Alaina Whitaker

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Biography

The seventh season of American Idol , the annual reality show and singing competition, began on January 15, 2008 and concluded on May 21, 2008. Ryan Seacrest continued to host the show with Simon Cowell , Paula Abdul , and Randy Jackson returning as judges. David Cook (singer)|David Cook was announced the winner of the competition on May 21, 2008, defeating runner-up David Archuleta by a margin of roughly 12 million votes out of over 97 million, which was at that time the highest recorded vote total ever recorded in the show's history. The split was 56 percent to 44 percent.

The seventh season was the first season during which neither the winner nor the runner-up was ever in the bottom group during any week before the finale on May 21, 2008, with the second being the American Idol (season 9)|ninth season . It was also the second season during which both the winner and the runner-up were male contestants, with the American Idol (season 2)|second season being the first and the third being the American Idol (season 8)|eighth season .

Changes from past seasons

Prior to the start of season 7, Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe admitted that season 6 had placed more focus on the guest mentors than the contestants. Changes were planned for season 7 designed to return attention to the contestants by providing more information on their backgrounds and families.

A major change for the seventh season was allowing contestants to play musical instruments, an element that originated on Australian Idol and can also be seen on Norway's Idol (Norway)|Idol and Canadian Idol . A brand new set was built, and a new introduction credit sequence created. The season finale also moved from the Kodak Theatre to the larger L.A. Live#Nokia Theatre|Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

Regional auditions

For Season 7, auditions began in San Diego, California on July 30, 2007, and continued in the following cities:

Episode Air Date	Audition City	Date	First Audition Venue	Callback Date	Callback Venue	Golden Tickets
January 15, 2008	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	August 27, 2007	Wachovia Center	September 1–2, 2007		29
January 16, 2008	Texas	August 6, 2007	Texas Stadium	September 20–23, 2007	W Hotel Dallas Victory	24
January 22, 2008		July 30, 2007	Qualcomm Stadium	September 12–13, 2007	Rancho Bernardo Inn	31
January 23, 2008	Charleston, South Carolina	August 18, 2007	North Charleston Coliseum	September 6–7, 2007	Charleston Area Convention Center	23
January 29, 2008		August 10, 2007	Qwest Center Omaha	October 5–6, 2007		19
January 30, 2008	Miami, Florida	August 22, 2007	American Airlines Arena	September 29–30, 2007	JW Marriott Hotel	17
February 5, 2008	Atlanta, Georgia	August 14, 2007	Georgia Dome	October 8–10, 2007	Georgia International Convention Center	21
Total Tickets to Hollywood						164

Contestants were required to be between the ages of 16 and 28 on July 28, 2007, and eligible to work in the United States. Those ineligible include former contestants who had previously reached the semifinal of Season 1 - 3 or the last phase of Hollywood round of Season 4 -6 (top 44 of Season 4 and 5, top 40 of Season 6), those holding recording or management contracts, or those who were not US citizens or landed immigrants (i.e. permanent residents).

One auditioner this year Alexis Cohen gained media attention due to her outraged reaction and profuse profanities after the judges rejected her in the Philadelphia audition. She also returned in Season 8 to audition in New York and her audition was featured. She was later found dead in a hit-and-run accident.

Another auditioner who gained some public attention was Renaldo Lapuz who sang his own composition "We're Brothers Forever" which he wrote for Simon Cowell. He was later asked to return to perform in the finale.

Hollywood week

The Hollywood week took place at the Pasadena Civic Center in Pasadena, California , over a period of five days. A total of 164 contestants were invited from the seven audition cities. This year the process was altered slightly to ensure that no talent would be prematurely dismissed. The contestants were allowed two performances before elimination, and the group round was removed.

The first round of individual performance lasted two days. For the first time ever, contestants had the option of either being accompanied by the band or playing an instrument themselves. Some were shown playing the keyboard, guitar, or even the drums. If the judges approved of the contestant's performance, they received a "free pass" to the third and final round of performances, and 48 contestants were given this "free pass". Unlike previous seasons, contestants whose performances not considered good enough were given a second chance in the second round. They lined up on stage in groups of 10 and each sang a short segment of a song " a cappella ." After each group had finished, the judges cut those they felt not talented enough. Almost 100 were eliminated in this round.

In the final round, all the remaining contestants performed individually a song chosen from a large list of songs provided accompanied by the band and three backup singers. After each performance, the judges decided whether or not to cut the contestant. By the end of the day, only 50 contestants remained. The judges then deliberated further on who should be in the Top 24, and their decision was revealed the next day in the Green Mile episode.

One of the more prominent contestants during the Hollywood week was Josiah Leming whose unhappiness with the backing band resulted in him dismissing the band. He was cut in the Green Mile episode. Another piece of drama involved contestant Kyle Ensley when Simon Cowell voiced strong objection over him not being selected for the semifinals. It was later revealed that his non-selection resulted in serious rift between Simon Cowell and the show producer Nigel Lythgoe.

