American Idol 14: Beautiful Life - Nick Fradiani

It's been more than a week since he was crowned as the new American Idol and I haven't posted anything yet about his single, Beautiful Life. Not going to lie, I had doubts that the show will be able to pull off another good coronation single after Phillip Phillips' Home, but this actually has a very anthemic vibe to it backed by a pulsating beat and some urgency on Nick Fradiani's vocals. I'm optimistic.

Watch the video of Nick Fradiani's Beautiful Life as FIFA Women's World Cup theme. Good promo for him, to be honest.

American Idol 14 Wrap-Up: 25 Best Performances

To the obligatory count: 6 months. 30 episodes. 153 live performances. 3 unjustly eliminated finalist. 1 annoying Harry Connick Jr. 1 Daniel Seavey. 1 season left. That's right, another season in the history books and like old tradition I compiled a list of the most memorable live performances up to the Finale.

Season 14 had a lot of potential to be best season EVER, but terrible format sucked the life out of these kids. That said, they were still able to deliver some awesome performances, which made this a little hard to rank. But yes, I did my very best!

Anyway, just like many other lists or countdowns, this one is extremely biased. It's based on personal preferences. There will probably be some performances that are nowhere to be found on your list that may be as high as 10 or something on here - actually I guarantee it. But please respond maturely, flames don't make me particularly happy.

SEASON 9 Best Performances 
SEASON 10 Best Performances
SEASON 11 Best Performances
SEASON 12 Best Performances
SEASON 13 Best Performances

Honorable Mentions!

Uptown Funk

Qaasim Middleton

Top 24

Wings

Tyanna Jones

Top 12

My Immortal

Jax

Top 3

Only The Good Die Young

Nick Fradiani

Top 6

Boyfriend

Clark Beckham

Top 5

 Here are the TOP 25 Best Live Performances of Season 14:

American Idol 14: Finale!

Make no mistake about this; Nick Fradiani has triumphed over incredible odds to win American Idol. Even if we forget that Clark Beckham was a favorite from the beginning, and even if we ignore that a person from the South has gone on to win the whole shebang; we are still left with an unlikely victor.

Nick Fradiani had momentum building each and every week since he burst into the frontrunners circle in the middle of the Finals. Each week more and more voters got behind him and over the course of the last couple of weeks were amassed into such a powerful force that they overran the very powerful coalition of voters that Clark had in lockdown. That's some pretty good stuff.

Now, as I’ve said before, I wasn't sure if these two were meant to be in the Finale. But then I realized, Clark  Beckham has a voice so stunning and soulful that I was awestruck and hooked from his first performance during Hollywood Week. Nick Fradiani, on the hand, has a voice that is incredibly marketable, versatile, and while arguably generic, can be molded into something great if given the right material. Personally, I think the right choice was made.

Clark Beckham would be better off outside Scott Borchetta's management. He clearly has a different perspective regarding his music and it was pretty obvious that their relationship wasn't as harmonious as with Nick Fradiani. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Borchetta can actually make a big star out of Nick.

Congratulations, Nick Fradiani! 

It’s been a great season everyone! I had a blast. There were disappointments and frustrations, but that's part of the show. I eagerly look forward to next January where I will return with even more nonsense and blog American Idol for the last time.

American Idol 14: Final Thoughts and Prediction

"American Idol is dead!"

While completely inaccurate, I have to admit that I saw the show's slow death this season. I genuinely had high hopes coming into Season 14 - given all the tease they did with this year's Top 24 with that awesome Feeling Good video - and it looked like it was going to be a legitimately fantastic season.

When the Top 24 was announced, I was ecstatic! When was the last time we saw a diverse and colorful set of contestants on this show? We had a fantastic performer with Qaasim Middleton, Joey Cook, Jax, Trevor Douglas and Shi Scott brought the quirk to the whole proceeding, while Tyanna Jones, Sarina-Joi Crowe, and Clark Beckham were seriously great technical vocalists. We had some marketable country teens with Maddie Walker and Riley Bria, some good balladeers with Rayvon Owen and Michael Simeon, a token guy with guitar Nick Fradiani, and the comeback kid, Savion Wright. There were also a couple of big personalities including Loren Scott and of course, Quentin Alexander.

But then, things went downhill from there. The themes remained old, the format sucked - those chairs were embarrassing - the twitter save seemed like an afterthought, Harry Connick Jr. annoyed the hell out of everyone, and then there's Daniel Seavey. These things could've been prevented, but they didn't and that caused the show to get cancelled. More on that in a couple of days as I gather my thoughts and get myself together.

