 in North America and Japan. In other parts of the world it was released in May 1996 as the second single, after "Falling into You"....

" in her auditions. She is the daughter of former NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 defensive back Philippi Sparks. With her win, Jordin became the youngest Idol yet and joins the ranks of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Hicks by winning without ever appearing in the bottom two or three.

Blake Colin Lewis
Blake Lewis
Blake Colin Lewis is an American singer-songwriter and beatboxer who was the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. His major label debut album A.D.D. was released on December 4, 2007 through 19 Recordings/Arista Records. On October 30, 2007, his first single "Break Anotha" was released....

  (born July 21, 1981) is a -year-old (25 at the time of the show) and auditioned in Seattle, and is from Bothell, Washington
Bothell, Washington
Bothell is a city located in King and Snohomish Counties in the state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The population was 33,505 as of the 2010 census...

. He is a former member of the a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

 group KickShaw. Claiming to be the city's beatboxing
Beatboxing
Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, and the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments...

 champion, Lewis sampled a hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 tune to the judges before rendering Seal
Seal (musician)
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...

's "Crazy
Crazy (Seal song)
"Crazy" is a song written by English soul artist Seal and producer Guy Sigsworth . The song was produced by Trevor Horn for Seal's debut album Seal . Seal's debut single, "Crazy" is one of his biggest hits, reaching the top five in the United Kingdom and the top ten in the United States...

". He passed the auditions but Simon commented to him that "you are not as good as you think you are", reminding him not to be cocky and overconfident in the future.

Melinda Marie Doolittle
Melinda Doolittle
Melinda Marie Doolittle is an American singer who finished as the third place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol...

  (October 6, 1977) age (29 at the time of show), auditioned in Memphis, and is from Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood, Tennessee
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,445 people, 7,693 households, and 6,808 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,889 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.63% European American, 1.89% African American,...

. Despite being a professional back-up singer, she admitted she was still tense and nervous about competing in the show. She auditioned with "For Once in My Life
For Once in My Life
"For Once in My Life" is a pop song written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden for Motown Records' Jobete publishing company in 1967 . The composition was originally recorded by Jean DuShon, while other artists, such as Tony Bennett and The Temptations, recorded slow ballad versions of the song...

" popularized by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...

, and was met with universal praise from the three judges on her vocal ability. The judges did express concern about her nerves and told her to believe in herself. Her elimination the week before the finale had many critics and viewers in shock, and Simon Cowell looked extremely disappointed, as he felt that she deserved to be in the finale for "week to week consistency". She has sung back up for Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He has had four top-20 hits in the United States along with four platinum-certified albums...

, CeCe Winans
CeCe Winans
Priscilla "CeCe" Marie Winans Love is an American Gospel singer, who has won numerous Grammy and Stellar Awards.-Early life:CeCe Winans was born in Detroit, Michigan, to David and Delores Winans, on October 8, 1964...

, and Season 3 finalist George Huff. She also performed in the "Christmas Time" Tours in 2005 and 2006 for Contemporary Christian singer Michael W. Smith
Michael W. Smith
Michael Whitaker Smith is a Billboard top ten Billboard Hot 100 recording artist and Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian music. Smith also has achieved a considerable amount of...

.

LaKisha Ann Jones
LaKisha Jones
LaKisha Ann Jones is an American singer. She placed fourth on the sixth season of American Idol.-Personal life:Jones was born at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, to a teacher at the Flint Foundation Academy...

  (born January 13, 1980) a -year-old (27 at the time of show) bank teller who performed "Think" by Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

, and is originally from Flint, Michigan
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...

. Viewers were first introduced to Jones during the "Best of the Rest" episode. After her audition in New York, LaKisha celebrated with her family and cried tears of happiness with her daughter. She is also the runner up of the Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

 show, KPRC Local 2 Gimme the Mike, in 2005. She listed Fort Meade, Maryland
Fort Meade, Maryland
Fort Meade is a census-designated place in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,882 at the 2000 census. It is the home to the National Security Agency, which is located on the US Army post Fort George G...

 as home on her application, and also has a Houston following.

Christopher Michael "Chris" Richardson
Chris Richardson
Christopher Michael "Chris" Richardson is an American singer-songwriter who was the fifth-place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol.-Personal life:...

  (born February 19, 1984) is a -year-old (23 at time of show). He is from Chesapeake, Virginia
Chesapeake, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 199,184 people, 69,900 households, and 54,172 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.6 people per square mile . There were 72,672 housing units at an average density of 213.3 per square mile...

, and auditioned in New York with Leon Russell
Leon Russell
Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....

's A Song for You
A Song for You
"A Song for You" is a soulful love song written and originally recorded by rock singer-songwriter and pianist Leon Russell for his first solo album 'Leon Russell', which was released in 1970 on Shelter Records. A slow, pained plea for forgiveness and understanding from an estranged lover, the tune...

 as interpreted by Donny Hathaway
Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."His collaborations...

. During Richardson's audition Randy compared him to Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...

.

Joel Philip "Phil" Stacey
Phil Stacey
Joel Philip "Phil" Stacey is an American singer who first gained national attention on season 6 of the television talent show American Idol. After being eliminated from the competition on May 2, 2007, he was signed to a recording contract with Lyric Street Records...

  (born January 21, 1978) is a -year-old (29 at time of show) and serves in the United States Navy. He auditioned in Memphis and is from Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

. He missed the birth of his daughter, McKayla, to audition for Idol. He performed two songs before getting through to Hollywood: "My Girl" and "Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On is the twelfth studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye, released August 28, 1973, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles...

".
Sanjaya Joseph Malakar
Sanjaya Malakar
Sanjaya Joseph Malakar is an American singer of Indian origin, who was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol. He gained national attention on the series, controversially advancing to 7th place with public votes, despite being poorly received by the show's judges, particularly Simon...

  (born September 10, 1989) is a -year-old (17 at time of show). He auditioned in Seattle with his sister Shyamali, singing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" is a soul single by American musician Stevie Wonder, recorded for Motown's Tamla label. Released in June 1970, the song spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number three on the U.S. Pop chart...

." He is from Federal Way, Washington
Federal Way, Washington
Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. Federal Way is located between Seattle and Tacoma. Its western boundary is Puget Sound. It is bordered by Des Moines on the north, Kent, unincorporated King County, and Milton on the east and Tacoma and Fife on the south...

, the same town as Amy Krebs. After Sanjaya's audition, Simon commented that he had a better voice than his sister. Both made it to Hollywood, but Sanjaya was shown tearfully embracing his sister when he made it to the top 40 in Hollywood and she was cut.
Haley Suzanne Scarnato
Haley Scarnato
Haley Suzanne Scarnato is an American singer who was the 8th-place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol. Scarnato announced in an interview in November 2009, her album Strongheart was scrapped after she left her management, but is working on a new album and "Strongheart" was her old...

  (born June 15, 1982) is a -year-old (24 at time of show) former wedding band singer. She sang "I Can't Make You Love Me
I Can't Make You Love Me
"I Can't Make You Love Me" is a 1991 popular song, written by Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin and recorded by Bonnie Raitt on her Luck of the Draw album from that year. In August 2000, Mojo magazine voted "I Can't Make You Love Me" #8 on its The 100 Greatest Songs Of All Time list...

" by Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...

 during her audition. She lives in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

.

Gina Glocksen
Gina Glocksen
Gina Glocksen was the ninth-place finisher on the sixth season of American Idol. She was eliminated on April 4, 2007. She previously appeared in season 5...

  (born July 4, 1984) is a -year-old (22 at time of show), auditioned in Memphis, and is from Naperville, Illinois
Naperville, Illinois
Naperville is a city in DuPage and Will Counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 141,853. It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago,...

. She auditioned in Chicago during Season 5 and made it to Hollywood but was cut before the Top 40.

Charles Christopher "Chris" Sligh
Chris Sligh
Charles Christopher Sligh is an American singer; songwriter and producer who was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol, finishing in tenth place.-Early years:...

  (born April 13, 1978) is a -year-old (28 at time of show), hails from Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...

, and graduated from North Greenville University
North Greenville University
North Greenville University is a comprehensive university affiliated with South Carolina Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention, and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The institution awards Bachelor, Master, and...

. He auditioned in Birmingham and sang "Kiss from a Rose
Kiss from a Rose
"Kiss from a Rose" is a song from Seal's second eponymous album Seal . The song was first released as a single in July 1994. Re-released in 1995, it was included on the Batman Forever film soundtrack, helping it top the charts in the U.S. and Australia. It took the 1996 Grammy Awards for both...

" by Seal
Seal (musician)
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...

, after which Paula gave a standing ovation and stated, "I like you very much." Paula, Simon, and Randy laughed at his ambition "to make David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...

 cry" (a nod to the Season 5 finale where David Hasselhoff did, in fact, cry).
Stephanie Edwards
Stephanie Edwards (singer)
Stephanie Edwards is an American singer and was the eleventh-place finalist on sixth season of American Idol. She is from Savannah, Georgia and first began singing around the age of two or three...

  (born November 5, 1987) is a -year-old (19 at time of show) and from Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

. She auditioned in Memphis.

Brandon Rogers
Brandon Rogers (singer)
Brandon Rogers is an American singer who has worked as a professional backup vocalist, and who was the 12th place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol.-Early years:...

  (born December 11, 1977) is a -year-old (28 at time of show). He auditioned in Los Angeles and is from North Hollywood, California. Rogers has been a backup singer to established artists, performing on Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...

 and Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...

's 2003 Justified and Stripped Tour
Justified and Stripped Tour
The Justified/Stripped Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by American recording artists, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake. The tour supported Aguilera's fourth studio album, Stripped and Timberlake's debut album, Justified...

 and Anastacia
Anastacia
Anastacia is an American singer-songwriter. Anastacia has been highly successful in Europe, Asia, South Africa and South America, but has had only minor success in her native United States...

's 2005 Encore Tour. After hearing his audition song, the judges (including guest judge Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...

) were impressed with his vocals. Simon Cowell later mentioned he was the best auditioner coming from that city.

Top 12- Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...

 

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Brandon Rodgers "You Can't Hurry Love
You Can't Hurry Love
"You Can't Hurry Love" is 1966 song originally released by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song topped the United States Billboard pop singles chart and in the UK in the top 5, released and peaking late summer in 1966...

" (The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...

)
Eliminated
2 Melinda Doolittle "Home
Home
A home is a place of residence or refuge. When it refers to a building, it is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either...

"
Safe
3 Chris Sligh "Endless Love
Endless Love (song)
"Endless Love" is a song written by Lionel Richie and originally recorded as a duet between Richie and fellow soul singer Diana Ross. In this ballad, the singers declare their "endless love" for one another. It was covered by soul singer Luther Vandross with R&B singer Mariah Carey and also by...

" (Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...

 & Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...

Safe
4 Gina Glocksen "Love Child
Love Child (song)
"Love Child" is a 1968 song released by the Motown label for Diana Ross & the Supremes, becoming the Supremes' 11th number-one single in the United States....

"
Safe
5 Sanjaya Malakar "Aint No Mountain High Enough" (Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....

 & Tammi Terrell
Tammi Terrell
Thomasina Winifred Montgomery, known as Tammi Terrell was an American singer-songwriter most notable for her association with Motown and her duets with Marvin Gaye. As a teenager she recorded for the Scepter–Wand, Try Me and Checker record labels. She signed with Motown in April 1965 and enjoyed...

)
Bottom 2
6 Haley Scarnato "Missing You
Missing You (Diana Ross song)
"Missing You" is a 1984 song by Diana Ross. The third 45 release from her album Swept Away, the song was written and produced by Lionel Richie as a tribute to Marvin Gaye, who died earlier that year...

"
Safe
7 Phil Stacey "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" is a soul song most popularly released as a joint single performed by Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations for the Motown label...

" (Dee Dee Warwick
Dee Dee Warwick
Dee Dee Warwick was an American soul singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey as Delia Mae Warrick, she was the sister of Dionne Warwick, niece of Cissy Houston and cousin of Whitney Houston....