Semi-finalists

'''Daniel 'Danny' Anthony Noriega' (born September 29, 1989 in Azusa, California ) is a 22-year-old (18 at the time of the show) who auditioned in San Diego. He previously auditioned for Idol'' in American Idol (season 6)|season 6 and made it to Hollywood week but was cut in the first round. His elimination song was Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love". Shortly following his elimination, Noriega received an offer from Rosie O' Donnell to perform on her cruise.

|url= http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272619511.shtml |work=National Ledger Danny is working on his debut album and has just released his debut single, "Poisonous Cure", on February 15.

Luke Menard (born December 1, 1978 in Crawfordsville, Indiana ) is a 33-year-old (29 at the time of the show) who auditioned in Omaha, Nebraska|Omaha with " Bend and Break " by Keane (band)|Keane . In Hollywood, he sang " Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) " by Christopher Cross and " Grace Kelly (song)|Grace Kelly " by Mika (singer)|Mika . Previously, he auditioned for the sixth season in Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis and sang " How Deep Is Your Love " but did not make it to Hollywood. Prior to Season 7 of Idol, he was a member of the a cappella group Chapter 6 (band)|Chapter 6 and has toured with them for the past 6 years, as well as appearing on their albums and DVD. After leaving Idol, Menard was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma . He successfully went through chemotherapy and will soon be undergoing radiation therapy. He was declared cancer free on December 18, 2008.

Robert "Robbie" Carrico (born November 13, 1981 in Beckley, West Virginia ) is a 30-year-old (26 at the time of the show) from Melbourne, Florida who auditioned for the show in Miami. His professional singing career prior to American Idol includes being a member of the pop group Boyz N Girlz United , which opened for Britney Spears during her " ...Baby One More Time " tour in 1999. The band's song "Messed Around" was written and produced by JC Chasez from *NSYNC .

Jason Yeager (born August 26, 1979) is a 32-year-old (28 at the time of the show) from Grand Prairie, Texas who auditioned in Dallas. He appeared and was a finalist on the first season of Making the Band , the MTV reality show that led to the formation of boy band O-Town . He released a Christian album called The Heart of Me in 2008

Colton Berry (born October 11, 1989) is a 22-year-old (18 at the time of the show) from Staunton, Virginia who auditioned in Charleston.

Garrett Haley (born August 1, 1990) is a 21-year-old (17 at the time of the show) from Elida, Ohio , who auditioned in San Diego .

'''Asia'h Epperson''' (born August 20, 1988) is a 23-year-old (19 at the time of the show) from Joplin, Missouri who auditioned in Atlanta singing " How Do I Live ." Two days before the auditions, her father died in a car accident. Her elimination song was "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston. She currently has a few songs of her own on her MySpace page, including a cover of " Can't Buy Me Love ". She now lives in Atlanta, GA and is working on her new album. She was arrested August 12, 2010 for assaulting a club goer. In January 2011, she became a part of the original cast of the musical starring Chaka Khan. Promotional material for the musical revealed that she is now a protégé of Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds .

Kady Malloy (born May 9, 1989) is a 22-year old (18 at the time of the show) from Houston , Texas who auditioned in Dallas. She became known on the show for her impersonation of Britney Spears and can also impersonate several other artists. Malloy is trained in opera singing. Her elimination song was " Who Wants to Live Forever " by Queen (band)|Queen . She has released several songs to her MySpace and shot a video for a cover of " Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper song)|Time After Time " with Colton Berry. Simon's comment after her audition was: "Out of all of the people we have seen during this season you are the best." Kady is currently in a pop-country duo with Nashville musician Andrea Young. The pair began writing and recording in early 2010 and perform across the country. http://www.29-95.com/music/story/music-you-should-listen-2011

Alaina Whitaker (born February 21, 1991) is a 21-year-old (17 at the time of the show) contestant from Tulsa, Oklahoma who auditioned in Dallas. She was a member of the female country group Della Rose along with Andrea Young and Erin James. Before the show, she and her sister won a talent competition in Tulsa, beating one of David Cook's bands, Midwest Kings. Whether or not Cook was in the band at the time is unknown. Her group Della Rose was working on their debut album in Nashville before they disbanded. The group has opened up for numerous major country acts including Travis Tritt , and Keith Anderson , who was also known as the groups Mentor. Whitaker is currently working on a solo album and now resides in Nashville .

Alexandréa Lushington (born February 13, 1991) is a 21-year-old (17 at the time of the show) from Douglasville, Georgia who auditioned in Atlanta. In 2004, she sang against fellow Idol semi-finalist David Archuleta on an episode of the television show Star Search .

