Yesterday I gave you my “American Idol” 2011 Top 10 Moments, which featured some of the best performances and most shocking moments. And our readers requested I compiled my Top 10 Worst Moments list. So here it is. Warning: this is a “Worst” list so don’t be surprised if you’re offended in any way (and I won’t argue with you in the comments).
10. Karen Rodriguez sings “I Could Fall in Love.” Karen was obsessed with Selena and unfortunately for her, it got her cut from the show pretty early. She just couldn’t quite get in the zone.
9. Casey Abrams sings “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Casey screamed and acted angry during most of his performances, but this one was the worst. He had some great moments, but this was not one of them.
8. Jacob Lusk sings “No Air.” Not only was this a terrible performance, it was terrible timing. If Jacob wanted to break into the Top 3, this was not the song to sing. I mean who sings a duet alone on “American Idol” anyway? Bad idea.
7. Clint Jun Gamboa’s attitude. There’s a reason why such a great singer couldn’t break the Top 12. Hopefully he realizes why. And I don’t want to hear an “it was editing” defenses. When he wasn’t being mean to contestants, he was being cocky and arrogant.Voters couldn’t forget him kicking out sweet young singer Jacee Badeaux.
6. Julie Zorilla sings “Break Away.” Julie seemed like she’d end up being a front runner, but I think this bad performance sealed her fate, knocking her out just shy of making the Top 12.
5. The eliminations of pre-Top 13 contenders Jacee Badaeux, Colton Dixon, Brett Lowerenstern and Robbie Rosen. This season could have been a whole lot different with these great singers. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to get in on the judges’ and producer’s pimp-fest in time. At least Jacee and Colton get another shot next season. Brett and Robbie, sadly, were wasted on the Top 24.
4. Randy Jackson. From his obvious insecurities with the new judges to his CONSTANT name drops to his uneven critiques to his obsession with getting Haley Reinhart off the show, Randy was a complete tool this season. He’s so annoying, he warrants that run-on sentence. Why is he the only original judge remaining?
3. Naima Adedapo sings “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” Naima was a good performer but not the best singer. She really showed that with this performance. I can’t believe she wasn’t immediately eliminated after it. From my original review: “She got off to a bad start then stayed flat during most of the song. I don’t even know what key she was trying to sing in.”
2. Jordan Dorsey sings “OMG.” That was the worst performance of the entire season. Bad vocals, bad dancing, bad, bad, bad. On top of that, Jordan had a seemingly bad attitude. He caught a lot of flack for his very diva manners during Hollywood week. Attitude matters when America votes. Future Idols, remember that.
1. The results shows. From group numbers to countless minutes of filler, they seemed to be more painful this season than ever. They really need to cut the results shows down to 30 minutes.There were a few decent results shows. But ONLY a FEW. By far, it was the worst part of the season.
I couldn’t stand naima’s “umbrella” and “I’m still standing” performances either. The Ford music videos were pretty bad too lol. Very cheesy lol
Naima made my skin crawl. She should audition for Jamaaaaican Idol maaan.
Naima was one of my early favorites. I really enjoyed how much she put herself in her performances and really wanted to put on a show. Her studio version of Umbrella is far better than Rhianna’s. I don’t think idol was the right place for Naima, but I thought she was great. I just kind of wished she had stayed more like what we saw in Hollywood week than what she did on the live show.
SO true, you’ve got them all, loved reading it:)
So Branden-Who do you think will take the crown tonight????
Check out Branden’s prediction at the bottom of his recap for last night:
https://americanidolnet.com/american-idol-2011-finale-performance-show-where-was-the-excitement/
It means Lauren!!
Please Believe AI worth this much.
Lauren over James Pia Casey Jacob Haley Scotty …
Bad moments?
It was certainly a bad moment for Lauren and Haley when they fell.
The sad thing is that IDOL chose to show Over and Over Lauren falling (it’s still on the net) and took the camera OFF Haley as soon as possible and haven’t showed it since. Of course, I don’t think it should have been shown over and over–BUT I don’t think it was right to embarass Lauren over and over by showing her accident…Do they have a heart when it comes to these kids? Or maybe just some of them?
The judges were kind to thunder thighs Lauren all season and mean to Haley….
