Mon Feb 2 2009 16:34:04 By: shirljan ( 292)
Obviously you are a Kelly Clarkson fan..that's good, she has a great talent and deserves the praise.
There is , however, very little that I agree with in your piece.This is totally, IMO, YOUR TAKE on the performers and not an unbiased article.If you are going to write an article for comment, at least stand back and pretend you don't have favourites and go from there...otherwise it just comes out one sided.
AI isn't what it used to be and bringing in professionals(last year and now this year) as contestants isn't helping their show.
Kudos to all those past contestants mentioned in this article that were terrific in the show and made it great and yet were limited to a one sentence mention in this piece.

Mon Feb 2 2009 17:35:45 By: newaikenfan ( 1)
I only started watching AI in the 4th season and my favorite has always been Bo Bice. After hearing one of Clay's songs, I bought every CD he has made and he is my new favorite. I believe he will be around for a long time.

Mon Feb 2 2009 18:14:32 By: CarrieUnderwoodFan1 ( 1)
Go Carrie Underwood! Yes Kelly has had a good career but there is NO one that has had the impact on the music biz than Carrie! Come on Carrie has 3 grammys, and is up for another one, she a 3 time female vocalist in a row. CARRIE IS THE BEST

Mon Feb 2 2009 18:57:39 By: lynnk ( 1)
I found it interesting the contestants you focused on, did not necessaily agree with your selection.
Season I, absolutely agree about Kelly, loved her and I think she has the most powerful female voice yet.
Season II, while Ruben was definitely adorable, Kimberly and Clay had the better voices with more control. Clay should have won that season (Still think he has the best male voice of any season, regardless of record sales, awards, etc.).
Season III, agree Latoya was the clear winner for me. With Jennifer a close second.
Season IV, Carrie deserved to win but just not a country music fan.
Season V, while Taylor was fun to watch he should not have won. No real favorite that year.
Season VI, yes Melinda was great but I do think Jordan has come a long way.
Season VII, Love David Cook, just not my style of music.
We all have our favorites and that is beauty of the show but I do think the real innocence is gone for me.

Tue Feb 3 2009 03:39:30 By: len1121 ( 1)
Way to diss Fantasia ! She won on personality alone did she? Presumably thats why her "Summertime " didn't even make your list. Even if you don't agree with the judges that it's the best idol performance ever how convenient to not even mention it.Aside from the fact that she never gave a bad performance in the whole season. I also disagree that season 3 was the battle of the diva's it was more like the battle of "White America v Black America " where as far as most of America was confirmed the black contestants were interchangeable.Which is why you were left with Jasmine ! Diana and thank the lord Fantasia !

Tue Feb 3 2009 18:48:44 By: Bayley ( 1)
I agree with everything you said! I was/am a fan of Kelly, Carrie, Jordan and David Cook. So glad to hear that Kelly's single is a hit... love her.
Carrie is great. I really love that song "No Air" by Jordan. I was a huge Chris Daughtry fan and couldn't be more thrilled by his success... I knew he would be great!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE David Cook! I think he just may be my all-time favorite. That rich, full, versatile voice of his has got me hooked and he's a darned good guy with a great personality and sense of humor... and ain't bad looking either! His upcoming tour is selling out everywhere. So happy for him... he deserves everything great that is happening for him right now.

Tue Feb 3 2009 23:06:10 By: BeckEye ( 37)
Appreciate all the comments everyone. A few things...
Shirljan - Of course I have my favorite contestants. I'm not sure what you're angry about here. How can ANY article about a TV show, music, etc. be completely unbiased? Everyone has a different take on these things. It's impossible to say with any certainty who is actually the BEST. Talent is subjective. However, the "success" portion of the article was based solely on record sales, not on any opinions.
Regarding limiting good contestants to one sentence, you have to understand that if I focused on every single contestant, this would've turned into a book. This article started out HUGE, and I had to edit it down considerably for space. Sorry if you feel people were left out, but that's why I asked everyone at the end to leave comments about who their faves were, etc.

Tue Feb 3 2009 23:43:47 By: BeckEye ( 37)
Len1121 - I'm not taking anything away from Fantasia. Obviously, you are a fan of hers, but just because I left out some things (or didn't have room for them) doesn't mean that I'm "dissing" her. I never said she won on personality ALONE, just that if she and LaToya were the judges' favorites, LaToya may have had an edge in the vocal category, and Fantasia had the edge in the personality department. Obviously some people think that Fantasia is a better singer than LaToya. As I mentioned to the poster above, talent is subjective and it should be perfectly fine for us to disagree. The point in that section was just to show how there never seems to be a clear winner in any season of AI. I think the comments are proving that.
As for your last statement, I'm part of "White America," and obviously I know the difference between Fantasia, LaToya, and Jennifer. You can voice your opinion, but there's no need to stoop to that level.