Joanne Borgella (born May 29, 1982) is a 29-year-old (25 at the time of the show) model from Hoboken, New Jersey who auditioned in Philadelphia. Before auditioning for Idol , she appeared in and won '' Mo'Nique's Fat Chance .

Amy Davis (born June 19, 1982) is a 29-year-old (25 at the time of the show) professional model from Lowell, Indiana . She auditioned in Dallas.

Semi-finals

Top 24 – 1960s

Order	Males				Females
Order	Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result !! Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Top 20 – 1970s

Order	Males				Females
Order	Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result !! Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Top 16 – 1980s

Order	Males				Females
Order	Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result !! Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Finalists

David Cook (singer)|David Cook (born December 20, 1982 in Houston , Texas , 24 at the time of the auditions and 25 at the time of the show) is a native of Blue Springs, Missouri who auditioned in Omaha, Nebraska with Bon Jovi 's " Livin' On A Prayer ". Cook's interest in music began early in life; he received his first guitar at the age of 2. He formed a band while still at high school called Axium which was chosen as the best band in Kansas City in 2004. He later joined Midwest Kings in Tulsa, but left to pursue a solo project where he released an album titled Analog Heart . Prior to Idol he worked as a bartender at the "Blank Slate" in Tulsa, where he would also occasionally play shows. He enjoys doing crossword puzzles in his spare time and calls himself a "word nerd." His Hollywood performance of Bryan Adams 's " (Everything I Do) I Do It for You " did not impress Simon Cowell but did so with his second performance Edwin McCain 's " I'll Be (Edwin McCain song)|I'll Be ". He wore an orange wristband to support a seven-year-old fan with leukemia from Top 12 week onwards. He was never in the "bottom three". On May 21, 2008, he was declared the winner. He was signed to RCA Records and released a David Cook (album)|self-titled album on November 18, 2008, that was certified platinum in January 2009.David Archuleta (born December 28, 1990 in Miami , Florida , 16 at the time of the auditions and 17 at the time of the show) is from Murray, Utah who auditioned in San Diego with John Mayer 's " Waiting on the World to Change ". In 2003, at the age of 12, he sang on several episodes of the television show Star Search and went on to win the season finale and the $100,000 grand prize. In one episode, he competed against Alexandréa Lushington, who was a fellow semi-finalist this season. He suffered from vocal paralysis after that show which affected one of his vocal cords. He impressed the judges with his performance of Gnarls Barkley 's " Crazy (Gnarls Barkley song)|Crazy " and Bryan Adams 's " Heaven (Bryan Adams song)|Heaven " during the Hollywood round. He was never in the "bottom three" in American Idol and finished as the Season 7 runner-up. He was signed to Jive Records and has since released a number of albums.Syesha Mercado (born January 2, 1987 in Bridgeport, Connecticut , 21 at the time of the show) is from Sarasota, Florida who auditioned in Miami with Aretha Franklin 's " Think (Aretha Franklin song)|Think ". She is a student at Florida International University and has been singing and dancing since she was a child. During Hollywood week, she became ill and almost completely lost her voice. In preparation for her final Hollywood performance with Aretha Franklin's " Chain of Fools (song)|Chain of Fools ", she went on voice rest and wrote down everything she had to say on a pad of paper. Prior to American Idol , she appeared on the short-lived US version of Star Academy (known as The One: Making a Music Star when it aired on ABC in July 2006 for two weeks). Kara DioGuardi , who was one of the coaches on the Endemol franchise, joined Idol for Season 8. She was voted off as a third-place finisher and has since pursued a career in musical theatre.Jason Castro (singer)|Jason Castro (born March 25, 1987, 20 at the time of the show) Rockwall, Texas auditioned in Dallas with Keith Urban 's Once in a Lifetime (Keith Urban song)|Once in a Lifetime and Ray LaMontagne 's version of Gnarls Barkley 's Crazy (Gnarls Barkley song)|Crazy . He started in music playing the drums. In high school, he played for a band, Keeping Lions, which has since disbanded. In 2006, he appeared on Cheyenne Kimball 's MTV reality television|reality TV series , as her real-life dating interest. Castro is the first person in his family, which is originally from Colombia , to be born in the United States. He is a student at Texas A& M University , with a construction science major and music minor. He began growing his hair out for dreadlocks during his senior year of high school. He exited the competition in fourth place. He has since been signed to Atlantic Records and released a number of albums and EPs.Brooke White (born June 2, 1983 in Mesa, Arizona , 24 at time of show) was a nanny from Van Nuys, California auditioned in Philadelphia with Corinne Bailey Rae 's Like a Star . During her audition, she admitted to never having seen an Motion Picture Association of America film rating system|R-rated movie, prompting Cowell to state that the show will "bring her over to the dark side." In 2005, she released an album titled Songs from the Attic under New Millennium Records. She performed Carole King 's "Beautiful" on Hollywood week. She finished in fifth place on Idol. After the contest, she started her own record label "June Baby Records" with Randy Jackson, and released an album, High Hopes & Heartbreak .Carly Smithson (born September 12, 1983 in Dublin , Republic of Ireland|Ireland , 24 at the time of that show) is a professional singer and bartender / waitress from San Diego , California , where she has been living for the past three years. Smithson previously