)
Bottom 3
8 Lakisha Jones "God Bless the Child
God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday song)
"God Bless the Child" is a song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. in 1939, first recorded on May 9, 1941 under the Okeh label.Holiday's version of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in...

" (Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...

)
Safe
9 Blake Lewis "You Keep Me Hanging On" Safe
10 Stephanie Edwards "Love Hangover
Love Hangover
"Love Hangover" was the fourth number one single for Motown singer Diana Ross. It was released in March 1976, and rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Soul Singles and Hot Dance Club Play charts simultaneously....

"
Safe
11 Chris Richardson "The Boss
The Boss (Diana Ross song)
"The Boss" is a 1979 soul/disco song written and produced by Ashford & Simpson and recorded by singer Diana Ross, who released it as a single on the Motown label...

"
Safe
12 Jordin Sparks "If We Hold On Together
The Force Behind the Power
The Force Behind the Power is a 1991 album, released by Diana Ross on the Motown label. Featuring production from the likes of James Anthony Carmichael who used to work with The Commodores and Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder and Peter Asher, the album saw Ross moving in a more adult contemporary...

"
Safe


Group Performance: "Where Did Our Love Go
Where Did Our Love Go
"Where Did Our Love Go" is a 1964 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Where Did Our Love Go" was the first single by the Supremes to go to the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart...

," "Baby Love
Baby Love
"Baby Love" is a 1964 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland ,...

" and "Stop! In The Name of Love
Stop! In the Name of Love
"Stop! In the Name of Love" is a 1965 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Stop! In the Name of Love" held the number-one position on the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States from March 21, 1965...

" (The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...

)

Guest Performance:"More Today Than Yesterday" (Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...

)

Top 11- British Invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...

 

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Haley Scarnato "Tell Him" (The Exciters
The Exciters
The Exciters were an American pop music group of the 1960s. They were originally a girl group, although a male member was added later. The group consisted of lead singer Brenda Reid, her husband Herb Rooney, Carolyn Johnson and Lillian Walker....

)
Safe
2 Chris Richardson "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" (Gerry And The Pacemakers) Bottom 2
3 Stephanie Edwards "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" is the title of a 1966 hit recorded by British singer Dusty Springfield which proved to be her career record reaching #1 UK and #4 US: the song subsequently charted in the UK via remakes by Elvis Presley , Guys 'n' Dolls and Denise Welch with Presley's version...

" (Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...

)
Eliminated
4 Blake Lewis "Time of the Season
Time of the Season
"Time of the Season" is a song by The Zombies, featured on their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. It was written by keyboard player Rod Argent and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 1967.-Song information:...

" (The Zombies
The Zombies
The Zombies are an English rock band, formed in 1961 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent, on piano and keyboards, and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group scored a UK and US hit in 1964 with "She's Not There"...

)
Safe
5 Lakisha Jones "Diamonds Are Forever
Diamonds Are Forever (soundtrack)
Diamonds Are Forever is the soundtrack for the 7th James Bond film of the same name."Diamonds Are Forever", the title song, was the second Bond theme to be performed by Shirley Bassey, after Goldfinger in 1964...

" (Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...

)
Safe
6 Phil Stacey "Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road refers to the tobacco-producing area of North Carolina and is often used when referring to sports played among rival North Carolina universities...

" (The Nashville Teens
The Nashville Teens
The Nashville Teens are a British pop band formed in Weybridge, Surrey in Summer 1962.-History:Arthur Sharp began his career in music as the manager of Aerco Records in Woking, Surrey...

)
Safe
7 Jordin Sparks "I (Who Have Nothing)
I (Who Have Nothing)
"I " is a song originally released in English by Ben E. King in 1963."I " is based on the Italian song "Uno Dei Tanti," with music by Carlo Donida and lyrics by Giulio "Mogol" Rapetti. "Uno Dei Tanti" was released by Joe Sentieri in 1961...

" (Ben E. King
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...

)
Safe
8 Sanjaya Malakar "You Really Got Me
You Really Got Me
"You Really Got Me" is a rock song written by Ray Davies and performed by his band, The Kinks. It was released on 4th August 1964 as the group's third single, and reached Number 1 on the UK singles chart the next month, remaining for two weeks...

" (The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...

)
Safe
9 Gina Glocksen "Paint It Black" (The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

)
Safe
10 Chris Sligh "She's Not There
She's Not There
"She's Not There" is the debut single by the British pop band The Zombies. It reached number twelve in the UK Singles Chart in August 1964, and became a top-ten hit in the United States...

" (The Zombies
The Zombies
The Zombies are an English rock band, formed in 1961 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent, on piano and keyboards, and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group scored a UK and US hit in 1964 with "She's Not There"...

)
Safe
11 Melinda Doolittle "As Long As He Needs Me
As Long as He Needs Me
As Long as He Needs Me is a torch song sung by the character of Nancy in the musical film Oliver!, introduced in the 1960 musical. It is a love ballad about her criminal boyfriend Bill Sikes...

" (Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...

)
Safe


Guest Performances:"There's a Kind of Hush
There's A Kind Of Hush
"There's a Kind of Hush" is a popular song written by Les Reed and Geoff Stephens which was a hit in 1967 for Herman's Hermits and again in 1976 for the Carpenters.-First recordings:...

" (Peter Noone
Peter Noone
Peter Noone is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor, best known as "Herman" of the successful 1960s rock group Herman's Hermits.-Early life:...

) and "To Sir, With Love
To Sir, with Love (song)
"To Sir With Love" is the theme from the 1967 film To Sir, With Love. The song was written by Don Black and Mark London."To Sir With Love" was initially recorded by Lulu for the film of the same name...

" (Lulu
Lulu (singer)
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...

)

Top 10 - No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...

/Songs That Inspired Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...

 

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Lakisha Jones "Last Dance
Last Dance (song)
"Last Dance" is a hit 1978 song by singer Donna Summer. The song appeared on the Thank God It's Friday movie soundtrack. It was written by Paul Jabara and was co-produced by Summer's regular collaborator Giorgio Moroder, along with Bob Esty...

" (Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...

)
Safe
2 Chris Sligh "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is a song by British rock group The Police from their album Ghost in the Machine. It was also a hit single that reached the top of the charts in the United Kingdom in November 1981 and hit number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart that same...

" (The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...

)
Eliminated
3 Gina Glocksen "I'll Stand by You
I'll Stand by You
"I'll Stand by You" is a 1994 song recorded by The Pretenders from their sixth studio album, Last of the Independents. Written by Chrissie Hynde in collaboration with the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg , it was the Pretenders' most recent significant hit single, and their last...

" (The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...

)
Safe
4 Sanjaya Malakar "Bathwater
Bathwater
"Bathwater" is a ska punk song written by Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, and Gwen Stefani for No Doubt's fourth studio album Return of Saturn . It was released as the album's fourth and final single on November 14, 2000.-Background and writing:...

"
Safe
5 Haley Scarnato "True Colors
True Colors (song)
"True Colors" is a song written by songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, additional lyrics by Cyndi Lauper. It was both the title track and the first single released from Cyndi Lauper's second album. It was the only original song on the album that Lauper did not help write...

" (Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...

)
Bottom 2
6 Phil Stacey "Every Breath You Take
Every Breath You Take
"Every Breath You Take" is a song by The Police on the band's 1983 album Synchronicity, written by Sting and Andy Summers . The single was one of the biggest hits of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks and the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. It also topped the...

" (The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...

)
Bottom 3
7 Melinda Doolittle "Heaven Knows" (Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...

)
Safe
8 Blake Lewis "Lovesong
Lovesong
"Lovesong" is a song originally recorded by the English alternative rock band The Cure, released as the third single from their eighth studio album Disintegration in 1989...

" (The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...

)
Safe
9 Jordin Sparks "Hey Baby
Hey Baby (No Doubt song)
"Hey Baby" is a song written by Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont, and Bounty Killer for No Doubt's fifth studio album Rock Steady . Released as the album's lead single, the song is heavily influenced by the Jamaican dancehall music present at No Doubt's post-show parties and tour bus lounges...

"
Safe
10 Chris Richardson "Don't Speak
Don't Speak
"Don't Speak" is a song by the American rock band No Doubt. It was released in 1996 as the third single from the band's third studio album, Tragic Kingdom...

"
Safe


Guest Performance:"The Sweet Escape
The Sweet Escape (song)
"The Sweet Escape" is a song by American recording artist Gwen Stefani from her second solo album, The Sweet Escape . It was written by Stefani, Akon, and Giorgio Tuinfort. Akon, who is also a featured artist, developed the song's beat before collaborating with Stefani...

" (Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...

 and Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...

)

Top 9 - American Classics

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Blake Lewis "Mack The Knife
Mack the Knife
"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928 at the...

" (Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....

)
Safe
2 Phil Stacey "Night And Day
Night and Day (song)
"Night and Day" is a popular song by Cole Porter. It was written for the 1932 musical play Gay Divorce. It is perhaps Porter's most popular contribution to the Great American Songbook and has been recorded by dozens of artists....

" (Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...

)
Bottom 3
3 Melinda Doolittle "I Got Rhythm
I Got Rhythm
"I Got Rhythm" is a song composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and published in 1930, which became a jazz standard. Its chord progression, known as the "rhythm changes", is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes such as Charlie Parker's and Dizzy Gillespie's Bebop...

" (Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...

)
Top 3
4 Chris Richardson "Don't Get Around Much Anymore
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
"Don't Get Around Much Anymore" is a jazz standard with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Bob Russell. The tune was originally titled "Never No Lament" and was first recorded by Ellington in 1940 as a big band instrumental...

" (Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

)
Safe
5 Jordin Sparks "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on Berkeley Square, written in 1929 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been reincarnated...

" (John Cullum
John Cullum
John Cullum is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including On the Twentieth Century and Shenandoah , winning the Tony Awards for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for each...

)
Top 3
6 Gina Glocksen "Smile" (Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...

)
Eliminated
7 Sanjaya Malakar "Cheek to Cheek
Cheek to Cheek
"Cheek to Cheek" is a song written by Irving Berlin, and first performed by Fred Astaire in the movie Top Hat . Astaire's 1935 recording with the Leo Reisman Orchestra was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000....

" (Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...

)
Safe
8 Haley Scarnato "Ain't Misbehavin
Ain't Misbehavin' (song)
"Ain't Misbehavin" is a 1929 song written by Thomas "Fats" Waller, Harry Brooks and Andy Razaf . Waller recorded the original version that year for Victor Records and also later performed the song in the 1943 film Stormy Weather. It was used in the off-broadway musical Connie's Hot Chocolates...

" (Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...

)
Bottom 2
9 Lakisha Jones "Stormy Weather" (Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...

)
Top 3


Guest Performance:"Call Me Irresponsible
Call Me Irresponsible
"Call Me Irresponsible" is a 1962 song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics written by Sammy Cahn.According to the Mel Tormé book The Other Side of the Rainbow with Judy Garland on the Dawn Patrol, Van Heusen originally wrote the song for Garland to sing at a CBS dinner...

" (Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...

)

Top 8 - Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Melinda Doolittle "Sway
Sway (song)
"Sway" is the English version of "¿Quién será?", a 1953 mambo song by Mexican composer and bandleader Pablo Beltrán Ruiz. The most famous version is that of Dean Martin recorded in 1954. English lyrics are by Norman Gimbel...

" (Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...

)
Safe
2 Lakisha Jones "Conga
Conga
The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...

" (Gloria Estefan
Gloria Estefan
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...

)
Safe
3 Chris Richardson "Smooth
Smooth (song)
"Smooth" is a collaboration between latin rock band Santana and Rob Thomas of the rock group Matchbox Twenty. The song was written by Thomas and Itaal Shur, sung by Thomas, and won three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.-Concept...

" (Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...

)
Bottom 3
4 Haley Scarnato "Turn the Beat Around
Turn the Beat Around
In 1994 , the song was recorded by Gloria Estefan for the soundtrack to the film The Specialist. Released as a single, it became a hit reaching #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is also featured on Estefan's fourth solo album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me. She also sang the song as her opening...

" (Gloria Estefan)
Eliminated
5 Phil Stacey "Maria Maria
Maria Maria
"Maria Maria" is a song by Santana featuring The Product G&B. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for ten weeks on April 8, 2000...

