The Best of American Idol: Before and After

     America loves American Idol; no big secret there.  The show has become a part of our pop culture; literally dozens of the stars we hear on the radio got their starts here, all across the spectrum of genres.  Pop, R & B, country, blues, adult contemporary; there isn’t a brand of music they hasn’t felt the shockwave. 

     One of the unique aspects of the phemomenon, and one of the reasons for its stunning popularity, is the way it affords us to watch the evolution of the artists.  In many cases, they arrive as raw, unschooled (but talented) singers, and we get to watch step by step as they mold (or are molded) into pop stars.

     So here we take a look at that evolution in some of the best contestants to grace the stage… watching first their audition, then a performance from the show, and then taking a look at the finished product.  Enjoy!

Also from Mnofdichotomy: Adam Lambert Gays Up The A.m.a.’s. Who Does He Think He is?

Adam Lambert

Adam was one of the few that came in at the end of the assembly line.  He was polished when he arrived, and could have cut an album pretty much from the beginning.

Alison Iraheta

Her bluesy Joplin-esque voice appears to have made it through the processing machine intact, with pop appeal intact.

Bo Bice

Something happened to Bo during that final step.  He had an amazing bluesy rock voice on the show, and the best parts of it seem to have been lost.  Sometimes taking the essence of the artist out for the sake of commercial viability takes away what made them great to begin with.  Pity.

Jason Castro

Jason’s music, on the other hand, kept its hippyish appeal.  He will be appealing to 13 year old girls and stoners for years.

Kelly Clarkson

The perfect example of the evolution.  We’ve watched her grow from cutesy down home girl to one of the biggest voices in the industry.

Carrie Underwood

She was already an amazing talent, but has been turned into a country music hit machine.  Kelly Clarkson, country version.

Chris Daughtry

You knew he was going to be a star the moment he opened his mouth.  Once he’d been exposed, you almost got the impression that the forum of the show might be holding him back again.

Clay Aiken

Evolution? Case in point.  Nerd > teenie heart throb > crooner

Ruben Studdard

Just never made it as big as expected… didn’t change much as a singer, but evolved as a performer.

Fantasia Barrino

Her voice was raw power from day one.  And actually grew as time progressed.

David Cook

Like Daughtry, he was all but ready to go from day one.  But we watched him learn the art of controlling a crowd, and impressively so.

Jordin Sparks

You’d never have believed she might win during her audition; proved to be the exception to the rule… won the thing without really changing at all.

Kellie Pickler

God bless her, she was a great voice and dumber than rocks.  But when they got done processing her…

Taylor Hicks

Taylor shocked the world; he didn’t change a thing about himself- he just kept throwing it at us till we loved it.

Elliot Yamin

He doesn’t even look like the same guy.  He had one of the best voices the show has ever seen, they just updated him a bit so he matched it.

Diana Degarmo

Kind of a forgotten contestant.  She wowed us and then kind of went away; I didn’t even realize she had an album until I did this.

Constantine Maroulis

He was never destined for greatness, but he turned himself from a novelty to a contender.

Brooke White

She was so goody two shoes it was nausiating.  Nice voice, but she really grew into it.