signed a recording contract with major USA label MCA Records and released an album in 2001 entitled Ultimate High under her birth name, Carly Hennessy. The album sold approximately 300 copies in the first three months following its release. Smithson was originally auditioned in Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas during season five, but was dropped from the show due to a problem with her Visa (document)|visa . She auditioned in San Diego with Whitney Houston 's I'm Every Woman , and performed Leo Sayer 's version of " When I Need You " and Heart (band)|Heart 's version of " Alone (Heart song)|Alone " in the Hollywood rounds. She finished sixth in the show. She later teamed up with former members of Evanescence and formed a new band We Are The Fallen as its lead singer.Kristy Lee Cook (born January 18, 1984, 24 at the time of that show) is a horse trainer from Selma, Oregon . She sold her prized horse in order to afford the trip to audition in Philadelphia where she auditioned with Amazing Grace , a song she also performed during the Hollywood week. In 2001, she was signed to a major label, Arista Nashville . Cook also signed with Britney Spears' production company, and Spears herself was supposed to have a cameo in Cook's first video. At the time of signing, she was managed by the former manager of LeAnn Rimes . In 2005, she released a CD called Devoted with Ren-Hen Records. Since appearing on the show, Kristy Lee Cook has released an album entitled "Why Wait", which peaked on number eight on the Billboard country charts. The album contained a single, "15& nbsp;Minutes of Shame", which peaked in the Top 30 on the Billboard country charts. As of December 2008, she has been dropped from Arista Nashville .Michael Johns (singer)|Michael Johns (born as Michael Lee on October 20, 1978 in Perth, Western Australia , 29 at the time of that show) auditioned in San Diego with Otis Redding 's I've Been Loving You Too Long . He is Australian and moved to the United States from Australia in 1998 and lived in Buckhead (Atlanta) for six years, performing at local venues solo and with local band Film. He has since lived in Los Angeles, California . After recording a demo and traveling to Los Angeles to showcase for a number of labels in 2001, he signed with Maverick Records and formed a rock band called The Rising. Before focusing on his singing career, he was a sportsman, winning a tennis scholarship and playing Australian rules football for the USAFL club Atlanta Kookaburras. During the Hollywood round, he performed The Doors ' " Light My Fire " but it was his performance of Queen (band)|Queen' s Bohemian Rhapsody that was one of the highlights of that week. He was surprisingly eliminated on April 10, 2008 and finished in eighth place. He released an album independently Hold Back My Heart in 2009.Ramiele Malubay (born September 6, 1987 in Saudi Arabia , 20 at the time of that show) Filipino people|Filipino -American from Miramar, Florida auditioned in Miami with Aretha Franklin's (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman|Natural Woman . Prior to auditioning on Idol , she was a nursing student at Broward Community College and worked part-time at a sushi restaurant. She started Polynesian Dancing when she was in the first grade and started singing at the age of twelve. Since the age of 12, Ramiele has sung at various Filipino-American events. She performed Aretha Franklin's Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)|Until You Come Back to Me and Kiki Dee|The Kiki Dee Band 's " I've Got The Music In Me " at the Hollywood rounds. She was eliminated as a ninth place finisher. Chikezie (born Chikezie Eze on September 11, 1985 in Inglewood, California , 22 at the time of that show) is a Nigerian American from Inglewood, California who auditioned in San Diego with Luther Vandross 's version of " All the Man That I Need|All the Woman I Need ". During the competition, he dropped using his last name because it was so frequently mispronounced ('eh-zee' and not 'EE-zee'). He previously auditioned for the show's American Idol (season 6)|sixth season , and made it into the Hollywood Round, where he was cut before the top 44. Before auditioning for Idol, he worked as a Transportation Security Administration|TSA officer at Los Angeles International Airport .Amanda Overmyer (born October 26, 1984, 23 at the time of that show) Harley-Davidson|Harley -riding nurse is from Mulberry, Indiana who auditioned in Atlanta with Janis Joplin 's Turtle Blues and Creedence Clearwater Revival 's " Travelin' Band ". She received a nursing degree from Ivy Tech Community College and deals predominantly in respiratory issues. She has been the lead singer of several local hard rock bands, including Steeleto and Ruinaces. A week before the Hollywood week, she was injured in a serious car accident. She performed The Doors ' " Light My Fire " at the Hollywood rounds. After the season ended she married her fiancé Casey Taylor. Since her elimination, she has played at The Whisky a Go Go bar in West Hollywood and various venues. Since appearing on the show, Amanda has released a rock album entitled "Solidify". The album is only available on the official Amanda Overmyer website as of January 3, 2009.David Hernandez (born May 31, 1983 in Glendale, Arizona , 24 at the time of that show) is from Glendale, Arizona and auditioned with The Temptations ' " Ain't Too Proud to Beg ". He was a student at Arizona State University with a major in Broadcast Journalism . He gave up his apartment to move to Hollywood . Until September 30, 2007, Hernandez worked as a male stripper named "Caden" at Dick's Cabaret in Phoenix, Arizona , performing fully nude and giving lap dances to male patrons. This did not prevent him from being on the show. He performed Stephen Stills 's Love the One You're With on Hollywood week. He was voted off in twelfth place soon after his stripper past was publicized by Vote for the Worst .