" (Santana)
Bottom 2
6 Jordin Sparks "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You
Rhythm Is Gonna Get You
"Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" is a song written by Enrique Garcia and Gloria Estefan, and released by Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine in 1987 as the lead single from the album Let it Loose ....

" (Gloria Estefan)
Safe
7 Blake Lewis "I Need to Know
I Need to Know (Marc Anthony song)
"I Need to Know" is a song by Marc Anthony, and was released as the lead single of his first English language album Marc Anthony, in August 1999.-Song information:...

" (Marc Anthony
Marc Anthony
Marc Anthony is an American singer-songwriter, actor and producer. Anthony is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. The two-time Grammy and three-time Latin Grammy–winner has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. He is best known for his Latin salsa numbers and ballads...

)
Safe
8 Sanjaya Malakar "Bésame Mucho
Bésame Mucho
"Bésame Mucho" is a Spanish language song written in 1940 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez.-Inspiration:According to Velázquez herself, she wrote this song even though she had never been kissed yet at the time, and kissing as she heard was considered a sin.She was inspired by the piano...

" (Andy Russell
Andy Russell (singer)
Andy Russell was an American popular vocalist, specializing in traditional pop and Latin music.He was born Andrés Rabago Pérez in the Boyle Heights area of East Los Angeles. He was one of ten children born to parents who were Mexican immigrants of Spanish descent...

)
Safe


Group Performance:"Bailamos
Bailamos
"Bailamos" is a Latin pop song from singer Enrique Iglesias, sung in English and Spanish. It was the debut single of Iglesias in the English-language market, and attained immense success, reaching the #1 spot in the Billboard Hot 100....

"(Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias is a Spanish pop music singer, a son of singer Julio Iglesias.Enrique started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa...

)

Guest Performance:"Don't Matter
Don't Matter
"Don't Matter" is a Reggae fusion–R&B song recorded by Akon for his second studio album Konvicted . The song was released as the album's third single in early 2007. In April 2007, it became Akon's first solo U.S. number-one single and second number-one overall. A crucial part of the chorus takes...

" (Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...

) and "Qué Hiciste
Que Hiciste
"Qué Hiciste" is a song by American recording artist Jennifer Lopez. The song was written by Jimena Romero, Julio Reyes, Marc Anthony, and produced by Estéfano and Reyes for Lopez' first full-length Spanish-language album, Como ama una Mujer . According to Lopez, the initial idea for the song came...

" (Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...

)

Top 7 - Country
Country
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...

 

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Phil Stacey "Where the Blacktop Ends
Where the Blacktop Ends
"Where the Blacktop Ends" is the title of a song written by Allen Shamblin and Steve Wariner, and recorded by country music singer Keith Urban. It was released in April 2001 as the last single from Urban's self-titled album and the third Top Five single of his career, reaching a peak of #3 on the...

" (Keith Urban
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...

)
Safe
2 Jordin Sparks "A Broken Wing
A Broken Wing
"A Broken Wing" is a song recorded by American country music singer Martina McBride, written by Phil Barnhart, Sam Hogin and James House. It appears on McBride's 1997 album Evolution, from which it was released as the second single...

" (Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....

)
Safe
3 Sanjaya Malakar "Something to Talk About" (Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...

)
Eliminated
4 Lakisha Jones "Jesus, Take the Wheel
Jesus, Take the Wheel
"Jesus, Take the Wheel" is a song written by Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson. It is the second single from Carrie Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts....

" (Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...

)
Bottom 2
5 Chris Richardson "Mayberry
Mayberry
Mayberry is a fictional community in North Carolina that was the setting for two American television sitcoms, The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. Mayberry was also the setting for a 1986 reunion television movie titled Return to Mayberry...

" (Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...

)
Safe
6 Melinda Doolittle "Trouble Is a Woman" (Julie Reeves
Julie Reeves
Julie Reeves is an American country music artist. She released one studio album for Virgin Records in 1999, and charted three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including two minor Top 40 hits. Reeves was once married to country music parodist Cledus T...

)
Safe
7 Blake Lewis "When the Stars Go Blue
When the Stars Go Blue
- Music video : The video for "When the Stars Go Blue" is pieced together from the "Live" session at VH1.- Charts :-Tim McGraw cover:In 2006, the song was released by Tim McGraw as the first single from his album Tim McGraw Reflected: Greatest Hits Vol. 2, with added country-style and more...

" (Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...

)
Bottom 3


Group Performance:"I'm Alright
I'm Alright (Jo Dee Messina song)
"I'm Alright" is the title of a song written by Phil Vassar and recorded by American country music singer Jo Dee Messina. It was released in May 1998 as the second single from her 1998 album of the same name. It became her second consecutive Number One hit on the Billboard country charts, spending...

" (Jo Dee Messina
Jo Dee Messina
Jo Dee Marie Messina , known professionally as Jo Dee Messina, is an American country music artist. She has charted nine Number One singles on the Billboard country music charts. She has been honored by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music and has been nominated for two...

)

Guest Performance:"Big Girls Don't Cry
Big Girls Don't Cry (Fergie song)
"Big Girls Don't Cry" is a song written by Fergie and Toby Gad for pop singer Fergie's debut solo album The Dutchess . The song was released as the album's fourth single in 2007 and topped the charts in several countries, most notably in Australia , and in...

" (Fergie) and "Anyway
Anyway (song)
"Anyway" is a song co-written and recorded by American country artist Martina McBride. The song was released in November 2006 following a performance on the 2006 CMA Awards, and served as the lead-off single from her ninth studio album, Waking Up Laughing...

" (Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....

)

Top 6 (first week) - Inspirational Songs (Idol Gives Back)

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Chris Richardson "Change the World
Change the World
"Change the World" is a song written by Tommy Sims, Gordon Kennedy and Wayne Kirkpatrick which was recorded by Eric Clapton with backing by Babyface for the soundtrack of the 1996 film Phenomenon. The song won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year , as well as Best Male Pop Vocal...

" (Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...

)
Safe
2 Melinda Doolittle "There Will Come a Day
There Will Come a Day
There Will Come a Day is the second studio album by Canadian country music artist Shirley Myers. It was released by Stony Plain Records on June 8, 1999...

" (Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...

)
Safe
3 Blake Lewis
| "Imagine
Imagine (song)
"Imagine" is a song written and performed by the English musician John Lennon. It is the opening track on his album Imagine, released in 1971...

" (John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...

)
Safe
4 Lakisha Jones "I Believe
I Believe (Fantasia song)
"I Believe" is the debut single released by singer and American Idol season 3 winner, Fantasia Barrino. The song significantly helped Fantasia rise to fame. The song was co-written by former American Idol contestant Tamyra Gray.-History:...

" (Fantasia
Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia Monique Barrino commonly known as Fantasia, is an American R&B singer, Broadway and television actress who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the reality television series American Idol in 2004. Following her victory, she released her debut single, "I Believe", which...

)
Safe
5 Phil Stacey "The Change
Fresh Horses (album)
Fresh Horses is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on November 21, 1995. Fresh Horses peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart , and #1 on the Top Country Albums chart....

" (Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...

)
Safe
6 Jordin Sparks "You'll Never Walk Alone
You'll Never Walk Alone
You'll Never Walk Alone is a song from the musical Carousel, a pop standard and football club anthem, for example that of Liverpool F.C.You'll Never Walk Alone may also refer to:* You'll Never Walk Alone , studio album...

" (Carousel
Carousel (musical)
Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...

)
Safe

Top 6 (second week) - Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

 

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Phil Stacey "Blaze of Glory
Blaze of Glory (song)
"Blaze of Glory " is a song by Jon Bon Jovi which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Mainstream rock chart in 1990, his only chart-topper away from his band Bon Jovi. The song also reached No. 1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart...

"
Eliminated
2 Jordin Sparks "Livin' on a Prayer
Livin' on a Prayer
"Livin' on a Prayer" is Bon Jovi's second single from their Slippery When Wet album. Written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora with Desmond Child, the single, released in late 1986, was well-received at both rock and pop radio and its music video was given heavy rotation at MTV, giving the band...

"
Safe
3 Lakisha Jones
| "This Ain't a Love Song
This Ain't a Love Song
"This Ain't a Love Song" is the lead single from Bon Jovi's 1995 album These Days. It reached #14 in the United States Billboard, #11 on the top 40 mainstream and was the only significant US hit from the album, however, it reached a high of #6 on the U.K...

"
Safe
4 Blake Lewis "You Give Love a Bad Name
You Give Love a Bad Name (song)
"You Give Love a Bad Name" is a song written by Jon Bon Jovi, Desmond Child, and Richie Sambora about a woman who has jilted her lover. Although originally written for the band Loverboy, the song was recorded by Bon Jovi...

"
Safe
5 Chris Richardson "Wanted Dead or Alive
Wanted Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi song)
-Music Video:The video for the song is black and white and features footage from the band's massive 1986-1987 world tour, including shots from Chicago's UIC Pavilion, Rochester, Minnesota's Mayo Civic Center, Denver, Colorado's McNichols Arena, Pittsburgh, PA F. Pitt Tunnel and Pittsburgh Skyline...

"
Eliminated
6 Melinda Doolittle "Have a Nice Day
Have a Nice Day (Bon Jovi song)
"Have a Nice Day" is Bon Jovi's first single off the 2005 album Have a Nice Day. It was first performed at the 2004 American Music Awards, where an incomplete version of the song was played. The final version of the song was first performed in full at the Philadelphia Live 8 concert on July 2,...

"
Safe


Guest Performance:"Lost Without U
Lost Without U
"Lost Without U" is the second official single released from Robin Thicke's second album The Evolution of Robin Thicke .-Writing and inspiration:...

" (Robin Thicke
Robin Thicke
Robin Charles Thicke is an Award-winning American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and actor. Thicke's albums, which he previously released under the moniker Thicke, are noted for their feature of a predominantly R&B sound. Robin Thicke has penned hits for popular artists such as...

) and "(You Want to) Make a Memory
(You Want To) Make a Memory
" Make a Memory" is a song by Bon Jovi, which was released as the first single from their tenth studio album Lost Highway. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, it was released for radio airplay on March 20, 2007, and for download on the US iTunes Store on April 17, 2007...

" (Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

)

Top 4 - Barry Gibb
Barry Gibb
Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE , is a singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents. With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he formed The Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their major...

 

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Melinda Doolittle "Love You Inside Out
Love You Inside Out
"Love You Inside Out" is a 1979 hit single for the Bee Gees, from their album Spirits Having Flown. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in June 1979...

"
Safe
2 Blake Lewis "You Should Be Dancing
You Should Be Dancing
"You Should Be Dancing" is a single by the Bee Gees, from the album, Children of the World, in 1976. The single hit number one for one week on the American Billboard Hot 100, number one for seven weeks on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, and in July the same year, reached number five on the UK...

"
Safe
3 Lakisha Jones "Stayin' Alive
Stayin' Alive
"Stayin' Alive" is a song by the pop group Bee Gees from the Saturday Night Fever motion picture soundtrack. The song was written by the Bee Gees and produced by the Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. It was released on 13 December 1977, as the second single from the Saturday Night Fever...

"
Eliminated
4 Jordin Sparks "To Love Somebody
To Love Somebody (song)
"To Love Somebody" is the second single released by the Bee Gees from their third LP, Bee Gees 1st.The band's manager Robert Stigwood wanted Barry Gibb to write a soul song for Otis Redding. Barry, along with Robin wrote "To Love Somebody," a soulful ballad in the style of Sam & Dave or The Rascals...

"
Safe
5 Melinda Doolittle "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?
"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" is an adult contemporary ballad released by the Bee Gees in 1971. The song had been written by Barry and Robin Gibb in August 1970, when the Gibb brothers had reconvened following a period of break-up and alienation...

"
Safe
6 Blake Lewis "This Is Where I Came In
This Is Where I Came In
This Is Where I Came In is the Bee Gees' twenty-second studio album, released in 2001. It was the final album released by the group before the death of brother Maurice Gibb in 2003, and the only album of all-new material released by them on the Universal Music label This Is Where I Came In is the...