I’m not quite sure what to make of your post. Lauren’s fall happened in the first few weeks of the live show right after they moved into the ‘haunted mansion’. Haley’s fall took place the night before she left the show, and they didn’t take the camera off her, they switched cameras most likely because she fell out of view of the camera doing the close up.
Pia also fell down the same stairs Lauren did, or she said she did trying to pick up on the pity votes Lauren got from it. But they never showed that, but no. You must think they are all butterflies and rainbows to only Haley and were mean, evil, nasty people to Lauren. Man, if I could find what kind of rose colored glasses you are looking through.
When Clint was sooo mean to Jaycee, that was the end of him for me!!!! Who wants an American Idol like that?!?!
you forgot the dress lauren wore during her second song.
You also forgot Haley singing like a cat going into labor. lol
A lot of people LOVE cats. But then, a lot of people love dogs. Guess it’s a matter of preference… I’m a cat lover, myself.
the people who like dogs like Lauren…Ruff!
do you know that haley is barking??
Kechik, Sounds like success to me!
Good luck with your Lauren tonight.
I love cats and Haley, and my favorite ten seconds of the entire season is about a minute into “I Who Have Nothing”, when Haley snarls like a panther! AMAZINNNNNG!!! Barely anyone can do what she does with her voice.
For someone who sings like a cat going into labor, she’s certainly done well for herself. Fact is, her studio stuff has been selling like hotcakes, and many of us who purchase the songs ACTUALLY prefer her live.
Oh, and Branden, you forgot to include Scotty’s awful awful facial expressions.
Yes, those ‘crazy eye’ faces made me feel really weird…they should’ve been at least top 3 worst…when I’m fast forwarding it shows a shot out of every few seconds, and every time it freezes on him he looks like a crazy person. He’s a good singer, so why did he feel the need to do scary and creepy faces all season?
when haley sang the earth song- half boring half growling… but a haley-james finale would have been nice!
Haley’s version of Earth Song on iTunes is really good! I played it for my students the other day and they liked it too. The live performance could have been better, but I like the song and I like her version better than the original. :0)
Bet you showed them how to Hug a tree!
If you look at the performances of that night only James did better. Both Lauren and Scotty did WORSE with WORSE song choices. How are you supposed to sing that song anyway? Please enlighten us as to why the way Michael Jackson sings that song is wrong.
First, I just wanna say that Danny Gokey sang Endless Love (Which is a duet) from season 8.
I agree that Colton and Jaycee should’ve been in the Top 24, but the good thing is that they could come back next season which is unfortunate for Robbie, but ANW, he had experience. THAT’S ALL
BTW, Pia could be an epic, mostly if she made it to the finale, I can imagine her killing 3 songs! WOAH, i’d like to see that.. But go lauren
sweet young singer Jacee Badeaux….
when he is not throwing his weight around…
Most of Lauren’s outfits.
My 10 Worst:
1- Steven Tyler ( He is in it next year? WTF)
2- Nigel + Jimmy ( I hate conspiracy)
3- The 15 years old singers ( Lauren cryings and etc)
4- the 15 years old voters(and below)
5- Voting system (It Sucks)
6- randy (he wanted to be Simon,really?)
7- J.Lo
8- Ryan and Lauren Interacts
9- Early saving of Casey ( James, Jacob, Pia,… should be saved)
10- Myself(what a idiot I am that want see this crap another year)
amen brutha
Alex: Good list. You didn’t mention Lauren’s burst vocal cord, and Lauren’s song about her mother (did you notice Ryan was part of that sham also, he ran over to lead her down the steps to her mother?.
Ahaha, Alex, I love your list!
LOL
They should change the name to “Country Idol” because that’s what it has become. This was the most lame top two ever! Where is the fire of Adam Lambert?! At least Haley gave us some solid rockin’ entertainment. What a waste!
You are absolutely right. When Haley was voted off, I had no interest in watching the finale, but, out of boredom, I did. While Scotty and Lauren have beautiful voices, the performances reflected their years–they are still just kids. No excitement. I played back Haley’s good-bye song from the week before and watched in 4 times–she is a rock star like Beyonce called it. There is no comparison.