Finals

Top 12 – Lennon–McCartney Songbook

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Top 11 – The Beatles

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Top 10 – Year They Were Born

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Top 9 – Dolly Parton

Mentor : Dolly Parton

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Top 8 – Inspirational Music

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Top 7 – Mariah Carey

Mentor : Mariah Carey

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist when applicable)	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Top 6 – Andrew Lloyd Webber

Mentor : Andrew Lloyd Webber

Order	Contestant	Song (production)	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6

Top 5 – Neil Diamond

Mentor : Neil Diamond

Each contestant sang two songs.

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist when applicable)	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Top 4 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Each contestant sang two songs.

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Top 3 – Judges' choice, Contestant's choice & Producer's Choice

Each contestant sang three songs.

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist) — Judge	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Finale – Clive Davis ' choice, New Song & Contestant's Choice

Each contestant sang three songs.

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6

Elimination chart

Female

Male

Top 24

Top 12

Winner

Safe

Safe First

Safe Last

Eliminated

Place	Contestant	Result
Stage:		Semi Finals			Finals
Week:
1	David Cook														Winner
2	David Archuleta														nowrap
3	Syesha Mercado				Bottom 3		nowrap		nowrap	Bottom 3	nowrap			Elim	bgcolor="919191"
4	Jason Castro						Bottom 3						Elim	bgcolor="919191" colspan="2"
5	Brooke White							Bottom 3		nowrap		Elim	bgcolor="919191" colspan="3"
6	Carly Smithson					Bottom 3			Bottom 3		Elim	bgcolor="919191" colspan="4"
7	Kristy Lee Cook				nowrap	nowrap		nowrap		Elim	bgcolor="919191" colspan="5"
8	Michael Johns								Elim	bgcolor="919191" colspan="6"
9	Ramiele Malubay							Elim	bgcolor="919191" colspan="7"
10	Chikezie						Elim	bgcolor="919191" colspan="8"
11	Amanda Overmyer					Elim	bgcolor="919191" colspan="9"
12	David Hernandez				Elim	bgcolor="919191" colspan="10"
13-16	Danny Noriega			Elim	bgcolor="919191" colspan=11 rowspan="4"
	Asia'h Epperson
	Luke Menard
	Kady Malloy		Bottom 3
17-20	Robbie Carrico		Elim	bgcolor="919191" colspan=12 rowspan="4"
	Alaina Whitaker
	nowrap
	Jason Yeager
21-24	Colton Berry	Elim	bgcolor="919191" colspan=13 rowspan="4"
	Joanne Borgella
	Amy Davis
	Garrett Haley

¹ Due to the Idol Gives Back special airing on the show's regular Wednesday results night, the results show was moved to Thursday.

² From this point forward, neither the bottom 3 nor bottom 2 contestants were explicitly identified.

Results night performances

During the Hollywood weeks, " Hollywood's Not America " by Ferras played when contestants were eliminated, while "Best Days" by Graham Colton was the elimination song for the semi-finals round. For the finals, American Idol (season 2)|season 2 winner Ruben Studdard remade Kenny Loggins ' " Celebrate Me Home (song)|Celebrate Me Home " as the exit song.

Group song

The contestants also performed medleys of songs from that week's theme.

Top 24: A medley of songs from the 1960s, including " Needles and Pins (1963 song)|Needles and Pins " and " When You Walk in the Room " by The Searchers (band)|The Searchers , " Spanish Harlem (song)|Spanish Harlem " by Ben E. King , and " Bend Me, Shape Me " by The American Breed .

Top 20: A medley of songs from the 1970s, including " I Saw the Light (Todd Rundgren song)|I Saw the Light " by Todd Rundgren , " It's a Heartache " by Bonnie Tyler , " The Things We Do for Love (song)|The Things We Do for Love " by 10cc , and " I Feel the Earth Move " by Carole King .