"
Safe
7 Lakisha Jones "Run to Me" Eliminated
8 Jordin Sparks "Woman in Love
Woman in Love
"Woman in Love" is a popular song performed by Barbra Streisand and taken from her 1980 album, Guilty. The song was written by Barry and Robin Gibb of The Bee Gees....

"(Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...

)
Safe


Group Performance:medley of Barry Gibb
Barry Gibb
Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE , is a singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents. With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he formed The Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their major...

 songs

Guest Performance:"Who Knew
Who Knew
"Who Knew" is a pop rock song written by Pink, Max Martin and Dr. Luke for Pink's fourth album, I'm Not Dead . It was released as the album's second single worldwide in 2006, and was re-released to U.S...

" (Pink
Pink (singer)
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....

) and "To Love Somebody
To Love Somebody (song)
"To Love Somebody" is the second single released by the Bee Gees from their third LP, Bee Gees 1st.The band's manager Robert Stigwood wanted Barry Gibb to write a soul song for Otis Redding. Barry, along with Robin wrote "To Love Somebody," a soulful ballad in the style of Sam & Dave or The Rascals...

" (Barry Gibb
Barry Gibb
Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE , is a singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents. With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he formed The Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their major...

)

Top 3 - Judges Choice, Producers choice, Contestants Choice

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Jordin Sparks "Wishing on a Star
Wishing on a Star
"Wishing on a Star" is a 1978 hit single by Rose Royce for Whitfield Records.-Background:Included on their second album, Rose Royce II: In Full Bloom, "Wishing on a Star" is a slow ballad written by Billie Rae Calvin and produced by Norman Whitfield. The lyrics concern a woman longing for the...

" (Rose Royce
Rose Royce
Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B band. The group is best known for several hit singles including "Car Wash," "I Wanna Get Next to You," "Wishing on a Star", "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" and "I'm Going Down".-Career:...

)
Simon Cowell's song choice
Safe
2 Blake Lewis "Roxanne
Roxanne (song)
"Roxanne" is a hit song by the rock band The Police, first released in 1978 as a single and on their album Outlandos d'Amour. It was written from the point-of-view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute.- History :...

" (The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...

)
Paula Abdul's song choice
Safe
3 Melinda Doolittle "I Believe in You and Me
I Believe in You and Me
"I Believe in You and Me" is a ballad written by Sandy Linzer and David Wolfert. The song was first recorded and released by the R&B group The Four Tops in 1983. The song was written by Linzer and Wolfert in 1982, and the Four Tops released it as a single in 1983...

" (Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...

)
Randy Jackson's song choice
Eliminated
4 Jordin Sparks "She Works Hard for the Money
She Works Hard for the Money
-Personnel:*Donna Summer - vocals, composer*Musical Youth - vocals*Matthew Ward - vocals*Michael Omartian - producer, composer, piano, synthesizer, Simmons drum programming, guitars, accordion*Greg Phillinganes - composer*Bruce Sudano - composer...

" (Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...

)
Safe
5 Blake Lewis "This Love" (Maroon 5
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...

)
Safe
6 Melinda Doolittle "Nutbush City Limits
Nutbush City Limits
"Nutbush City Limits" is a semi-autobiographical rock and roll song written and originally performed by Tina Turner in which she commemorates her rural hometown of Nutbush, Tennessee. Released June 1973, shortly before her separation from then-husband and musical partner Ike Turner, "Nutbush City...

" (Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner were an American rock & roll and soul duo, made of the husband-and-wife team of Ike Turner and Tina Turner in the 1960s and 1970s. Spanning sixteen years together as a recording group, the duo's repertoire included rock & roll, soul, blues and funk...

)
Eliminated
7 Jordin Sparks "I (Who Have Nothing)
I (Who Have Nothing)
"I " is a song originally released in English by Ben E. King in 1963."I " is based on the Italian song "Uno Dei Tanti," with music by Carlo Donida and lyrics by Giulio "Mogol" Rapetti. "Uno Dei Tanti" was released by Joe Sentieri in 1961...

" (Ben E. King
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...

)
Safe
8 Blake Lewis "When I Get You Alone
When I Get You Alone
"When I Get You Alone" is the first single by American singer Robin Thicke, released in 2002. It was originally to be featured on his debut album Cherry Blue Skies, before being placed on a revamped version of the album and his first released studio album A Beautiful World.-Writing and...

" (Robin Thicke
Robin Thicke
Robin Charles Thicke is an Award-winning American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and actor. Thicke's albums, which he previously released under the moniker Thicke, are noted for their feature of a predominantly R&B sound. Robin Thicke has penned hits for popular artists such as...

)
Safe
9 Melinda Doolittle "I'm a Woman
I'm a Woman
I'm a Woman is a 1963 song and album by Peggy Lee, arranged by Benny Carter. The title song, one of Lee's signature songs despite reaching a minor peak of number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, has been covered by many artists....

" (Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...

)
Eliminated


Guest Performance:"Wait for You
Wait for You
"Wait for You" is a song by former American Idol contestant Elliott Yamin. It is the first official single from his self-titled album Elliott Yamin .-Song information:...

" (Elliott Yamin
Elliott Yamin
Elliott Yamin , born Efraym Elliott Yamin, is an American singer known for his hit single "Wait for You" and placing third on the fifth season of American Idol....

) and "Makes Me Wonder
Makes Me Wonder
"Makes Me Wonder" is the first single released from Maroon 5's second album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long . It premiered on the Las Vegas radio station Mix 94.1, and became an instant hit worldwide. Upon release, the song set a record for the biggest jump to number-one in the history of the...

" (Maroon 5
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...

)

Top 2 - Contestant Choice, Previous Song, Winning Song

Order Contestant Song (original artist) Result
1 Blake Lewis "You Give Love a Bad Name
You Give Love a Bad Name (song)
"You Give Love a Bad Name" is a song written by Jon Bon Jovi, Desmond Child, and Richie Sambora about a woman who has jilted her lover. Although originally written for the band Loverboy, the song was recorded by Bon Jovi...

" (Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

)
Runner-Up
2 Jordin Sparks "Fighter
Fighter (song)
"Fighter" is a song recorded by American recording artist Christina Aguilera. The song was written by Aguilera and Scott Storch, and produced by Storch for Aguilera's fourth studio album, Stripped. The song was released on June 3, 2003 as the third single. The song peaked at number twenty on the...

" (Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...

)
Winner
3 Blake Lewis "She Will Be Loved
She Will Be Loved
"She Will Be Loved" is the third single from the Californian band Maroon 5's 2002 debut album, Songs About Jane. Released in 2004, the single peaked at #5 in the United States and has sold over 2,178,000 downloads since release; it also peaked at #4 in the United Kingdom. The song reached #1 in...

" (Maroon 5
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...

)
Runner-Up
4 Jordin Sparks "A Broken Wing
A Broken Wing
"A Broken Wing" is a song recorded by American country music singer Martina McBride, written by Phil Barnhart, Sam Hogin and James House. It appears on McBride's 1997 album Evolution, from which it was released as the second single...

" (Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....

)
Winner
5 Blake Lewis "This Is My Now
This Is My Now
"This Is My Now" is a song written by Jeff Peabody and Scott Krippayne. It is Jordin Sparks's first single. The top two finalists of the season 6 finale of American Idol. sang it during the May 22 and May 23, 2007 finale shows. It was chosen over thousands of other entries in a songwriting contest...

" (Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...

)
Runner-Up
6 Jordin Sparks "This Is My Now
This Is My Now
"This Is My Now" is a song written by Jeff Peabody and Scott Krippayne. It is Jordin Sparks's first single. The top two finalists of the season 6 finale of American Idol. sang it during the May 22 and May 23, 2007 finale shows. It was chosen over thousands of other entries in a songwriting contest...

" (Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...

)
Winner


Guest Performance:"Home
Home (Daughtry song)
"Home" is a 2007 song by American rock band Daughtry from their self-titled debut album. The song had been climbing up the U.S. charts for a few weeks before the song was announced as the second single from the album.- Background and production :...

" (Daughtry)

Song themes

Just as was done in season 5, the performers whose themes are performed do not appear as judges. Instead, they "mentor" the contestants on the theme.
  • Week 1 [Top 12] (March 13) - Diana Ross
    Diana Ross
    Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...

     - Diana Ross
  • Week 2 [Top 11] (March 20) - British Invasion
    British Invasion
    The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...

     - Peter Noone
    Peter Noone
    Peter Noone is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor, best known as "Herman" of the successful 1960s rock group Herman's Hermits.-Early life:...

     and Lulu
    Lulu (singer)
    Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...

  • Week 3 [Top 10] (March 27) - No Doubt
    No Doubt
    No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...

     and songs by singers who inspired Gwen Stefani - Gwen Stefani
    Gwen Stefani
    Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...

  • Week 4 [Top 9] (April 3) - American Classics
    Traditional pop music
    Traditional pop or classic pop or standards music denotes, in general, Western popular music that either wholly predates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of rock and roll,...

     - Tony Bennett
    Tony Bennett
    Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....

  • Week 5 [Top 8] (April 10) - Latin
    Latin American music
    Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...

     - Jennifer Lopez
    Jennifer Lopez
    Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...

  • Week 6 [Top 7] (April 17) - Country
    Country music
    Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

     - Martina McBride
    Martina McBride
    Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....

  • Week 7 [Top 6, Part 1] (April 24) - Inspirational Songs - No mentor
  • Week 8 [Top 6, Part 2] (May 1) - Bon Jovi
    Bon Jovi
    Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

     - Jon Bon Jovi
    Jon Bon Jovi
    Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...

     and David Bryan
    David Bryan
    David Bryan is the keyboard player of the band rock classic, Bon Jovi. Bryan also sings backing vocals and often at live shows sings part of or the whole of the song "In These Arms", one of a handful of Bon Jovi songs credited to him as songwriter...

  • Week 9 [Top 4] (May 8) - Songs written by Barry Gibb
    Barry Gibb
    Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE , is a singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents. With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he formed The Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their major...

     - Barry Gibb
  • Week 10 [Top 3] (May 15) - Judges' choice, producers' choice, contestant's choice
  • Week 11 [Top 2] (May 22) - Contestant's choice, song previously sung by contestant, winning song of the American Idol Songwriter Contest

Performers on results shows

  • Top 24 - The Top 24 sang "Sowing the Seeds of Love
    Sowing the Seeds of Love
    "Sowing the Seeds of Love" is a 1989 song and single by the British group Tears for Fears from their 1989 album The Seeds of Love.A worldwide hit, it reached the top five in the UK, Canada , Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and the Netherlands. In the US, it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot...

    " by Tears for Fears
    Tears for Fears
    Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...

     and Fantasia
    Fantasia Barrino
    Fantasia Monique Barrino commonly known as Fantasia, is an American R&B singer, Broadway and television actress who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the reality television series American Idol in 2004. Following her victory, she released her debut single, "I Believe", which...

     performed "I'm Here" from The Color Purple
    The Color Purple (musical)
    The Color Purple is a Broadway musical based upon the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker. It features music and lyrics written by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, with a book by Marsha Norman. It ran on Broadway in 2005 and has been touring throughout the US...

    .
  • Top 20 - The Top 20 sang "Joy to the World
    Joy to the World (Hoyt Axton song)
    "Joy to the World" is a song written by Hoyt Axton, and made famous by the band Three Dog Night. The song is also popularly known by its opening words, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog"...

    " by Three Dog Night
    Three Dog Night
    Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...

     and Kellie Pickler
    Kellie Pickler
    Kellie Dawn Pickler is an American country music artist and television personality. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol, eventually finishing in sixth place. In 2006, she signed to 19 Recordings and BNA Records as a recording artist, releasing...

     performed "I Wonder."
  • Top 16 - The Top 16 sang Stealers Wheel
    Stealers Wheel
    Stealers Wheel are a Scottish folk rock/rock band formed in Paisley, Renfrewshire in 1972 by former school friends Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty.The band broke up in 1975 and re-formed without Egan and Rafferty in 2008.-Biography:...