As for the Top 2, it was better than I hoped. I would've liked maybe Joey Cook or Quentin Alexander to somehow make their way to the Finale, but we're left with two guys who, unsurprisingly, fit the checklist of what an American Idol should be based on it's dwindling demographic and base of the show.

That's not to say they weren't deserving because they seriously put up a show last night. By my count, Clark Beckham won the Finale by a hair with two rounds under his belt. But, the Finale tends to be an unpredictable affair as Nick Fradiani closed the show with a VERY strong case for himself.

The momentum is clearly in Nick's court, and while Clark has been the frontrunner since the beginning, I can actually see Nick pull an upset. At this point, we are looking at two people, one with a future and another with a mission. So, who will it be?

My record on predicting the winner has been awful since Season 11, but I'll give it a try again. I've been rallying behind Clark for so long and his body of work throughout the season was far better than Nick, but based just on the Winner's Single performance, Nick Fradiani came out looking like an artist, while Clark looked like a karaoke singer.

So yes, I will once again root for the "underdog" like what I did with with Jessica Sanchez, Jena Irene, and Kree Harrison, Nick Fradiani is American Idol Season 14 Winner.

American Idol 13: Final Thoughts and Prediction
American Idol 12: Final Thoughts and Prediction
American Idol 11: Final Thoughts and Prediction
American Idol 10: Final Thoughts and Prediction
American Idol 9: Final Thoughts and Prediction

American Idol 14: Top 2

We got into the Finale week of American Idol Season 14 deadlocked with two strangely different yet similar contestants.

Clark Beckham and Nick Fradiani. Two contestants who have done quite a bit of damage on this show in the past few months and who gave it their all tonight - Oh, and Jax was eliminated in what was one of the most sad eliminations on the show's history. Seriously. You had the girl prepare three songs and not let her sing, at least, once?

That said, the show's final performance night was as solid as I expected thoroughly enjoying every single one of them. There's no dud, just pure music entertainment. I will miss this.

For those that don’t know how I do this, I break the rounds up and judge them individually, pointing out winners of each round as I go, and then make my prediction at the end of my article.

So, without further ado, let’s do this. 

American Idol 14: Top 3 Head-to-Head Match Up!

Like every year since Season 10, her's a quick rundown of how the rest of the season went and who outperformed who in this season's reviews. Again, I've taken the trouble of going back through all my reviews and snagging the grades I gave for the Final 3. That's right. Since the format now is bit of a mess, and we're coming into the Finale with still three people left, I have no choice but to do it this way. Ha.

Below, a head-to-head comparison, just to see which finalist ''won'' the overall season in my book, and to refresh your own memories so you can do your own seasonal audit.

Season 13: Head-to-Head Match Up! (Caleb vs Jena)
Season 12: Head-to-Head Match Up! (Candice vs Kree)
Season 11: Head-to-Head Match Up! (Phillip vs Jessica)
Season 10: Head-to-Head Match Up! (Scotty vs Lauren)

Head-to-Head Match Up after the jump! 

American Idol 14: Top 3

It's American Idol Season 14's Top 3 Night! Or Top 4?

Usually, Top 3 nights are disappointing - with some rare exceptions, course. I mean, with the hometown visit, the contestants are either unprepared or exhausted. Somehow, that didn't happen this week. The Top 3/4 were at their top form and it felt like watching a classic American Idol battle. Each one delivered good performances and that's pretty unheard of this season. Ha.

Oh, and the format of eliminating a contestant after everyone got to sing was a little more tolerable than what they did to Tyanna last week. At least, everyone seemed calmer and focused. Maybe that's why they performed better than usual?

On with the show!

American Idol 14: Top 4 Studio Versions

Again, all of them recorded one song - how they picked which one to record is beyond me - and there were a couple of good studio versions in the mix. I actually enjoyed most of them especially Rayvon Owen's Believe and Nick Fradiani's What Hurts The Most.

Here's how they ranked and peaked against other songs available on iTunes:

#81 What Hurts The Most - Nick Fradiani
#141 Believe - Rayvon Owen
#170 Your Man - Clark Beckham
#258 Empire State Of Mind - Jax

As usual, Tyanna's Run The World was nowhere to be found. The only time she charted was when she did a phenomenal version of Stay and she didn't even rule that week. Sad.

DAM NATION

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American Idol 14: Top 4

WHOA. Did Clark Beckham just lose his frontrunner status? I may have believed since Top 24 that Mr. Beckham will eventually win the title of American Idol without even trying that much, but after tonight, I'm more convinced that I'm dead wrong.