Top 12: A medley of songs by The Beatles including " All My Loving ," " I Feel Fine ," " Can't Buy Me Love ," and " Help& #33; (song)|Help! ."

Top 11: A second medley of Beatles songs including " While My Guitar Gently Weeps ," " Here, There and Everywhere ," " Because (The Beatles song)|Because ," and " The End (The Beatles song)|The End ."

Top 10: " Right Back Where We Started From " by Maxine Nightingale .

Top 9: " 9 to 5 (Dolly Parton song)|9 to 5 " by Dolly Parton .

Top 8: " Shout to the Lord " by Hillsong .

Top 7: " One Sweet Day " by Mariah Carey with Boyz II Men .

Top 6: " All I Ask of You " from The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)|The Phantom of the Opera ."

Top 5: A medley of songs by Neil Diamond , including " Cracklin' Rosie ," " Song Sung Blue ," and " Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show ."

Top 4: " Reelin' in the Years " by Steely Dan .

Top 3: " Ain't No Stopping Us Now " by McFadden & Whitehead .

Finale

Top 12 - " Get Ready (song)|Get Ready " ( The Temptations ).

Top 2 - " Hero (Chad Kroeger song)|Hero " ( Chad Kroeger and Josey Scott )

The top 2 meet The Love Guru|Guru Pitka ( Mike Myers (actor)|Mike Myers )

Seal (musician)|Seal and Syesha Mercado - " Waiting for You (Seal song)|Waiting For You "

Jason Castro (singer)|Jason Castro - "Hallelujah"

Girl finalists - Donna Summer medley - " She Works Hard for the Money (song)|She Works Hard for Her Money ", " Hot Stuff (Donna Summer song)|Hot Stuff "

Donna Summer with Top 12 girls - " Stamp Your Feet ", " Last Dance (song)|Last Dance "

Carly Smithson and Michael Johns - " The Letter (The Box Tops song)|The Letter " ( The Box Tops )

Jimmy Kimmel

Guy finalists - Bryan Adams medley " Summer of '69 ", " Heaven (Bryan Adams song)|Heaven "

Bryan Adams with the guys - " I Thought I'd Seen Everything ", " Somebody (Bryan Adams song)|Somebody "

ZZ Top and David Cook - " Sharp Dressed Man "

Graham Nash and Brooke White - " Teach Your Children "

Jonas Brothers - " SOS (Jonas Brothers song)|SOS "

Renaldo Lapuz - "We're Brothers Forever"

One Republic and David Archuleta - " Apologize (song)|Apologize "

Jordin Sparks - " One Step at a Time (song)|One Step at a Time "

Gladys Knight (with Ben Stiller , Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr. as the Pips) - " Midnight Train to Georgia "

Carrie Underwood - " Last Name "

Top 12 - George Michael medley - " Faith (George Michael song)|Faith ", " Father Figure (song)|Father Figure ", " Freedom& #33; '90|Freedom "

George Michael - " Praying for Time "

David Cook (singer)|David Cook - " The Time of My Life (David Cook song)|The Time of My Life "

Other performances

Guest artists may perform songs to promote their work or the show itself, or for charitable purpose. Most performed on the result shows, except for Ruben Studdard at the end of the Top 2 performance show and those on the Idol Gives Back special. Included is a list of those songs with the impact of performance on the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100 and Hot Digital Songs chart for the week. See Idol Gives Back for the list of performances in that special episode.

Performer(s)
Top 24
Top 20
Top 16
Top 12
Top 11
Top 10
Top 9
Top 9	Dolly Parton
Top 8
Top 7
Top 7	Mariah Carey
Top 6
Top 5
Top 5	Neil Diamond
Top 4
Top 4	Bo Bice
Top 3
Top 2
"—" denotes songs that did not chart

*"Celebrate Me Home" was removed from iTunes the day after it was performed. It reached the top 60 before it was removed.

Idol Gives Back

The " Idol Gives Back " initiative returned on April 9 for a second year, with a special start time of 7:30& nbsp;p.m. ET, running for 150& nbsp;minutes. Again, proceeds will go to children's charities in Africa and the United States. Unlike "Idol Gives Back 2007" when no finalist was eliminated (and two were eliminated in the following week), Michael Johns was eliminated during "Idol Gives Back 2008."

Controversies

Season 7 contestant Carly Smithson stirred up controversy due to a prior major label record deal she had with MCA Records. It has been reported that MCA spent over 2 million dollars promoting Smithson's previous album "Ultimate High," which she made under the name Carly Hennessy. The album only sold 378 copies but is now available on iTunes. To further complicate things, Randy Jackson worked for MCA during the same period of time that Smithson was signed. The media noted that several of the other season 7 semi-finalists had previously also had record deals, including Kristy Lee Cook , Brooke White , and Michael Johns (singer)|Michael Johns (David Cook released an Analog Heart|independent solo album and had finished recording a follow-up prior to his audition for the show, but he was never involved with a record label or contract). According to a poll conducted by AOL Television, 63 percent of those polled believed that contestants who have already had record deals should not be contestants on American Idol . However, Idol rules state that contestants are eligible as long as they are no longer under contract when Idol begins, irrespective of any past contracts.