    's "Stuck in the Middle with You
    Stuck in the Middle With You
    "Stuck in the Middle with You" is a song written by Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan and originally performed by their band Stealers Wheel....

    " and Carrie Underwood
    Carrie Underwood
    Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...

     performed "Wasted
    Wasted (Carrie Underwood song)
    "Wasted" is Carrie Underwood's sixth and final single from her multi-platinum debut Some Hearts.The single began receiving country radio airplay as an album track, causing it to place on the US Country chart weeks before its official release as a single....

    ."
  • Top 12 - The Top 12 sang a medley of three Supremes
    The Supremes
    The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...

    ' hits: "Where Did Our Love Go
    Where Did Our Love Go
    "Where Did Our Love Go" is a 1964 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Where Did Our Love Go" was the first single by the Supremes to go to the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart...

    ," "Baby Love
    Baby Love
    "Baby Love" is a 1964 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland ,...

    " and "Stop! In the Name of Love
    Stop! In the Name of Love
    "Stop! In the Name of Love" is a 1965 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Stop! In the Name of Love" held the number-one position on the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States from March 21, 1965...

    " and Diana Ross
    Diana Ross
    Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...

     performed "More Today Than Yesterday."
  • Top 11 - Peter Noone
    Peter Noone
    Peter Noone is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor, best known as "Herman" of the successful 1960s rock group Herman's Hermits.-Early life:...

     performed "There's a Kind of Hush
    There's A Kind Of Hush
    "There's a Kind of Hush" is a popular song written by Les Reed and Geoff Stephens which was a hit in 1967 for Herman's Hermits and again in 1976 for the Carpenters.-First recordings:...

    " and Lulu
    Lulu (singer)
    Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...

     performed "To Sir, With Love
    To Sir, with Love (song)
    "To Sir With Love" is the theme from the 1967 film To Sir, With Love. The song was written by Don Black and Mark London."To Sir With Love" was initially recorded by Lulu for the film of the same name...

    ."
  • Top 10 - Gwen Stefani
    Gwen Stefani
    Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...

     and Akon
    Akon
    Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...

     performed "The Sweet Escape
    The Sweet Escape (song)
    "The Sweet Escape" is a song by American recording artist Gwen Stefani from her second solo album, The Sweet Escape . It was written by Stefani, Akon, and Giorgio Tuinfort. Akon, who is also a featured artist, developed the song's beat before collaborating with Stefani...

    ."
  • Top 9 - Michael Bublé
    Michael Bublé
    Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...

     performed "Call Me Irresponsible
    Call Me Irresponsible
    "Call Me Irresponsible" is a 1962 song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics written by Sammy Cahn.According to the Mel Tormé book The Other Side of the Rainbow with Judy Garland on the Dawn Patrol, Van Heusen originally wrote the song for Garland to sing at a CBS dinner...

    ."
  • Top 8 - The Top 8 sang Enrique Iglesias
    Enrique Iglesias
    Enrique Iglesias is a Spanish pop music singer, a son of singer Julio Iglesias.Enrique started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa...

    's "Bailamos
    Bailamos
    "Bailamos" is a Latin pop song from singer Enrique Iglesias, sung in English and Spanish. It was the debut single of Iglesias in the English-language market, and attained immense success, reaching the #1 spot in the Billboard Hot 100....

    ", Akon
    Akon
    Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...

     performed "Don't Matter
    Don't Matter
    "Don't Matter" is a Reggae fusion–R&B song recorded by Akon for his second studio album Konvicted . The song was released as the album's third single in early 2007. In April 2007, it became Akon's first solo U.S. number-one single and second number-one overall. A crucial part of the chorus takes...

    " and Jennifer Lopez
    Jennifer Lopez
    Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...

     performed "Qué Hiciste
    Que Hiciste
    "Qué Hiciste" is a song by American recording artist Jennifer Lopez. The song was written by Jimena Romero, Julio Reyes, Marc Anthony, and produced by Estéfano and Reyes for Lopez' first full-length Spanish-language album, Como ama una Mujer . According to Lopez, the initial idea for the song came...

    ."
  • Top 7 - The Top 7 sang Jo Dee Messina
    Jo Dee Messina
    Jo Dee Marie Messina , known professionally as Jo Dee Messina, is an American country music artist. She has charted nine Number One singles on the Billboard country music charts. She has been honored by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music and has been nominated for two...

    's "I'm Alright
    I'm Alright (Jo Dee Messina song)
    "I'm Alright" is the title of a song written by Phil Vassar and recorded by American country music singer Jo Dee Messina. It was released in May 1998 as the second single from her 1998 album of the same name. It became her second consecutive Number One hit on the Billboard country charts, spending...

    ," Fergie performed "Big Girls Don't Cry
    Big Girls Don't Cry (Fergie song)
    "Big Girls Don't Cry" is a song written by Fergie and Toby Gad for pop singer Fergie's debut solo album The Dutchess . The song was released as the album's fourth single in 2007 and topped the charts in several countries, most notably in Australia , and in...

    " and Martina McBride
    Martina McBride
    Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....

     performed "Anyway
    Anyway (song)
    "Anyway" is a song co-written and recorded by American country artist Martina McBride. The song was released in November 2006 following a performance on the 2006 CMA Awards, and served as the lead-off single from her ninth studio album, Waking Up Laughing...

    ."
  • Top 6 (Part 1) - Idol Gives Back Special (see below)
  • Top 6 (Part 2) - Robin Thicke
    Robin Thicke
    Robin Charles Thicke is an Award-winning American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and actor. Thicke's albums, which he previously released under the moniker Thicke, are noted for their feature of a predominantly R&B sound. Robin Thicke has penned hits for popular artists such as...

     performed "Lost Without U
    Lost Without U
    "Lost Without U" is the second official single released from Robin Thicke's second album The Evolution of Robin Thicke .-Writing and inspiration:...

    ." Bon Jovi
    Bon Jovi
    Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

     performed "(You Want to) Make a Memory
    (You Want To) Make a Memory
    " Make a Memory" is a song by Bon Jovi, which was released as the first single from their tenth studio album Lost Highway. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, it was released for radio airplay on March 20, 2007, and for download on the US iTunes Store on April 17, 2007...

    ."
  • Top 4 - The Top 4 sang a medley of Barry Gibb
    Barry Gibb
    Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE , is a singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents. With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he formed The Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their major...

     songs, Pink
    Pink (singer)
    Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....

     performed "Who Knew
    Who Knew
    "Who Knew" is a pop rock song written by Pink, Max Martin and Dr. Luke for Pink's fourth album, I'm Not Dead . It was released as the album's second single worldwide in 2006, and was re-released to U.S...

    " and Barry Gibb
    Barry Gibb
    Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE , is a singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents. With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he formed The Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their major...

     performed "To Love Somebody
    To Love Somebody (song)
    "To Love Somebody" is the second single released by the Bee Gees from their third LP, Bee Gees 1st.The band's manager Robert Stigwood wanted Barry Gibb to write a soul song for Otis Redding. Barry, along with Robin wrote "To Love Somebody," a soulful ballad in the style of Sam & Dave or The Rascals...

    ."
  • Top 3 - Elliott Yamin
    Elliott Yamin
    Elliott Yamin , born Efraym Elliott Yamin, is an American singer known for his hit single "Wait for You" and placing third on the fifth season of American Idol....

     performed "Wait for You
    Wait for You
    "Wait for You" is a song by former American Idol contestant Elliott Yamin. It is the first official single from his self-titled album Elliott Yamin .-Song information:...

    " and Maroon 5
    Maroon 5
    Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...

     performed "Makes Me Wonder
    Makes Me Wonder
    "Makes Me Wonder" is the first single released from Maroon 5's second album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long . It premiered on the Las Vegas radio station Mix 94.1, and became an instant hit worldwide. Upon release, the song set a record for the biggest jump to number-one in the history of the...

    ."
  • Final 2 - Daughtry performed "Home
    Home (Daughtry song)
    "Home" is a 2007 song by American rock band Daughtry from their self-titled debut album. The song had been climbing up the U.S. charts for a few weeks before the song was announced as the second single from the album.- Background and production :...

    " (elimination anthem)
  • Season 6 Finale (May 23) - Kelly Clarkson
    Kelly Clarkson
    Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...

    , Gwen Stefani
    Gwen Stefani
    Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...

    , Smokey Robinson
    Smokey Robinson
    William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...

    , Doug E. Fresh
    Doug E. Fresh
    Douglas E. Davis , better known by the stage name Doug E. Fresh, is an American rapper, record producer, and beat boxer, also known as the Human Beat Box...

    , Gladys Knight
    Gladys Knight
    Gladys Maria Knight , known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author...

    , Tony Bennett
    Tony Bennett
    Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....

    , BeBe
    BeBe Winans
    Benjamin "BeBe" Winans is a gospel and R&B singer. He is a member of the noted Winans family, most members of which are also gospel artists.-The PTL Club:...

     and CeCe Winans
    CeCe Winans
    Priscilla "CeCe" Marie Winans Love is an American Gospel singer, who has won numerous Grammy and Stellar Awards.-Early life:CeCe Winans was born in Detroit, Michigan, to David and Delores Winans, on October 8, 1964...

    , Joe Perry
    Joe Perry (musician)
    Anthony Joseph "Joe" Perry is the lead guitarist, backing and occasional lead vocalist, and contributing songwriter for the rock band Aerosmith. He is influenced by many rock artists especially The Rolling Stones and The Beatles...

    , Carrie Underwood
    Carrie Underwood
    Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...

    , Green Day
    Green Day
    Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...

    , Taylor Hicks
    Taylor Hicks
    Taylor Reuben Hicks is an American singer who achieved fame in 2006, when he won the fifth season of American Idol. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Southeastern United States for well over the span of a decade, during which he also released...

    , Ruben Studdard
    Ruben Studdard
    Christopher Theodore Ruben Studdard , best known as Ruben Studdard, is an American R&B, pop, and gospel singer. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of American Idol...

    , and Bette Midler
    Bette Midler
    Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...


Elimination song

This year, the song played during the flashback to an eliminated contestant's journey is Daughtry's "Home
Home (Daughtry song)
"Home" is a 2007 song by American rock band Daughtry from their self-titled debut album. The song had been climbing up the U.S. charts for a few weeks before the song was announced as the second single from the album.- Background and production :...

," replacing "Bad Day
Bad Day (Daniel Powter song)
"Bad Day" is a song written and performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Powter. It was released as the first single from his second album Daniel Powter and achieved the #1 spot in the U.S. and Ireland. In the U.S...

" by Daniel Powter
Daniel Powter
Daniel Richard Powter is a Canadian recording artist. He is known for his hit "Bad Day", which spent five weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. Powter became the only act to register the #1 hit of the year but chart no other Hot 100 hit.- Life and career :Powter grew up in Vernon, in the...

. The only exception was Phil Stacey, on May 2, 2007, whose exit song was "I'll Stand by You
I'll Stand by You
"I'll Stand by You" is a 1994 song recorded by The Pretenders from their sixth studio album, Last of the Independents. Written by Chrissie Hynde in collaboration with the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg , it was the Pretenders' most recent significant hit single, and their last...

," performed by Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...

.

Elimination chart

Note: Bottom 2 indicates that the contestant was 'saved' last. This may or may not indicate his or her actual vote rank. Sometimes, Seacrest will announce that the contestant is in the bottom 2, sometimes he will not. On the March 22 show, only the bottom 2 were announced.

Legend
Top 24 Top 12 Winner
Safe Safe First Safe Last Eliminated

Stage: Semi-Finals Finals
Week: 2/22 3/1 3/8 3/14 3/21 3/28 4/4 4/11 4/18 5/2 5/9 5/16 5/23
Place Contestant Result
1 Jordin Sparks Top 3 Winner
2 Blake Lewis
3 Melinda Doolittle Top 3 Elim
4 LaKisha Jones Top 3 Bottom 2 Elim
5-6 Chris Richardson Elim
Phil Stacey Bottom 2
7 Sanjaya Malakar Bottom 2 Elim
8 Haley Scarnato Bottom 2 Bottom 2 Elim
9 Gina Glocksen Elim
10 Chris Sligh Elim
11 Elim
12 Brandon Rogers Elim
13-16 Sundance Head Elim
Sabrina Sloan
Antonella Barba
Jared Cotter
17-20 Leslie Hunt Elim
A.J. Tabaldo
Alaina Alexander
Nicholas Pedro
21-24 Rudy Cardenas Elim
Nicole Tranquillo
Amy Krebs
Paul Kim




During the week of April 25, there was no eliminated contestant. That week's votes were added to the votes for the week of May 2, and the bottom two were then eliminated on the May 3 show. It was never noted who received the lowest number of votes, although Stacey was announced as the first to leave, and Richardson second.

