Idol 88 - Constantine Maroulis

88. Constantine Maroulis

Season 4, 6th Place

I have some strong feelings toward Constantine and believe me, it's not good. Haha.

Let me say that if I was ranking them by their personalities, he would be dead last - or he's not even in this countdown. Haha. To me, he wins the award for contestant I'd most like to punch in the face. And no, I'm not kidding. 

I remember when Constantine first auditioned and there was so much hype already about him. I think I was one of the few that hated him from the first time he sang. Haha. Arguably - and sorry fans! - Constantine was probably the biggest poser in the history of Idol.

He loaded on every possible rock affectation out there and expected people to take him seriously. Not quite, buddy. I remember a funny moment when he sang Hard to Handle and was trying to go all screamo at parts. Instead, he sounded like a dying cat or something. It was so ridiculous and very laughable. He really really sucked at being a rocker. Haha.

I really thought Constantine got off to a awful start in Season 4. His audition was mediocre and all of his three semifinal performances were terrible. Did I think he deserved a spot in the finals? Hm, I don't really know. Had it been any other season, I probably would say no, but there wasn't many good male semifinalists in that season. So, I guess Constantine deserved it by default.

Now, the thing that kept him from being lower in this countdown was the fact that he doesn't quite have a terrible voice. I HATE saying this, but on a few performances his tone was actually pretty good - but that was always when he strayed away from the whole rock thing.

I mean, he was classically trained, so it would be foolish to say he can't carry a tune. He can. He just usually found ways to take away from it, be it the smug look, weird enunciations, ridiculous growls and oh, don't get me started with his pouty lips. It was almost as if he wanted to be a lot suckier than he actually was. Haha. Whatever floats your boat, Constantine.

Constantine's eliminaton still goes down as one of my favorite Idol moments. Haha. I mean, I wasn't quite expecting it. Really. He had been coasting since the Top 20 - when he first deserved to leave - and I since then expected him to make the Top 3 at that point. I thank God that the voters wisened up.. or at the very least, forgot to vote. Haha.

Favorite performance(s): Constantine is actually the first contestant on my list that delivered a performance that I genuinely quite enjoyed. And that was My Funny Valentine during Top 9 week. This was just confirmation for what I already knew: Constantine's voice is not made for the rock genre. He sang it well, his personality wasn't overbearing, his tone was quite pleasant. I actually thought he was either the best, or second best of the night. I'll give him props for dishing out one performance I like. Too bad that is the last time Constantine ever got any respect from me. Haha.

My Funny Valentine

Hard To Handle

#87 Constantine Maroulis 2.0 (Boy band version)