David Hernandez was revealed by Vote for the Worst|VotefortheWorst.com to have worked as a striptease|stripper in Phoenix, AZ. According to the owner of Dick's Cabaret, David's job included a routine featuring full nudity and performing lap dances for male clientele.

On the April 29 show, the five remaining contestants each sang two songs. Diverting from their usual format, due to time constraints, the judges' critiques after each performance were instead to be bundled until after both songs were performed. However, after the first round had finished, host Ryan Seacrest asked for comments, and judge Paula Abdul , in discussing Jason Castro (singer)|Jason Castro , delivered feedback on his second song before he had performed it. This has led to speculation that the show is scripted or rigged. The next day, Abdul claimed on Seacrest's radio show that she listened to the performance in rehearsal and in the rushed atmosphere of the show was confused and thought she was supposed to critique both.

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/04/paulagate-2008.html

The presence of David Archuleta's father was a matter of some discussion and he was banned from providing his son with musical input during his song preparation

Releases

iTunes

During Season 7, American Idol partnered with iTunes to make available for sale exclusive performance videos, live performance singles of the semi-finalists and full length studio recordings of the songs that contestants performed on the show. In order to keep the competition fair, these singles were not allowed to appear on iTunes sales charts until after the finale. The contestants' performances during the season were removed from sale soon after the finale.

The winning song, " The Time of My Life (David Cook song)|The Time of My Life ", was recorded by David Cook and released on May 22, 2008. The song was certified platinum by the RIAA on December 12, 2008. It was the first winner's song not to be performed during the competition as the Top 2 each selected a different song from a list of 10 entries in song-writing competition to perform instead. Cook performed "The Time of My Life" after Ryan Seacrest announced him as the winner of Season 7.

Post-Idol

David Cook's David Cook (album)|debut album was released on November 18, 2008, on 19 Recordings / RCA Records and was certified platinum by the RIAA on January 22, 2009. Cook teamed with Grammy winning producer Rob Cavallo ( Green Day , Kid Rock ) on the album. A single from the album, " Light On ", was released and peaked at 20 on the billboard top 100 list.Marnie September (2008). http://www.americanidol.com/news/view/? pid=1413 His sophomore album, "This Loud Morning", will be released on June 28, 2011.

David Archuleta signed with Jive Records and his David Archuleta (album)|self-titled debut album was released on November 11, 2008 and debuted at number two. Archuleta's album certified gold. Archuleta's first single, " Crush (David Archuleta song)|Crush ", debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart, giving it the highest single debut of 2008 and the highest single debut in 18 months. The song has sold 1.9 million copies as of January 2009.

Albums

Personal/Individual Albums

Why Wait (album)|Why Wait ( Kristy Lee Cook )

David Archuleta (album)|David Archuleta ( David Archuleta )

David Cook (album)|David Cook ( David Cook (singer)|David Cook )

Solidify ( Amanda Overmyer )

Hold Back My Heart ( Michael Johns (singer)|Michael Johns )

High Hopes & Heartbreak ( Brooke White )

Christmas from the Heart (David Archuleta album)|Christmas from the Heart (David Archuleta)

Jason Castro (album)|Jason Castro ( Jason Castro (singer)|Jason Castro )

Tear the World Down ( Carly Smithson )

The Other Side of Down ( David Archuleta )

Who I Am (Jason Castro)

This Loud Morning (David Cook)

Single

David Cook

" The Time of My Life (David Cook song)|The Time of My Life "

" Light On "

" Come Back to Me (David Cook song)|Come Back to Me "

" Bar-ba-sol "

" Permanent (song)|Permanent "

" Jumpin' Jack Flash#David Cook version|Jumpin' Jack Flash "

" Don't You (Forget About Me) "

" The Last Goodbye (David Cook song)|The Last Goodbye "

" Fade into Me "

" The Last Song I'll Write for You "

David Archuleta

" Crush (David Archuleta song)|Crush "

"A Little Too Not Over You"

"Touch My Hand"

"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" ft. Charice

"Something 'Bout Love"

"Elevator"

"Falling Stars"

"Everything And More"

"Wait"

Kristy Lee Cook

" 15 Minutes of Shame "

Brooke White

"Hold Up My Heart"

"Radio Radio"

"Double Trouble"

"Night After Night"

Jason Castro

"Let's Just Fall In Love Again"

US Nielsen ratings

Season 7 of American Idol was the top show for the 2007-8 broadcast prime-time season. The Tuesday episode viewership averaged 27.665 million while the Wednesday episode averaged 26.843 million, taking the top 2 spots for the season. The show helped Fox become the top network for the first time in its history, and gave it its fourth successive win in the 18/49 demo.