"The Crying Girl"

Ashley Ferl is a 13-year-old girl who has become known for crying during Sanjaya Malakar
Sanjaya Malakar
Sanjaya Joseph Malakar is an American singer of Indian origin, who was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol. He gained national attention on the series, controversially advancing to 7th place with public votes, despite being poorly received by the show's judges, particularly Simon...

's and other contestants' performances on the Top 11 episode of American Idol 6. Ferl's family, who are from Riverside, California
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...

, obtained tickets on a website to attend the dress rehearsal of the program. Since Ferl cried a great deal at the rehearsal, producers offered her family seats for the final taping of the episode.

Ferl started to cry not long after Malakar began his performance of "You Really Got Me
You Really Got Me
"You Really Got Me" is a rock song written by Ray Davies and performed by his band, The Kinks. It was released on 4th August 1964 as the group's third single, and reached Number 1 on the UK singles chart the next month, remaining for two weeks...

", and because of this, Sanjaya came down to give her a hug after his performance. She was also shown crying for several more contestants. She admitted that she not only liked Sanjaya but also many other contestants. She has been asked who her favorite contestant is but replies that she has several favorites. At the end of the show, she went on stage a second time, and got a chance to hug and get autographs from all of the contestants and was introduced to the judges; she received a pair of earrings from Paula Abdul before the show began. Television vans from E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...

, Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood is a weekday television entertainment news program covering events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created by former Entertainment Tonight executive producer Jim Van Messel, and is currently directed by Robert Silverstein. In previous years, Doug Dougherty and...

 and Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 were waiting outside of her house the next day, and, that evening, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 paid for Ferl's entire family to fly to the taping of the Today Show. She subsequently gave several other radio and news interviews to sources such as MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

, Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...

, and Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...

.

Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...

 spoofed both Malakar and Ferl following the former's elimination. Kristen Wiig
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig is an American film and television actress who currently appears as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Wiig was a member of improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, and has appeared in several films and television series, including Bridesmaids, MacGruber, Flight of...

 portrayed Ferl in the sketches. Ferl has also been spoofed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...

, Live with Regis and Kelly
Live with Regis and Kelly
Live! with Kelly is a syndicated American television morning talk show, hosted by Kelly Ripa. The show has aired since 1983 in New York City and 1988 nationwide. Tony Pigg has been the show's announcer since its inception...

 and Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...

, as well as mentioned on Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever is a weekly television program on the United States cable/satellite network VH1. It started airing in 2004 and was put on hiatus in the summer of 2009...

 and The Soup
The Soup
The Soup is an E! Entertainment Television weekly series; it is a revamped version of Talk Soup that focuses on recaps of various pop culture and television show moments of the week...

 and shown on Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...

.

Ashley Ferl returned during Malakar's performance in the finale and was again crying.
She was briefly spoofed on Meet the Spartans
Meet the Spartans
Meet the Spartans is a 2008 parody film directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Similar to past movies, such as Scary Movie, Date Movie, and most recently Epic Movie, it directs parodies at various films. Although it references many movies, TV shows, people and pop cultural events, it...

.

Ferl appeared on the show yet again during season seven, crying over contestant Jason Castro.

At 16 years old, Ferl auditioned for season 9 of the show, but did not make it to Hollywood.

Idol Gives Back

On the March 8, 2007 results show, Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...

 announced an initiative to give back to people in poverty in both Africa and the United States (including those affected by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

). The event took place over two episodes of the series. For every vote cast immediately following the April 24, 2007 broadcast, many sponsors donated funds to the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund
Charity Projects Entertainment Fund
Charity Projects Entertainment Fund is a North American charity committed to fighting extreme poverty in the US & Africa. It was founded in 2007 by Richard Curtis, Kevin Cahill and Simon Fuller....

. The fund will distribute the money raised to many charities in the US as well as in Africa. News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...

 pledged to donate 10 cents for every vote made to the show for the first 50 million calls, that is, up to $5 million. MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

 created a special profile page for the event in order to spread the word. Donations from viewers were accepted by phone and website during the April 25, 2007 results show, in a manner similar to a telethon. Near the end of the broadcast, Seacrest announced the show raised 30 million US dollars
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

, with the final tally coming on May 1, 2007. As of May 1, 2007, over $70 million has been raised as a result of Idol Gives Back.

Between contestant performances, video vignettes showing the judges and Seacrest visiting and observing squalid conditions in Africa and the United States were aired. Similar vignettes were aired during the results show. For this special, the voting period was doubled to four hours following the show, rather than the usual two. In response to the anticipated call volume, each contestant was assigned two toll free numbers. Over 70 million votes were cast.

The results show was broadcast from two locations—the regular American Idol stage and Walt Disney Concert Hall
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the...

—and included many celebrity actors and personalities. The show also included numerous performers; for a full list of performances, see the main article
Idol Gives Back
Idol Gives Back is the name of a charitable campaign that spanned two episodes of American Idol during its sixth season. A second Idol Gives Back concert and fundraiser occurred on April 9, 2008, during the seventh season of the show. Idol Gives Back was not held in 2009 due to the ongoing...

. Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....

 co-hosted the event from the Disney Hall stage. Proceeds from ticket sales benefited the fund. Videos of the results show's performances are available for purchase on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

, with proceeds going to charity.

Due to the "charity" theme of the show, no contestant was eliminated on the April 25 results show. This was a surprise both to viewers, to whom Seacrest promised the "most shocking elimination ever," and to the contestants. When Ryan Seacrest was about to eliminate Jordin Sparks he said since it was a charity night none of the contestants were voted off, and the votes from that week were added to the votes from the following week to eliminate two singers. Both weeks saw a two-hour extension of the regular two-hour voting window, and in the end, the two-week combined voting totaled 135 million votes.

American Idol songwriter contest

On the April 3, 2007 show, Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...

 announced the first American Idol Songwriter: a songwriting contest. Following an open online submission process where over 25,000 submissions were received, twenty songs were selected for competition by Simon Fuller
Simon Fuller
Simon Fuller is a British artist manager, television producer and creator of the Idol franchise, first seen as Pop Idol in the UK. Fuller is also the co-creator and executive producer of the Fox TV reality show So You Think You Can Dance and other U.S...

 and A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...

 representatives of his 19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment, based in Los Angeles, United States, is a creator and producer of entertainment properties based around the areas of Music and Television / Film, including American Idol in the United States, Pop Idol in the United Kingdom as well as versions of the Idol series in more than...

. Beginning May 2, 2007 and ending May 8, 2007, with "one online vote per fan", the American public were able to listen to snippets from each song and rated them on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) on the American Idol Songwriter website. On the May 22, 2007 show, the two finalists performed the winning song, "This Is My Now
This Is My Now
"This Is My Now" is a song written by Jeff Peabody and Scott Krippayne. It is Jordin Sparks's first single. The top two finalists of the season 6 finale of American Idol. sang it during the May 22 and May 23, 2007 finale shows. It was chosen over thousands of other entries in a songwriting contest...

." The song was released as a single by Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...

, the winner of American Idol Season 6.

The titles of the twenty songs are:
  • "Close to Me" - Michael Doane and AnneMarie Milazzo
  • "Forever Starts Today" - Erin Boheme and CJ Vanston
  • "If You Ask Me To" - Jennifer Hamady and Shedrick Mitchell
  • "I'm Going to Be Me" - Lane Lenhart
  • "In Your Eyes" - Colin Armstrong
  • "I Saw Stars" - Reed Waddle
  • "Lost (Without You)" - Cal Harris, Jr.
  • "Love Me till the Lonely's Gone" - Michael Patzig and Tracey Naples
  • "The Next Big Thing" - Ray Grant and Sam Sims
  • "One Night" - Kelley Hill

  • "Right Here with Me" - Kelli Trontell and Don Gatlin
  • "Secrets and Lies" - Drew Yowell and Byron Zanos
  • "Send Me on My Way" - Matthew Rogers and Scott Young
  • "Someday" - Nelson Kole
  • "This Is My Now" - Jeff Peabody and Scott Krippayne - Contest Winner
  • "Tonight" - Kelly Corsino
  • "Waking in a Dream" - R. J. Martinez and Stacy Hogan
  • "When You Need a Moment" - Christie Leigh
  • "With All the Love Your Heart Can Hold" - Robin Randall and Diana De Witt
  • "You Never Gave Up on Me" - Billy Aerts and Burton Collins


Controversies

  • There was controversy surrounding the judges' comments over the audition of a Special Olympics
    Special Olympics
    Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....

     participant named Jonathan Jayne. American Idol producer Ken Warwick
    Ken Warwick
    Ken Warwick is a television executive producer and director, most noted for producing the reality television series American Idol, and Pop Idol. Before being a producer he was a dancer. Warwick has received numerous awards for his television programs including a BAFTA, the Golden Rose of Montreux,...

     responded saying that "It's not a conscious decision, It's just that the further we go in the series, there are less and less good singers, so the numbers are made up by more bad ones." Warwick said that he thinks everyone has the right to audition, and added that in some instances when there are singers with certain disabilities who just want to meet the judges, the producers will "turn the cameras off and bring them in. We give them a good experience."
  • A series of provocative photos surfaced on the Internet of Season 6 Top 24 Contestant Antonella Barba
    Antonella Barba
    Antonella Maria Barba is an American singer who placed in the top 16 on the sixth season of American Idol. She was eliminated before the top 12 were chosen.-Biography:...

    .
  • Teenager Sanjaya Malakar
    Sanjaya Malakar
    Sanjaya Joseph Malakar is an American singer of Indian origin, who was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol. He gained national attention on the series, controversially advancing to 7th place with public votes, despite being poorly received by the show's judges, particularly Simon...

     was sometimes seen as the season's most polarizing and talked about American Idol contestant, as he continued to survive elimination for several weeks. The weblog Vote for the Worst
    Vote for the Worst
    VoteForTheWorst.com is a website that is devoted to voting for the worst, most entertaining, most hated or quirkiest contestants on the Fox Network television series American Idol...

     and satellite radio personality Howard Stern
    Howard Stern
    Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...

     both encouraged fans to vote for Sanjaya. However, on April 18, after over 38 million votes, Sanjaya was voted off.
  • On Tuesday, April 17, 2007, the day after the Virginia Tech massacre
    Virginia Tech massacre
    The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...

    , in which a student named Seung-Hui Cho
    Seung-Hui Cho
    Seung-Hui Cho was a senior-level undergraduate student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University who killed 32 people and wounded 17 others on April 16, 2007, in the shooting rampage which came to be known as the "Virginia Tech massacre." Cho later committed suicide after law...

     used guns to kill 32 students and professors before committing suicide, while contestant Chris Richardson
    Chris Richardson
    Christopher Michael "Chris" Richardson is an American singer-songwriter who was the fifth-place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol.-Personal life:...

     and Ryan Seacrest
    Ryan Seacrest
    Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...

     were discussing the shooting after Chris's critique, Simon Cowell
    Simon Cowell
    Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...

     apparently appeared to be rolling his eyes at the incident, when he was actually speaking to Paula Abdul
    Paula Abdul
    Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...

     and did not hear what Chris had said. On the results show the next day, Cowell stated: "I may not be the nicest person in the world, but I would never, ever, ever, disrespect those families or those victims, and I felt it was important to set the record straight." To clear Cowell's name, a video was shown on the result show which showed Cowell and Abdul talking with an inset of Chris and Seacrest discussing the shooting. Also, Seacrest began the performance show by acknowledging what had happened the day before.
  • Fans and critics alike were stunned at Melinda Doolittle
    Melinda Doolittle
    Melinda Marie Doolittle is an American singer who finished as the third place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol...