Or we can also call it “Teen Idol”. Worst moment of the season: judges supporting Lauren all the time and JLo calling her: “our baby”.
We’ll call it “Teen, Country Idol”.
I would have included Paul McDonald and his nails-on-a-chalkboard performances.
Branden, Some reflections on your choices & these comments are NOT in anyway meant to insult you, okay buddy?
#10 What is with so many ethnic contestants choosing to sing ONLY their music? Jacob was the most guilty of this. I would think, if one wanted to appeal to the largest spectrum of voters one would perform a lot of genre, as Haley did.
#9
bsolutely Casey’s worst song choice. It did him NO good what so ever.
#9 Jacob, while a good kid, had what I call “the attitude” & that killed his chances. Also being just a little short on testosterone & being a “mommy’s boy” cost him votes among blacks.
Being that psasht jackass’s favorite (all blacks are clearly jackass’s favorites) didn’t do him any good, either.
But Jacob had a magnificent voice, perhaps the most powerful among the top 12.
Last night’s episode was horrid. The American Idol tradition of giving the winner a crappy song to sing continues. Whoever is responsible for writing that piece of drivel for Scotty should be outed and sent to work in a car wash for the rest of his/her life. The entire season has ended up being a huge disappointment.
The judges selected a bunch of unremarkable girls who couldn’t be kicked off quickly enough. There was another Lauren, Kendra and Robbie Rosen who should have gone through instead of the Diana Ross and Selena wannabes. Thia Magia (or whatever her name is) was a waste of time. Stefano was a waste of time. So was Naima. Jacob started off great, went horribly wrong, and lasted far too long.
Anybody who was interesting or had something going for them was voted off and we came down to a painfully boring Disney finale with three judges sitting there with nothing to say. Lauren will probably win but she shouldn’t. Scotty is the better performer and talent of the two, but the song they gave him to sing as his first release was terrible.
I won’t be watching Idol after this season. It’s a waste of time and effort. And my affection for Steven Tyler has pretty much disappeared.
Thia Mejia, idiot. She has a very nice voice for one so young and sounded unique too. She was worth my time.
Lol, its Thia Megia. How’s that egg on your face tasting?
I agree with your post except I didn’t like Lauren Turner at all, not even a little bit. She wasn’t that good and if you want to talk about diva wannabes she was it. Also Robbie Rosen is the most BORING person to ever audition for American Idol. If anyone from the top 24 should have gone through it was Julie Zorilla and Tim Halperin. Too bad they both bombed the top 24 performance. If we want to go back further, Colton Dixon SHOULD have been in the top 24 over Brett Lowenstern. I have no idea why that didn’t happen.
Also, I don’t think Naima was a waste. She brought something new to the stage, she only lasted a few weeks but that’s ok. It’s not like she took up a top 5 spot or anything, Idol isn’t really the right place for her to showcase her talent anyway.
The song Lauren sang about her mother is not a country song. In order for a song to be real country it has to include some of the following: prison, train, pick-up truck, being drunk, something like this:
Well, I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison and I went to pick her up at the rain
But before I could get to the station in my pick-up truck, she got runned over by a damned old train.
Hahaha that is funny maybe you should write the finalists’ coronation songs next year? :))
Yeah but that is already a big hit country tune sung endlessly in every karaoke bar in USA
the most worst moment in American idol 10 :
Haley attitude! So rude! wtf
Kechik, The worst moment this season for me was when YOU started thoughtlessly targeting Haley. Read my lips: She’s gone, okay?
I was
Sorry…
I left you alone & never gave you ANY grief about your Lauren or some of your very ignorant posts.
I hope Lauren wins tonite, so MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, you will shut the hell up about Haley.,
Haha, I’ve given Kechik some grief over how mean she is to Haley and how FANATIC she is about Lauren. Even though I want Lauren to win, people who hate on Haley make me dislike whoever it is they’re fans of a little more and more…It’s just too bad that so many sweet people attract such losers for fans…
most memorable for me (aside from the singing) was the shocked look on Haley’s face when she realized she had been voted off. No, I did not laugh, I really felt her pain and cannot immagine what heartbreak she was feeling as the judges kept indicating to her that she was going to win. I blame the judges for this. Hope the same pain is not felt by Lauren tonite if she does not win. The judges indicated to her last nite that she would be the winner…..
