It was Movie Night on American Idol last night. The remaining Idol contestants had a chance to perform a favorite song from a movie. I happened to be on twitter when Jacob Lusk sang Bridge Over Troubled Water. I admit it….I didn’t hear him sing, but I was stunned at all the tweets that suddenly appeared. It was a run-away…hundreds of people were shocked that Jacob would even sing BOTW. They almost all felt that Clay Aiken nailed the song on Season 2 and Jacob was in his shadow.
There were many comments from writers who cover American Idol and comments at the sites from stunned fans. Some of the comments are interesting:
From MSNBC:
Jacob Lusk sang “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel and did fine. But Clay Aiken nailed that song in a defining performance way back in season two, which judging by the reaction on Twitter, isn’t something that Claymates have forgotten. Of course, many of the “Idol” voters were in grade school back then, but considering Lusk was in the bottom three last week, he can’t feel secure.
From Zap2It:
Jacob Lusk: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” First: Jimmy was right to take him away from Impossible Dream. However, any long time Idol fan will tell you that this song should not be touched. Clay Aiken gave a defining version back in season 2
From IDOL CHATTER:
Jacob is a fine singer, but he got some really bad advice this week. You should never sing a song that is a HUGE hit by another Idol. Clay Aiken “owns” Bridge Over Troubled Water.
I had to laugh..I was on twitter when Jacob sang and all of a sudden there were hundreds of tweets by people who all said Clay sang the song so much better….It was moving so fast you could hardly read the posts.
According to ZOCIALtv, Wednesday night – 4th most tweeted VIDEO in Entertainment || Clay Aiken – Bridge Over Troubled Water http://zocial.tv/today/Entertainment/1312407/clay-aiken-bridge-over-troubled-water
Did Jimmy Iovine really say no one on Idol had ever performed BOTW? Really? If so, it really makes them all look not only petty, but stupid.
Idol has pretended for 4 years that Clay Aiken was never a part of their show. Really, how stupid do they think we are.
Poor Jacob…….he never had a chance!!
Well……I wish best of luck to Jacob and the other contestants. It will be interesting to hear the results tonight.
“Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight
Someone’s thinking of me and loving me tonight.”
Those beautiful lyrics were sung by Clay Aiken on March 18, 2003. It was “Movie Night” on Season 2 and each contestant sang one of their favorite songs from a movie soundtrack.
Joining the regular judges, Simon, Randy and Paula, was Gladys Knight. She was introduced to the audience as the lady who sang the theme for the James Bond movie, “License to Kill.” Gladys was a great support to all the performers and quietly encouraged the group. That night, she gave Ruben the nickname of the “Velvet Teddy bear.”
The performances on this particular night ranged from Kimberley Locke singing “Home” from The Wiz, to Kimberly Caldwell singing “The Shoop Shoop Song.”
The highlight of the evening was “Somewhere Out There” from An American Tail. Clay sang it beautifully. It was a good song choice since it showed off his remarkable range and it was popular with people of all ages.
The judge’s comments were very positive:
Randy: “….the power, the range……this is good……..you did your thing baby”
Paula: “…..another one…..you are effortless with your voice….you are so natural…Congratulations”
Gladys: “….you’re a mystery…..you have your own look, there’s something very magical about your look….and your voice is so pure…..I don’t know in the contemporary world what is going to happen with you, but something exceptional is gonna happen with you along the way, cause you are so pure.”
Simon: “…..I think after tonight, you’re the one they’ve got to beat.”
It was a great night for Clay and an exciting time for all of his fans.
The following night, the audience was given a full hour of the results show. There was lots of talking by assorted people and verbal sparring between Ryan and Randy.
One of the highlights of the show was the group song, “Footloose.” The contestants performed it with a lot of energy and they moved all over the theater. They worked well as a team and their voices blended well together.
Finally, the audience found out who was in the bottom three. Josh, Trenyce, and Ricky were safe, but the next person, Julia, was in the bottom three. Clay was called next and Ryan says: “America is in love with you.” After Clay, Ruben, Carmen, Kim L. and Kim C. are all declared safe, Corey and Charles joined Julia in the bottom three.
Sadly, Charles was eliminated on Movie Night. After singing an encore of his song, “You Can’t Win” from The Wiz, the hour show was over.
Although this was only the second episode of this popular show, it was already obvious who the leaders were going to be and the audience let the performers know that Clay and Ruben were loved.
Enjoy the following videos. The first shows Clay’s performance and the judges comments. The second is a video of the group performance.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s18G1Obk42I
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCDmyDrxqeY
Loved this article – watched and loved Clay and then Gladys comments – they have always stuck
with me – she was so right about him. He is definitey Magical, voice so pure, and he is definitly
Special, and so are his fans. Charles Grigsby lives near me and sings with a local group who are
much loved.
Jacob really shouldn't have messed with BOTW. It was okay but nobody can touch Clay's version. Impossible!
I loved Somewhere out There. It just showcased Clay's amazing voice and the judges reaction was wonderful. I wish I'd been watching season 2, but hey, I'm caught up now! 🙂
That was wonderful watching those videos again. I can't help but remember Clay and Ruben singing "Footloose" last summer on the Timeless Tour…and they did such a fantastic job of it…They have come a long way baby!!!!!! It's true what Gladys Knight said, that Clay is effortless..he makes it look so easy..and definitely Clay's voice is pure…Clay Aiken was definately the best thing to ever grace the AI stage.
Love all the press from last night. I don't watch Idol, I'm sure Jacob did a fine job, but Clay had one of those "idol moments" with BOTW. To pretend it didn't happen is just silly. They underestimate how many people watched and remember AI2 – the season that made Idol the powerhouse it is today.
Thanks!
Erm..wait, AI pretended it didin't happen? Really?
I watched AI last night and was shocked at Jacob’s rendition of BOTW. It was by far the weakest song he has performed so far. No one can touch Clay’s version. Thanks for the Footloose tape. I remember it best from the Timeless tour with Ruben. What fun those two had singing and dancing…and the audience loved it!
Everything Gladys Knight said about Clay was right on target. Pure and Magical are perfect descriptions of Clay. The rendition of BOTW by Clay cannot be touched, …..ever….
I like Jacob, but…..come'on…really?! I wont say what I thought it sounded like.
and…uhmmmm….no one else has sung that song. Who do they think they're fooling?
It's very risky to cover a song that was a home run for a past Idol contestant. I think Jacob did enough to keep himself around for another week, but it certainly wasn't enough to make him a front runner. Clay was a front runner from the beginning and his amazing version of Bridge Over Troubled Water is still THE best Idol performance ever.
Big mistake having this Jacob guy sing BOTW. That is Clay's song…and sorry…no one is going to sing it better. Footloose….all I can think of is how well Clay and Ruben did that song on the Timeless Tour. Everyone gave an SO for that one. Who is AI trying to fool…do they know how many people watched and remembered AI2? They've got to be crazy!!