    's departure. Simon Cowell
    Simon Cowell
    Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...

     admitted that the sixth season's crown should have rightfully gone to Melinda. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe
    Nigel Lythgoe
    Nigel Lythgoe is an English television and film director and producer, and former dancer in the Young Generation and choreographer. He is noted for being the producer of the shows Pop Idol and American Idol as well as being a creator, executive producer and a regular judge for So You Think You Can...

     responded, noting that "[Idol producers] were so engrossed with the mentors and didn't really focus on the Melinda Doolittles of the show." Lythgoe also produces So You Think You Can Dance, and has noted that the dance program gives background information about its contestants, while American Idol focused more on its big name celebrity mentors, such as Tony Bennett
    Tony Bennett
    Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....

    , Gwen Stefani
    Gwen Stefani
    Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...

    , and Jennifer Lopez
    Jennifer Lopez
    Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...

    .
  • During the finale, the show went over its scheduled 2-hour time limit and ended at 10:09 PM EST. Many TiVo
    TiVo
    TiVo is a digital video recorder developed and marketed by TiVo, Inc. and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose features include "Season Pass" schedules which record every new episode of a series, and "WishList"...

     users claimed the recording show cut off before the new American Idol
    Jordin Sparks
    Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...

     was announced shortly after 10 PM. Fox executives apologized; but this is not the only time the finale exceeded its time limit.

US Nielsen ratings

American Idol ended the season as the top show of the 2006-2007 TV season. Its Wednesday episodes ranked first with an average of 30.02 million viewers, followed by the Tuesday episodes which averaged 29.54 million.
Episode list
EWLINE
Show Episode Air date Week
rank
Rating/Share 18-49
rating/Share
Viewers
(in millions)
1 "Minneapolis Auditions" January 16, 2007 3 20.3 / 29 15.8 / 36 37.44
2 "Seattle Auditions" January 17, 2007 4 20.1 / 30 15.5 / 36 36.94
3 "Memphis Auditions" January 23, 2007 2 18.0 / 26 13.3 / 33 32.60
4 "New York Auditions" January 24, 2007 1 18.9 / 28 14.1 / 35 33.87
5 "Birmingham Auditions" January 30, 2007 4 18.6 /28 13.5 / 33 33.65
6 "Los Angeles Auditions" January 31, 2007 5 18.0 / 27 13.7 / 32 31.85
7 "San Antonio Auditions" February 6, 2007 1 18.4 / 27 13.5 / 33 33.36
8 "Best of the Rest" February 7, 2007 2 15.9 / 23 12.0 / 27 27.91
9 "Hollywood Round, Part 1" February 13, 2007 1 17.4 / 25 13.0 / 31 31.20
10 "Hollywood Round, Part 2" February 14, 2007 2 16.2 / 24 12.2 / 29 28.89
11 "Top 12 Men Perform" February 20, 2007 3 16.5 / 25 11.8 / 30 29.53
12 "Top 12 Women Perform" February 21, 2007 2 17.2 / 26 12.3 / 31 30.46
13 "Top 24 Results" February 22, 2007 6 14.1 / 21 9.1 / 23 24.44
14 "Top 10 Men Perform" February 27, 2007 1 17.1 / 26 12.2 / 30 30.65
15 "Top 10 Women Perform" February 28, 2007 2 17.5 / 27 11.9 / 30 29.78
16 "Top 20 Results" March 1, 2007 3 15.5 / 23 10.5 / 26 27.39
17 "Top 8 Men Perform" March 6, 2007 2 15.9 / 24 10.9 / 29 27.95
18 "Top 8 Women Perform" March 7, 2007 1 16.7 / 26 11.2 / 30 28.55
19 "Top 12 Revealed" March 8, 2007 3 16.0 / 25 10.4 / 28 27.52
20 "Top 12 Perform" March 13, 2007 1 17.1 / 27 11.7 / 31 29.83
21 "Top 12 Results" March 14, 2007 2 16.2 / 26 10.1 / 26 26.18
22 "Top 11 Perform" March 20, 2007 1 17.9 / 27 11.8 / 30 29.96
23 "Top 11 Results" March 21, 2007 2 18.0 / 27 10.4 / 27 27.08
24 "Top 10 Perform" March 27, 2007 1 16.2 / 26 11.0 / 30 28.18
25 "Top 10 Results" March 28, 2007 2 16.2 / 25 10.9 / 28 26.89
26 "Top 9 Perform" April 3, 2007 1 15.7 / 25 10.4 / 29 26.67
27 "Top 9 Results" April 4, 2007 2 15.5 / 24 9.9 / 26 26.10
28 "Top 8 Perform" April 10, 2007 2 15.6 / 24 10.3 / 29 26.78
29 "Top 8 Results" April 11, 2007 1 16.5 / 25 11.1 / 27 28.56
30 "Top 7 Perform" April 17, 2007 2 15.4 / 24 10.2 / 28 26.55
31 Top 7 Results" April 18, 2007 1 17.2 / 26 11.2 / 28 28.93
32 "Top 6 Perform" April 24, 2007 2 15.7 / 25 10.0 / 28 26.55
33 ""Idol Gives Back" April 25, 2007 1 15.6 / 25 10.2 / 27 26.93
34 "Top 6 Performs again" May 1, 2007 2 15.7 / 25 10.2 / 29 26.73
35 "Top 6 Results" May 2, 2007 1 17.0 / 26 11.0 / 28 28.75
36 "Top 4 Perform" May 8, 2007 2 15.1 / 25 9.3 / 28 25.47
37 "Top 4 Results" May 9, 2007 1 16.9 / 26 10.8 / 28 28.20
38 "Top 3 Perform" May 15, 2007 2 14.1 / 23 9.4 / 26 24.23
39 "Top 3 Results" May 16, 2007 1 16.5 / 25 10.8 / 28 28.05
40 "Top 2 Perform" May 22, 2007 2 14.9 / 24 9.7 / 27 25.33
41 Season 6 Finale" May 23, 2007 1 17.8 / 29 11.5 / 29 30.74

UK edition

For the UK back-to-back repeat of the performance and results shows on the following Friday night on ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...

, Cat Deeley
Cat Deeley
Catherine Elizabeth "Cat" Deeley is an English television presenter and model. Since 2006, Deeley has also been the host of So You Think You Can Dance in the United States, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition...

 presents additional sections preceding and following each commercial break, and follows the end of the show with a short interview with that week's eliminated contestant.

Major releases

Unlike previous seasons the top 12 compilation album did not come out while the show was airing. The top 12 recorded studio versions of each of the songs they sang on the show. The songs were available for purchase on AmericanIdol.com
Fox Interactive Media
News Corporation's Digital Media Group , also known as News Corp. Digital Media and formerly Fox Interactive Media, oversees the Internet business operations of media giant News Corporation, and was formed to oversee News Corporation's new media acquisitions, including IGN Entertainment, MySpace...

 as digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

s through the night of the finale. Sparks' and Lewis' songs (except Sparks' "Livin' on a Prayer") remained available on the Idol website and iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...

 through June 20, 2007,.

Originally, a collage of the finalists' head shots from the top 24 photo shoot was used as album art on AmericanIdol.com, with the title American Idol 6: Greatest Moments; at present, the covers of Sparks' and Lewis' EPs are used instead. The American Idol: Season 6 - "Greatest Hits" & "The Collector's Edition"
American Idol Season 6: Greatest Hits
American Idol: Greatest Hits was released on iTunes on June 12, 2007. The album was finally released almost a month after the May finale. The album contains 11 cover songs, by the finalists and Jordin Sparks' winning single. The Collector's Edition contains 76 songs and includes cover songs by...

 were eventually released on June 12, 2007 on iTunes/Americanidol.com. This is the only season that the season's collection is not distributed by Sony BMG/RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...

.

Sparks' first non-American Idol single was the top hit (peaking at #8) "Tattoo", which received platinum certification. Her second single was the Billboard Hot 100 #3 hit "No Air
No Air
"No Air" is a song by American recording artist Jordin Sparks featuring American R&B singer Chris Brown. The song was written by James Fauntleroy II, Eric Griggs, Michael Scala, Harvey Mason, Jr., Damon Thomas and Steve Russell...

" with Chris Brown. The song went to #1 in several countries, and also topped Billboard's Pop Airplay chart. "No Air" had been certified platinum in April but recently passed the 3 million copies mark. It stands as the best-selling single by any Idol contestant. Sparks released a third single off her album, "One Step at a Time
One Step at a Time (song)
"One Step at a Time" is the third single from American Pop/R&B singer Jordin Sparks, from her eponymous debut album. Written by Robbie Nevil, Lauren Evans, Jonas Jeberg and Mich Hansen the song was released in the U.S. on June 10, 2008...

", which peaked at #17. "One Step at a Time" has so far sold over a million copies and is certified platinum. Sparks released her second album Battlefield
Battlefield (album)
Battlefield is the second studio album by American R&B and pop singer Jordin Sparks. It was first released on July 17, 2009 in Australia and Ireland, July 20 in the UK and from July 21 worldwide, on Jive Records...

 in July 2009. The album's title track
Battlefield (song)
"Battlefield" is a song performed by American recording artist Jordin Sparks, taken from her second studio album of the same name. The song was written by Wayne Wilkins, Ryan Tedder, Louis Biancaniello and Sam Watters. It was released as the album's lead single in the United States on May 8, 2009...

 became Jordin's fifth top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 10. This makes Jordin Sparks the only American Idol contestant to have their first five singles become Top 20 Hits.

Blake Lewis's first single was "Break Anotha!
Break Anotha
"Break Anotha" is the official debut single of Blake Lewis, the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. Being the leadoff single from A.D.D. , it was first leaked on October 29, 2007 via phone to fans who had signed up at . The single began to impact the radio on October 30 and was...

", which failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. His second single, "How Many Words
How Many Words
"How Many Words" is the official second single by singer/songwriter Blake Lewis, from his debut album A.D.D. . The song was expected to be followed by "Know My Name", and then "Without You". However, due to being dropped by Arista Records, "How Many Words" is the final single from his debut album...

", also failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #25 in the Bubbling Under chart (Hot 100 equivalent = 125). Shortly afterward, Lewis confirmed that he had been dropped by Arista records. His album sales are just over 300,000. The drop also canceled his apparent plans for a third single release.

Singles

"This Is My Now
This Is My Now
"This Is My Now" is a song written by Jeff Peabody and Scott Krippayne. It is Jordin Sparks's first single. The top two finalists of the season 6 finale of American Idol. sang it during the May 22 and May 23, 2007 finale shows. It was chosen over thousands of other entries in a songwriting contest...

" as performed by Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...

 was released as a radio single
Promotional recording
A promotional recording, or promo, is an audio or video recording distributed for free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available...

. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 chart at number 15.

iTunes/AmericanIdol.com EPs

On May 24, 2007, the winner Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...

 and runner-up Blake Lewis
Blake Lewis
Blake Colin Lewis is an American singer-songwriter and beatboxer who was the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. His major label debut album A.D.D. was released on December 4, 2007 through 19 Recordings/Arista Records. On October 30, 2007, his first single "Break Anotha" was released....

 released five-song EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

s on iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...

; though only iTunes calls them "EPs", they are also available as "bundles" for the same price on AmericanIdol.com through June 20, 2007.

Sparks' EP
Jordin Sparks (EP)
Jordin Sparks is an EP by American Idol season 6 winner Jordin Sparks. Sparks performed a song for the show each week of the season, and each song appeared on the day after the performance for sale as a studio version...

 contained the winner's single, "This Is My Now
This Is My Now
"This Is My Now" is a song written by Jeff Peabody and Scott Krippayne. It is Jordin Sparks's first single. The top two finalists of the season 6 finale of American Idol. sang it during the May 22 and May 23, 2007 finale shows. It was chosen over thousands of other entries in a songwriting contest...