Sorry…
#7 Ah, the “attitude” again.
#4 My position on jackass I have made clear… he sucks. The reason he is still seated in a judges chair after ten years is the psasht can’t get a job elsewhere.
Simon, the head judge, kept him in check but now, jackass’s true colors have come out.
His attack on Haley is unforgivable whether one approves of her response or not. Of course, after the producers set him straight during the break right after words, he has been nothing but a neutered dash. In my opinion, he should be castrated!
#3 Naima did the best she could & I felt for her, sincerely but she really had no business in the top 12.
#1 Branden, you are absolutely right about the result shows. Their choices for filler entertainment this year where the worst I can recall. Of course, when the show owners are compelled to pimp their loser talent, this is what happens
Worst moment of the season? A pathetic ploy to gain Lauren sympathy votes at the last minute. It barely beat out that outfit she was wearing last night.
Thank you matt somebody finally mentions those contestants who were unfairly ripped from the competition early. i was like WHAT?! when they gave naima the last spot for wild cards.
I COMPLETELY agree about the attitude thing. Hopefully some future idol contestants will read this and take it to heart. Once you’re a huge, highly paid, diva megastar then…wait…attitude matters to the public then too! I could never shake the things I saw in Hollywood week — especially the treatment of Jacee. I think this is a very accurate top ten list. Thank you.
My worst moments
1. The final night, it’s obvious they want to win Lauren and I feel cheated.
2.Criticas of judges to Haley (Top 4) push for a vote and came out James.
3.Steve with their comments without any substance.
4.La elimination of Casey, was very talented and fun.
5. Lauren clothing, I was embarrassed.
6. Good comentarios and feel that it deserved James (top 5) and Lauren (Top 3)
7.JLO and antipathy against Haley. I think that something happened behind the scenes.
8.The hug Randy James declared winner.
9.La vote.
10.Si want a woman to win, because Lauren?, Pia would not have been better or Haley and the final would have been more decent.
My favorite has always been Scotty, but I do not like this final would have liked or Haley- Scotty or James-Scotty . They always talk about the potential of Lauren, I wonder you expect from a girl of 16 years,we had the luck of the maturity of Scotty, please, raise the age at the auditions!
Just heard a rumor. Next year A.I. mgmt will change the show’s name and voting system. They will replace all three judges as well.
The name of the show will be renamed as “American Idol”s Idol. The three judges will be randomly picked from street. There will be no more fans’ popularity-oriented ballots. The voting results will be determined by rolling dice among the judges.
Mr. FEVER, Unlike dice, I pretty convinced NONE of this was left to chance… the dice were loaded from the beginning
1.worst was the night haley did MJ and randy was horribly cruel to her and said lauren and scotty should make it to the next round and not her.
2. james getting cheated out of his votes.
3. me wasting my time voting.
4. wasting 6 months of my life watching a show that is rigged and not knowing it.
5.jacob slaughtering nazareth.
6.i love scotty and lauren but knowing they beat out james and haley (rigged)
cant really think of anything else. if the show was not rigged, i would have loved all of it except the unjust bashing of haley.
1. Haley’s elimination. First of all because the 3 songs she did were so difficult, and I thought she did them all good. Except for with the Alanis song, I thought the ‘talking’ part at the beginning wasn’t Haley’s style at all, the end of the song she nailed. Stevie and Zeppelin…both songs floored me. Secondly, because I realized that a lot of people’s worst nightmare just came true. We were going to have the slowest and most boring finale we could’ve gotten out of the whole top 10.
2. Pia’s elimination…after all but two girls being wiped out in the first weeks, I thought Haley was next after this shocker. I was sickened that Pia was going, and singers much worse than her were staying…that’s the first time I realized I wasn’t always going to like who Idol sent home.
3. Idol’s blatant pimping of some contestants, while trying to let others fade into the background. I really think the ‘attitude’ people saw of Haley’s could have been rectified if they actually would have shown her other times than just when she was singing, or when the judges were singling her out to bash her.
4. The voting. THAT VOTING! It made me not look forward to Wednesday night, because I knew I’d be sitting there like an idiot voting for Haley two hours straight…just to try to give her a chance against the kids and power voters who have nothing better to do. What a waste of life.
