After eleven seasons of brilliant performances and absurd auditions, nobody knew what to expect from Season 12 of American Idol. With a brand new panel of judges, consisting of Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, Nicki Minaj and the dog himself, Randy Jackson, this season already stands out from all the rest. So far, this season has had some of the best and worst moments the show has ever seen. From the random meltdown of Charlie Askew, to the completely unprofessional drama between Nicki and Mariah, this season has had many jaw dropping moments. Here are the top five most shocking moments of the season so far.
1. First place goes to the meltdown of Charlie Askew. Charlie’s quirky personality and very high-pitched voice made him stand out from his fellow competitors. Nicki Minaj was overly obsessed with him, which is probably why he made it all the way to the Top 20. He was loved for wearing his oversized suits, and his long unbrushed hair, and most importantly for just being Nicki’s “baby” that she wanted to cradle in her arms. However, Charlie’s bubbly personality went out the window as he performed in the Top 20 live shows. Charlie, maybe going for the Steven Tyler as a woman look, was wearing a tight tank top, one long feather earring, and his hair up in a messy ponytail. He sang a very weird, dark song which left everybody in complete confusion. After Nicki begged for the old Charlie back, Charlie made an incredibly depressing comment. Charlie admitted that the only reason he smiles is because he feels like he has to. After this confesssion, Charlie continued to hold back tears as Ryan Seacrest, awkwardly, tried to console him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs8KjtO33Vo
2. Second place goes to the funniest moment of the season so far. Some may know him from his rock and roll band, but devoted viewers of American Idol know him as the craziest judge the show has ever seen. The hilarious Steven Tyler made an appearance at one of the auditions. Steven Tyler strolled in front of the judges all ready to audition, dressed up as probably the ugliest woman in the world- blonde wig, lipstick and all. Although he did not even sing, he did cause the judges to laugh and they most likely went home with nightmares.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QY5TVqWlTM
3. Third place goes to the most shocking and emotional audition the show has ever seen. Lazaro Arbos, sporting his bright blue shirt and neon pink bow tie, auditioned for the judges with a severe speech impediment that he has had since he was just six years old. Although he struggled through his conversation with the judges, he managed to tell them he would be singing the ballad, “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.” Then, with the most beautiful and surprising voice, Lazaro sang the ballad with complete ease. The judges loved his voice, and were amazed that his stutter went away while singing. Lazaro’s performance was definitely the most unsuspecting audition of all twelve seasons of the show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLdg9FMp7f8
4. Fourth place has to go to the outstanding performance of Angela Miller during the Hollywood Solo round. Angela Miller is from Beverly, Massachusetts, and is also one of the best in the whole competition. In the first few rounds of the competition, Angela Miller was not one of the front runners and was sort of forgettable. However, she blew the judges and millions of viewers away with the performance of her original song, “You Set Me Free.” Keith Urban even started to tear up, which is becoming a normal thing for the Aussie superstar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_NhisWuq9o
5. Finally, fifth place goes to the unnecessary fight between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey. First of all, having two women with two completely different personalities judge on the panel together was a huge mistake on the show’s behalf. Before the first episode of this season even aired, rumors of the fighting were circulating on basically every single tabloid in the nation. It was during the Charlotte auditions, the third episode of the season, that the cat fight happened. After hopeful singer, Summer Cunningham, performed for the judges, Keith, Mariah, and Randy ripped her apart for saying she did not want to take the country music root. The now very nervous Summer said that she had “tried the country thing” but it did not work out for her. The three judges pounded the poor girl insisting that she continue with country music. Then, Nicki, who seemed like the only sane one at the moment, defended the terrified Summer. Nicki was furious at the judges because she believed that they had no right to change her. Mariah snobbishly apologized for giving her opinion and Nicki then stormed off the panel. The animosity can be seen throughout mostly every episode, as Nicki constantly rolls her eyes. Clearly, the show is embarrassed of this fight, since there is no official clip of it anywhere. What is the point of airing the fight to millions of people on television, and not even putting up an official clip online?
All of these moments, whether good or bad, definitely shocked many people. Viewers all across the nation tune in each Wednesday and Thursday nights to see some of these crazy moments. With more attention based on the overly dramatic judges, and the seemingly endless amount of surprising moments, this season of American Idol soars way beyond the past seasons.