Say what you want about Season 14, but despite the underwhelming performance and odd song choices, this has to be one of the more unpredictable seasons in years. We lost the best vocalist in Top 12, we had quirky and polarizing performers lasting longer than usual, we eliminated the weakest performers earlier than usual, we had a verbal smackdown between a contestant and a judge, and now an intense debate between a frontrunner and the in-house mentor.

I seriously just sad on my chair and stared. I looked around the room to see if someone was playing a trick on me because I felt like I was in a twilight zone. Not sure if that was all just to set up a competition environment in the next couple of weeks as they desperately needed a competitor so Clark Beckham wouldn’t run away with it and they were very lucky that Clark gave them the ammunition to use and they have Nick Fradiani and Jax to step up and fill that plateau. It's a complicated scenario, but an exciting one.

On with the show!

American Idol 14: Top 5 Studio Versions

This week, they tackled some "Arena Anthems" - I put quotation marks just because most of them weren't exactly anthems moreso for arenas, but I digress - and the results were varied. Also, Jax - or the production? - made another misstep by releasing Are You Gonna Be My Girl instead of White Flag. It happened with Rayvon and Nick last week. If she had released that instead, she could've given Clark Beckham a run for his money on the charts.

Here's how they ranked and peaked against other songs available on iTunes:

#269 Boyfriend - Clark Beckham
#340 I'm Not The Only One - Rayvon Owen
#738 Maggie May - Nick Fradiani
#1450 Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jax

Again, Tyanna is nowhere to be found. It's quite baffling that she only charted once throughout the whole season with Stay - not surprising as that was her moment - and yet she managed to keep out of the Bottom 2 each week. I guess her fanbase are not just buying her music? That said, the numbers are abysmal compared to how The Voice studio recordings are "dominating" the charts every week. Then again, they are used as votes, so whatever.

As for my personal recommendation, I honestly enjoyed Rayvon and Jax's recordings. Clark's take on Justin Biber's Boyfriend started off quite brilliantly and I was really enjoying it until he started screaming towards the end, which threw me off. I don't know.

DAM NATION

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American Idol 14: Top 5

It’s American Idol 14’s Top 5/6 night and the theme is "Arena Anthems" though, let’s face it, it should really have been called "Sing Anything You Want And We'll Just Call It Whatever".

The remaining contestants returned this week and somehow phoned it at least one song each and a couple of people stepped it up, but did so in a big way. Shockingly though, there were some huge missteps I wasn't expecting and some contestants still making beginner's mistakes.

Anyway, let's get on with the rankings!

American Idol 14: Top 6 Studio Versions

For this week, here are the studio versions as the remaining finalists tackle American Classics. Sadly, they just recorded one song - despite performing two - and some of them were, arguably, their weaker performances. Case in point, Rayvon Owen's Long Train Runnin' instead of Always On My Mind. But I digress. Enjoy!

Here's how they ranked and peaked against other songs available on iTunes:

#339 Superstition - Clark Beckham
#766 Piece Of My Heart - Jax
#799 American Girl - Nick Fradiani
#934 The Sound of Silence - Quentin Alexander
#1235 Somebody To Love - Joey Cook

These numbers are depressing, no? Also, I'm seeing a trend here. Unless both Tyanna and Rayvon provide a showstopper, their songs don't chart at all. Now, as for the recordings, I genuinely enjoyed Joey Cook's Somebody To Love and Nick Fradiani's American Girl - although I hope he recorded Only The Good Die Young instead.

DAM NATION

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American Idol 14: Top 7 Studio Versions

Sorry for the late post, but here are the studio versions for Billboard Top Hits Week. Most of them had some stellar recordings, but the people the stood out were Clark Beckham's Make It Rain, Quentin Alexander's Latch, and Rayvon Owen's Set Fire To The Rain. Check them out!

Here's how they ranked and peaked against other songs available on iTunes:

#122 Make It Rain - Clark Beckham
#669 Stay - Tyanna Jones
#1026 Teenage Dream - Nick Fradiani
#1257 Poker Face - Jax

That's right. Joey Cook, Quentin Alexander, Rayvon Owen and Qaasim Middleton were nowhere to be found. Sad.

DAM NATION

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American Idol 14: Top 6

AWKWARD! 

I have seen ALL episodes of American Idol since Season 3, and yet, this was the first time I felt so uncomfortable watching the show. EVER. Yes, I'm talking about Joey Cook's flower head piece. Haha. I kid. But seriously, that Harry Connick Jr-Quentin Alexander smack down was both strange and compelling live television. I don't want to witness anything like that again on American Idol, but it made the show a lot more unpredictable. Oh, and as for the performances? There were A LOT and I felt exhausted after sometime, but I digress.