5. Jacob’s No Air/Nazareth…could he have chose two worse songs to sing?
6. Scotty’s Swingin’…he had ANY modern song of the last 11 years to pick, and he chose a COVER of an 80’s song? Lame. It was probably the most boring song done on the whole show.
7. Haley being put in the bottom 3 over Scotty, after she KILLED Rolling in the Deep, and he yawned “Swingin”…I was so CONFUSED!!! Rolling in the Deep is the third highest selling iTune of the season now, Swingin is nowhere in sight on the top 25 list. Didn’t make any sense.
8. Some of the duets/group performances…they were an ‘ear sore’, and some even gave me a headache. A few of them made it on my top 10 list, though, as well (MOANING). It was really hit or miss, mostly missing.
9. After both girls were safe going into the top 3, and then James left over Scotty. This was the worst elimination for me. I took it pretty bad…I thought James deserved it way more than Scotty.
10. The judges. They were all worthless, all season, all the time. Ignoring their faves mistakes, pretending there was mistakes with whoever they wanted out…it was laughable to me.
I’m just going to ditto this, 🙂
@Devin, My feelings exactly about this years American Idol. Don’t know if I’ll watch next year if they don’t change the voting system. It’s frustrating to watch the good ones go while the immature, lesser talents excel.
If we hadn’t met Haley, Casey, Pia &
James this season, AI would have failed.
You can bet the farm (that’s another country saying, Shelly), those will be the ones that carry the tour this summer.
I believe that the very best of Idol 2011 was first the duet of Lauren and Scotty,I Told You So, and then of Haley, I Who Have Nothing. Her Rolling in the Deep was also very good. But Haley’s attitude sucked. She was greedy and lost. Now, Lauren picked up her way of thinking–vocal cords; Momma singing–all to sway.
Scotty is a gentleman, gave her a chance to go first or second and behaved like a quality human throughout. His vocals were never brought into question. Haley’s and James were–if you remember. I believe Scotty and Lauren together would do really well. Alone–not sure.
Scotty’s vocal ability has been in question this entire season. Only people that really can’t appreciate Haley’s style think she can’t sing. I don’t feel Haley was greedy at all and you can’t say Scotty would have reacted differently in her situation because he didn’t have ANY real criticism the entire season. And if you say that’s because he was perfect all season I will just have to say good day to you because you are obviously blind to everything that was going on during the live show.
Haley doesn’t have an attitude, the show just tried to portray her in that light…this is a girl who’s involved in charity and benefit performances, who’s main goal is to use her success to help her help others. I think they should have shown more about her background…then maybe people wouldn’t have gotten the wrong idea. Idol wanted us to get the wrong idea, and they succeeded with a lot of people…it’s really too bad. Haley is a sweetheart, with a heart of gold. People always say Scotty was Lauren’s rock…when you watch the show back you’ll notice Haley comforting Lauren once or twice per episode.
Jesus, let me write that down: New term for Haley… “greedy”.
Will you fockers give it up?
Was watching some of the top 24 performances. I wish the outcome was:
1. Pia Toscano
2. Kendra Chantelle
3. Lauren Turner (even though I really dislike her that performance was pretty outstanding)
4. Ashthon Jones (why do people say she can’t sing?)
5. Haley Reinhart
6. Julie Zorrilla (WC pick)
Out of the top 6 guys I wouldn’t have changed anything except put Tim Halperin instead of Stefano (Stefano’s best performance was for that WC spot, but he didn’t do anything nearly that good for the rest of his time there).
If you look at all the people that went home, though, you can see they all fell victim to the country kid conspiracy. Maybe the reason why we all attached ourselves to Haley is because she was our last hope for a real female artist to make it. But sadly that is not the case.
I am not the one of them saying Ashton Jones can’t sing. In fact, I expected she would be the next Fantasia. At least she is better than Naima, unfortunately she didn’t show a spirit of fighting. She only showed it at her farewell performance. And people seem to dislike her unpleasant attitude.
I agree with you about Julie Zorilla. She should have been given a second chance.
But I disagree with you about Kendra; Lauren Alaina is my choice there.
