Sanjaya Malakar
When he auditioned for “American Idol,” Sanjaya Malakar may not have thought he’d become the poster boy for “Idol” finalists who don’t belong in the top 12, but in just a few short weeks, he’s done just that. He’s not the first teenager to find himself in that position, but his innocence, bad singing, personality and ever-changing hair have combined to make him the talk of “American Idol 6,” and those who came before him weren’t exactly such stars. Sanjaya may not belong in the top 12, but he’s making a dull season a lot more interesting.

Scott Savol
Fifth: that’s where Scott Savol placed during “American Idol 4.” He beat Constantine Maroulis, among other singers who were deemed more talented than Scott. A mall security guard who’d once been arrested for throwing a telephone at his girlfriend and kid’s mother, he didn’t seem to belong in the top 12 at all. His attitude on the show irritated many; a phillyburbs.com columnist called him “an arrogant jerk wad” who “believes it’s his God-given right to become the next American Idol.” When he was finally voted out, the Web site Zap2it.com announced that our “National Nightmare Ends.” Many credit his shockingly high placement to Vote for the Worst — the same Web site that now backs Sanjaya — which supported him for a while during the fourth season.

John Stevens
John Stevens will forever be able to say that he defeated an Oscar winner during his season of “American Idol.” Yet another young top 12 contestant, the 16-year-old beat Jennifer Hudson, who recently won an Oscar and Golden Globe for her performance in the film “Dreamgirls.” He even placed higher than LaToya London, another extremely strong performer, although she outlasted him in the competition. At the very least, though, John Stevens deserves credit for realizing that he was in the presence of singers far better than himself. When Hudson was eliminated, we learned later that he told her backstage “it should have been me.”

Jasmine Trias
As part of the final four, 17-year-old Jasmine Trias also defeated the show’s third-season Oscar winner. When she made it to the top four, Jasmine received more votes than Fantasia Barrino, who went on to win the third season, and LaToya London. That prompted boos from the studio audience, but as USA Today reported, she stayed in despite being “generally considered the weakest” because “Hawaii’s 1.25 million population completed a total of 1.23 million calls,” many of which were likely votes for her.

Kevin Covais
Last season, Kevin Covais was referred to as “Chicken Little” during his time on the show, a nickname given by a fellow competitor because he resembled the titular CGI character in a Disney movie. His presence in the top 12 and cartoon character cuteness led some to think the sky was indeed falling. Like other “Idol” teenagers before him, the 16-year-old just didn’t have the singing skills that his more-seasoned competitors did, but his nice personality and pleasant demeanor kept him around. So did, according to Simon Cowell, Kevin’s primary fans: grandmothers and pre-teens.

Hell no to Jasmine. She's awesome and she totally deserved to be there.

Hell no to Jasmine. She's awesome and she totally deserved to be there.

I liked Jasmine too... :confused: :confused:

The rest, I can agree on though. It seems like the judges put one in every season...and this season it's just backfired on them!

John Stevens
John Stevens will forever be able to say that he defeated an Oscar winner during his season of “American Idol.” Yet another young top 12 contestant, the 16-year-old beat Jennifer Hudson, who recently won an Oscar and Golden Globe for her performance in the film “Dreamgirls.” He even placed higher than LaToya London, another extremely strong performer, although she outlasted him in the competition. At the very least, though, John Stevens deserves credit for realizing that he was in the presence of singers far better than himself. When Hudson was eliminated, we learned later that he told her backstage “it should have been me.”
Hey I like John Stevens. I own and listen to his CD. I am going on record and saying that I could not stand Jennifer Hudson voice. There was one or two songs of hers on AI that I didn't mind but most of the time I thought she was awful. That's why I'm not plannning on seeing Dreamgirls anytime soon, why would I watch a musical starring a person whose voice I hate.

Hell no to Jasmine. She's awesome and she totally deserved to be there.

omg yea....she was one of my favorites that season!

Scott Savol
A mall security guard who’d once been arrested for throwing a telephone at his girlfriend and kid’s mother,

How can they ban someone who had a pot possession conviction from going on to Hollywood, but they allow someone convicted of assault to advance to the finals? :rolleyes: They also kicked off that woman for having those sleazy photos. I think assault is a far worse crime than posing for sexy pictures.

How can they ban someone who had a pot possession conviction from going on to Hollywood, but they allow someone convicted of assault to advance to the finals? :rolleyes: They also kicked off that woman for having those sleazy photos. I think assault is a far worse crime than posing for sexy pictures.
Because he was open about his past. Bo Bice from the same season was arrested for cocaine possession but he disclosed that to the judges.

yeah, if you tell that you have a criminal record you're ok, but Corey Clark and (i guess) Thomas Daniels never told.

anyway i agree with all except Jasmine. her season was pretty weak talent-wise so she deserved top 12. top 3? maybe not. but definitley top 12.

i think John is iffy too. yeah he sucked, but not as much as the other guys that could've gone in to the top 12 instead of him...