Disclaimer: my rankings were so close. I agonized about my decision, and I'm not even sure if I'm right about them now.  Haha.

On with the show!

American Idol 14: Top 7

What got into them? Daniel Seavey just got eliminated and everyone's almost at the top of their game! Haha. This episode was terrible! How am I supposed to to snark at potentially one of the strongest group of seven (7) I've seen on American Idol?

Quite frankly, after watching the episode, I just again stared blankly at the screen and asked myself, "What the heck do I do now?" I mean, I did somehow manage to come up with a ranking, but even the person at the bottom of my list turned in a better than average performance. It's going to be a battle for the runner-up! Haha. We already know who will win this season.

Oh, just to add, I was really hoping that Jordin Sparks would bring out the result next to Jason Derulo. Haha. Awkward.

On with the show!

American Idol 14: Top 8 Studio Versions

Here's the one with Kelly Clarkson Songbook. Again, there are nine (9) songs in here - including Daniel Seavey - and of course, the rest of the remaining contestants. To be perfectly honest, I found the recordings this week pretty good. Check it out!

Here's how they ranked and peaked against other songs available on iTunes:

#50 The Trouble With Love Is - Clark Beckham
#458 Beautiful Disaster - Jax
#593 Breakaway - Daniel Seavey
#620 Miss Independent - Joey Cook
#687 Since U Been Gone - Rayvon Owen
#1143 Dark Side - Quentin Alexander

Again, Tyanna Jones was nowhere to be found, as well as Nick Fradiani and Qaasim Middleton. Personally, save for Qaasim Middleton and maybe Daniel Seavey, the recordings were good, especially Joey Cook, Clark Beckham, Jax and Rayvon Owen.

DAM NATION

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American Idol 14: Top 9 Studio Versions

I'm not even sure how to call this post as these studio versions were for the Top 9 week, but since everyone recorded  a song that was eventually released on iTunes, I'm posting 11 songs. With all the format changes, I'm seriously confused. Haha.

Oh, and just like last season, American Idol has allowed these tracks to rank on iTunes. The results aren't great maybe because they weren't as advertised as previous seasons, but it's an interesting insight.

Here's how they ranked and peaked against other songs available on iTunes:

#153 Every Breath You Take - Clark Beckham
#454 You Give Love A Bad Name - Jax
#632 Man In The Mirror - Nick Fradiani
#723 You Make My Dreams Come True - Daniel Seavey
#724 Every Rose Has It's Thorn - Maddie Walker
#892 In The Air Tonight - Quentin Alexander
#1068 Addicted To Love - Qaasim Middleton

That's right. Tyanna Jones and Rayvon Owen didn't chart in the Top 1500. Joey Cook, who was terrible, and Adanna Duru, who got eliminated, were understandably left out of the chart as well.

Personally though, Clark Beckham, Quentin Alexander and Adanna Duru have the best recordings during this episode.

DAM NATION

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American Idol 14: Top 8

Wow. Tonight was quite amazing! I need a moment to catch my breath. This was easily the best episode of the live rounds this season, and it's not just because the contestants seem to have finally found their groove or that THE original American Idol came back to mentor or even the launch of Twitter save, but because America finally came to their senses and sent the kid back to school.

Now, we're left with eight interesting contestants and this might be the start of the actual competition. True, we still have Qaasim - he's vocally inferior than the rest - but again, he's terrific performer.

On with the show!

American Idol 14: Top 9

Not sure what it was - maybe the theme? - but I felt like some of the contestants were not in fine form. Some rose and some fell, but with a season as unpredictable as this, I just have to accept that this should be expected. I'm just hoping the show give them better material than this lame 80s theme. It's a tired one and it's time to think of something more creative.

I will have a couple of words for the two eliminated contestants, but that's for later. On with the show first!

American Idol 14: Top 11 Redux

This was an incredible night of music. Yes, there were songs that we have heard over and over again on the Idol stage, but most of them were rearranged to fit the contestants perfectly. Of course, there were some strategic blunders made by some of the contestants, but the vocals were really showcased in this episode. I believe it was another strong performance night and I am continuously impressed with how steady these contestants are; they seem to be in perfect control.

I can’t remember a time when I went into a Top 11 night wondering who might be eliminated? The first few weeks of the finals was always about eliminating the fodders. It was just a great time to get rid of the people who should never have made the finals in the first place. Not this year it seems - well, unless, you're Daniel Seavey.

On with the rankings!