", as well as four songs she performed on Idol: "I (Who Have Nothing)
I (Who Have Nothing)
"I " is a song originally released in English by Ben E. King in 1963."I " is based on the Italian song "Uno Dei Tanti," with music by Carlo Donida and lyrics by Giulio "Mogol" Rapetti. "Uno Dei Tanti" was released by Joe Sentieri in 1961...

", "A Broken Wing
A Broken Wing
"A Broken Wing" is a song recorded by American country music singer Martina McBride, written by Phil Barnhart, Sam Hogin and James House. It appears on McBride's 1997 album Evolution, from which it was released as the second single...

", "To Love Somebody
To Love Somebody (song)
"To Love Somebody" is the second single released by the Bee Gees from their third LP, Bee Gees 1st.The band's manager Robert Stigwood wanted Barry Gibb to write a soul song for Otis Redding. Barry, along with Robin wrote "To Love Somebody," a soulful ballad in the style of Sam & Dave or The Rascals...

", and "Wishing on a Star
Wishing on a Star
"Wishing on a Star" is a 1978 hit single by Rose Royce for Whitfield Records.-Background:Included on their second album, Rose Royce II: In Full Bloom, "Wishing on a Star" is a slow ballad written by Billie Rae Calvin and produced by Norman Whitfield. The lyrics concern a woman longing for the...

".

Lewis' EP
Blake Lewis (EP)
Blake Lewis is an EP by Blake Lewis, the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. It was released digitally on May 22, 2007.-Background:...

 did not contain "This Is My Now"; all of the tracks were songs he performed on the show: "You Give Love a Bad Name
You Give Love a Bad Name (song)
"You Give Love a Bad Name" is a song written by Jon Bon Jovi, Desmond Child, and Richie Sambora about a woman who has jilted her lover. Although originally written for the band Loverboy, the song was recorded by Bon Jovi...

", "Time of the Season
Time of the Season
"Time of the Season" is a song by The Zombies, featured on their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. It was written by keyboard player Rod Argent and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 1967.-Song information:...

", "I Need to Know
I Need to Know (Marc Anthony song)
"I Need to Know" is a song by Marc Anthony, and was released as the lead single of his first English language album Marc Anthony, in August 1999.-Song information:...

", "Love Song", and "When the Stars Go Blue
When the Stars Go Blue
- Music video : The video for "When the Stars Go Blue" is pieced together from the "Live" session at VH1.- Charts :-Tim McGraw cover:In 2006, the song was released by Tim McGraw as the first single from his album Tim McGraw Reflected: Greatest Hits Vol. 2, with added country-style and more...

".

On June 12, 2007, Apple released five song EPs for the rest of the top 12 finalists (Melinda Doolittle
Melinda Doolittle
Melinda Marie Doolittle is an American singer who finished as the third place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol...

, LaKisha Jones
LaKisha Jones
LaKisha Ann Jones is an American singer. She placed fourth on the sixth season of American Idol.-Personal life:Jones was born at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, to a teacher at the Flint Foundation Academy...

, Chris Richardson
Chris Richardson
Christopher Michael "Chris" Richardson is an American singer-songwriter who was the fifth-place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol.-Personal life:...

, Phil Stacey
Phil Stacey
Joel Philip "Phil" Stacey is an American singer who first gained national attention on season 6 of the television talent show American Idol. After being eliminated from the competition on May 2, 2007, he was signed to a recording contract with Lyric Street Records...

, Sanjaya Malakar
Sanjaya Malakar
Sanjaya Joseph Malakar is an American singer of Indian origin, who was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol. He gained national attention on the series, controversially advancing to 7th place with public votes, despite being poorly received by the show's judges, particularly Simon...

, Haley Scarnato
Haley Scarnato
Haley Suzanne Scarnato is an American singer who was the 8th-place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol. Scarnato announced in an interview in November 2009, her album Strongheart was scrapped after she left her management, but is working on a new album and "Strongheart" was her old...

, Gina Glocksen
Gina Glocksen
Gina Glocksen was the ninth-place finisher on the sixth season of American Idol. She was eliminated on April 4, 2007. She previously appeared in season 5...

, Chris Sligh
Chris Sligh
Charles Christopher Sligh is an American singer; songwriter and producer who was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol, finishing in tenth place.-Early years:...

, Stephanie Edwards
Stephanie Edwards (singer)
Stephanie Edwards is an American singer and was the eleventh-place finalist on sixth season of American Idol. She is from Savannah, Georgia and first began singing around the age of two or three...

 and Brandon Rogers
Brandon Rogers (singer)
Brandon Rogers is an American singer who has worked as a professional backup vocalist, and who was the 12th place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol.-Early years:...

) along with the compilation album as a collector's edition of the season's songs. Each of the songs are also available for individual purchase.

Individual albums

  • Jordin Sparks
    Jordin Sparks (album)
    Jordin Sparks is the debut studio album by American pop and R&B singer Jordin Sparks. It was released on November 20, 2007 in the United States and November 27, 2007 in Canada and Christian music stores. In United States it debuted at #10 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 119,000 copies in the...

     (Jordin Sparks
    Jordin Sparks
    Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...

    )
  • A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)
    A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)
    A.D.D. is the debut studio album by Blake Lewis, the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. It was released in the United States and Canada on December 4, 2007. The first single is "Break Anotha" and was released to radio on October 30...

     (Blake Lewis
    Blake Lewis
    Blake Colin Lewis is an American singer-songwriter and beatboxer who was the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. His major label debut album A.D.D. was released on December 4, 2007 through 19 Recordings/Arista Records. On October 30, 2007, his first single "Break Anotha" was released....

    )
  • Phil Stacey
    Phil Stacey (album)
    Phil Stacey is the self-titled debut album of American country music singer Phil Stacey, released on April 29, 2008 on Lyric Street Records...

     (Phil Stacey
    Phil Stacey
    Joel Philip "Phil" Stacey is an American singer who first gained national attention on season 6 of the television talent show American Idol. After being eliminated from the competition on May 2, 2007, he was signed to a recording contract with Lyric Street Records...

    )
  • Running Back To You
    Running Back to You
    "Running Back to You" is the lead single from Vanessa Williams' second studio album, The Comfort Zone .The single became one of the biggest hits of her career; it topped Billboards Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for two weeks from October 5 to October 12, 1991 and reached number eighteen on the...

     (Chris Sligh
    Chris Sligh
    Charles Christopher Sligh is an American singer; songwriter and producer who was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol, finishing in tenth place.-Early years:...

    )
  • Coming Back to You
    Coming Back to You
    Coming Back to You is the title of Melinda Doolittle's first album, released on February 3, 2009. The album consists of covers, such as "Dust My Broom" from the 1930s, "Wonderful", from Aretha Franklin's 2003 release So Damn Happy, and the title track, originally recorded by Macy Gray for the film...

     (Melinda Doolittle
    Melinda Doolittle
    Melinda Marie Doolittle is an American singer who finished as the third place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol...

    )
  • So Glad I'm Me
    So Glad I'm Me
    So Glad I'm Me is the title of LaKisha Jones' debut album, which was released on May 19, 2009. The first single entitled "So Glad I'm Me" was released to iTunes in November 2008....

     (LaKisha Jones
    LaKisha Jones
    LaKisha Ann Jones is an American singer. She placed fourth on the sixth season of American Idol.-Personal life:Jones was born at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, to a teacher at the Flint Foundation Academy...

    )
  • Battlefield
    Battlefield (album)
    Battlefield is the second studio album by American R&B and pop singer Jordin Sparks. It was first released on July 17, 2009 in Australia and Ireland, July 20 in the UK and from July 21 worldwide, on Jive Records...

     (Jordin Sparks
    Jordin Sparks
    Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...

    )
  • Into the Light
    Into the Light (Phil Stacey album)
    Into the Light is the second studio album by American singer Phil Stacey. It is the followup to his 2008 self-titled debut, which was released to country music. Into the Light is a CCM album, released on Reunion Records. The album's final track, "Old Glory," was previously released as a promotional...

     (Phil Stacey
    Phil Stacey
    Joel Philip "Phil" Stacey is an American singer who first gained national attention on season 6 of the television talent show American Idol. After being eliminated from the competition on May 2, 2007, he was signed to a recording contract with Lyric Street Records...

    )
  • Heartbreak on Vinyl
    Heartbreak on Vinyl
    Heartbreak on Vinyl is the second studio album by singer-songwriter Blake Lewis released on October 6, 2009. A double LP pressed on red vinyl with only 500 copies will be released on August 13...

     (Blake Lewis
    Blake Lewis
    Blake Colin Lewis is an American singer-songwriter and beatboxer who was the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. His major label debut album A.D.D. was released on December 4, 2007 through 19 Recordings/Arista Records. On October 30, 2007, his first single "Break Anotha" was released....

    )

Minor or independent releases

Phil Stacey, tied for fifth place with Chris Richardson, is now signed to Lyric Street and has released his first single "If You Didn't Love Me". Richardson recently produced his first single, "All Alone." Tenth place finalist Chris Sligh recently released a Christian album after signing with Brash Music.

Note: this does not include pre-Idol releases
  • All Alone (Chris Richardson
    Chris Richardson
    Christopher Michael "Chris" Richardson is an American singer-songwriter who was the fifth-place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol.-Personal life:...

    )
  • My Funny Valentine (Melinda Doolittle)
  • For My Lady Love (Sherman Pore)
  • Didn't Matter That (Sarah Burgess
    Sarah Burgess (singer)
    Sarah Burgess is an American singer-songwriter and was a contestant on the sixth season of the television series American Idol . She signed with indie label, PME Records in 2007, and released her album One in 2008 to stores in the US. In 2009, her album was released in Japan stores...

    , single)
  • On Our Way (Stephanie Edwards
    Stephanie Edwards (singer)
    Stephanie Edwards is an American singer and was the eleventh-place finalist on sixth season of American Idol. She is from Savannah, Georgia and first began singing around the age of two or three...

    , single)
  • The Thrill of Hope (Sean Michel
    Sean Michel
    Sean Michel is a musician who hails from Bryant, Arkansas. He was initially known most widely for his appearance on American Idol Season 6. However, he toured with his band for at least two years prior to his appearance on the show, and continues to gain an increasing audience worldwide...

    )
  • Fly Away (Amanda Coluccio, single)
  • Here I Am (Stephanie Edwards, single)
  • Dancing to the Music in my Head (Sanjaya Malakar
    Sanjaya Malakar
    Sanjaya Joseph Malakar is an American singer of Indian origin, who was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol. He gained national attention on the series, controversially advancing to 7th place with public votes, despite being poorly received by the show's judges, particularly Simon...

    , EP)
  • Now That I Found You (Amanda Coluccio, single)
  • One (Sarah Burgess)


Source - IdolsMusic.com

Related shows

TV Guide Channel
TV Guide Channel
TV Guide Network is an American cable network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation....

 brought back a second season of Idol Tonight, the live pre-show to American Idol, which aired on Wednesdays starting in March. The show features former Idol runner-up Justin Guarini
Justin Guarini
Justin Guarini is an American singer/songwriter and actor who rose to fame in 2002 as the first runner-up on the debut season of the television show American Idol.-Background:...

 as a correspondent along with Kimberly Caldwell
Kimberly Caldwell
Kimberly Ann Caldwell is an American singer, actress, and television hostess, from Katy, Texas who was the seventh place finalist on the second season of American Idol. She used to work as an entertainment correspondent and hosted various shows on the TV Guide Network...

 and Rosanna Tavarez
Rosanna Tavarez
Rosanna Tavarez is a Dominican American entertainment reporter and presenter on television. Tavarez stars on TV Guide Channel alongside former American Idol contestants Kimberly Caldwell and Justin Guarini. She started off on Mun2, a Telemundo cable channel, hosting a show...

. Additionally American Idol Extra
American Idol Extra
American Idol Extra was a television show that was shown on the Fox Reality Channel and Star! and billed as "the show that picks up right where American Idol leaves off"...

, a behind-the-scenes show, also returned for a second season, corresponding with the start of the finals in March. It aired Thursdays on Fox Reality.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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