This post is terrible because Steven Tyler should have been the #1 worst moment of this season.. The guy can’t review a single song without saying “That was beautiful” or “You nailed it”
He provides zero technical reviews, which is what I miss most from the past judges (not ellen).
Ellen has nothing to do with this. Stephan is the only one who is nice to anyone and know good preformances and not good like all of scotty’s
I agree with Lauren that Ellen has nothing to do with this years shows. You had mostly super performances. Stephen was very kind and generous to all contestants but also did give technical advice. Being a singer I ‘got’ what he was saying as you did. Some people don’t have any knowledge of music and so don’t understand the advice given without spelling it out like others do.
Okay, Jordan’s performance was bad. But I was slightly disappointed that he wouldn’t me it to the top 13 I felt he had more to offer than that. Plus he did a song that wasn’t his type. I guess he did himself in on that one.
I agree with you about those people that didn’t make the top 13 except for Brett. Colton and Jaycee especially, Robbie did well enough for me too if it’s the same guy I’m thinking of. Paul and Jacob are two guys I would have liked to replace. Like you said, things may have turned out differently.
Brandon U rock…so spot on,witty and a good writer to boot! I have thoroughly enjoyed your recaps all season. Well done my friend!
Me too! Thanks Braden…& Matt!
By the way, both you or Scotty deserved the win. You were both GREAT and I can’t wait till next season. It was a very difficult year and very hard to judge.
Number 1 of the Worst 10 was Idol’s fans assumption that Pia Toscano would be around to the finish, so they could vote for their second choices instead of their best choice–bad mistake!
Scottie you’re a hottie , and you’ve captured our hearts from the start!!! Congrats from Canada!!!
Wake up! You’re in the wrong topic!
this is for james durbin
i think you were really great, please do not feel bad that you did not win. because i think you will get your chance, you are that good. someone will give you that chance. but always keep your family first, and your dreams will come true.
I agree with your assessment, I hope he does make it in the music business and stays close to his family, I thought he would take the top spot myself and was shocked at that weeks outcome. I happen to love the judges this year!
For those who live in Latin America, I think the worst moment was when SONY E.TV. played the congratulations video for Lauren, after Scotty won. What a mistake!!!
yo vi eso,, hasta le aplaudi a la tele y dije,, ojala despidan al encargado!!
What about thiashe was the best what do u guys think about thia
I think the worst momoent was when thia megia go eliminated
I think the best moment was when thia sang daniel
The Top 5 Best Voices of american idol are
.Thia
.Pia
.Jacob
.Ashton
.James
Although I did not like the final results as I was pulling for Haley, I did love the finale and thought it was the best so far. Haley’s performance with Tony Bennett further proves her music ability to sing anything and I will surely buy her DVD. Especially liked the performance by Casey and Jack Black as well as well as James performance with Judas Priest, plus the skits Casey and James did about being kicked off the show and their mocking Scooty and Lauren’s age, both were very funny. Scotty and Lauren both did their best vocals of the year with their idols Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood. Having a friend that is one of George Straits song writers, I was a little disappointed in the song George selected for Scotty the night before. Would have loved to have heard him sing “The Chair.” Loved the Tom Jones tribute and would haved loved to have heard a duet with he and Haley singing, “I Who Have Nothing” as it is my favorite of all his hits.
What about George Strait’s “Troubadour” for Scotty ?
Jacob should have delivered Tom Jones’s “Delilah” or “Without Love” at the top 5 week, but, he chose “Love Hurts” by Nazareth, instead.
In my opinion, one of the worst moment is :
When the judges or producers decided to use the format of 12 boys and 12 girls to obtain the top 24, while some of us thought that there were more talented boys than girls at this season. I thought they should have used 16 boys and 8 girls format to get the top 24, instead, thereby giving the added 4 spots to Jacee Badeux, Colton Dixon, Deandre Brackensick (or Alex Ryan) and John Wayne Schultz, cutting of Ta Tanysa Wilson, etc for the girls spot.
Lady GaGa mentoring kids, then performing in so little clothes she would get arrested if worn on the street.
My family was also disgusted with the moves she made on stage, we took a break while she was performing.
The woman has talent, she doesn’t have to take her clothes off to perform, In fact she looks betterfully dressed.