Episode list

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Show	Episode	Air date	Week rank	Rating/ Share	18-49 rating/ Share	Viewers (millions)
1	"Philadelphia Auditions"	January 15, 2008	3	17.7 / 26	13.8 / 32	33.415
2	"Dallas Auditions"	January 16, 2008	4	16.7 / 25	12.6 / 30	30.437
3	"San Diego Auditions"	January 22, 2008	1	16.2 / 24	11.8 / 29	29.274
4	"Charleston Auditions"	January 23, 2008	2	15.1 / 23	10.9 / 28	27.091
5	"Omaha Auditions"	January 29, 2008	4	15.7 / 24	11.1 / 28	28.223
6	"Miami Auditions"	January 30, 2008	5	14.4 / 22	10.1 / 26	25.573
7	"Atlanta Auditions"	February 5, 2008	1	15.7 / 23	11.2 / 28	27.914
8	"Best of the Rest"	February 6, 2008	2	14.6 / 23	10.5 / 26	26.278
9	"Hollywood Round, Part 1"	February 12, 2008	1	16.6 / 25	12.3 / 29	29.962
10	"Hollywood Round, Part 2"	February 13, 2008	2	14.3 / 22	9.8 / 26	24.752
11	"Top 12 Men Perform"	February 19, 2008	2	16.4 / 25	11.3 / 27	29.006
12	"Top 12 Women Perform"	February 20, 2008	3	16.1 / 24	11.2 / 27	28.885
13	"Top 24 Results"	February 21, 2008	4	13.4 / 21	8.5 / 22	23.374
14	"Top 10 Men Perform"	February 26, 2008	1	16.0 / 24	11.1 / 27	28.592
15	"Top 10 Women Perform"	February 27, 2008	2	15.7 / 24	10.5 / 27	27.553
16	"Top 20 Results"	February 28, 2008	3	14.9 / 23	9.1 / 24	26.232
17	"Top 8 Men Perform"	March 4, 2008	1	15.9 / 24	10.6 / 26	28.463
18	"Top 8 Women Perform"	March 5, 2008	2	16.0 / 25	10.4 / 27	28.324
19	"Top 12 Revealed"	March 6, 2008	3	15.0 / 23	9.4 / 24	26.502
20	"Top 12 Perform"	March 11, 2008	1	16.9 / 26	11.0 / 28	29.884
21	"Top 12 Results"	March 12, 2008	2	15.8 / 24	10.3 / 26	27.127
22	"Top 11 Perform"	March 18, 2008	1	15.2 / 23	10.4 / 26	27.338
23	"Top 11 Results"	March 19, 2008	2	15.3 / 24	9.8 / 25	26.078
24	"Top 10 Perform"	March 25, 2008	2	14.0 / 21	9.7 / 25	24.758
25	"Top 10 Results"	March 26, 2008	1	15.2 / 24	9.8 / 25	25.742
26	"Top 9 Perform"	April 1, 2008	1	14.7 / 23	9.6 / 26	26.117
27	"Top 9 Results"	April 2, 2008	2	14.8 / 22	9.4 / 23	24.839
28	"Top 8 Perform"	April 8, 2008	1	14.2 / 22	9.2 / 24	24.668
29	"Idol Gives Back"	April 9, 2008	6	10.4 / 16	6.8 / 18	17.751
30	"Top 8 Results"	April 10, 2008	2	12.0 / 19	7.0 / 19	20.133
31	"Top 7 Perform"	April 15, 2008	1	13.9 / 22	8.8 / 23	23.646
32	"Top 7 Results"	April 16, 2008	2	13.4 / 21	8.8 / 22	23.339
33	Top 6 Perform"	April 22, 2008	1	14.2 / 22	9.0 / 25	24.740
34	"Top 6 Results"	April 23, 2008	2	13.7 / 21	8.6 / 21	23.196
35	"Top 5 Perform"	April 29, 2008	1	14.5 / 23	9.0 / 24	25.094
36	"Top 5 Results"	April 30, 2008	2	13.6 / 21	8.4 / 21	22.800
37	"Top 4 Perform"	May 6, 2008	2	12.6 / 20	8.4 / 23	21.755
38	"Top 4 Results"	May 7, 2008	1	13.9 / 21	8.2 / 21	22.867
39	"Top 3 Perform"	May 13, 2008	2	14.4 / 23	9.0 / 25	24.772
40	"Top 3 Results"	May 14, 2008	1	14.6 / 22	9.2 / 22	24.863
41	"Top 2 Perform"	May 20, 2008	2	15.1 / 24	10.1 / 28	27.061
42	Season 7 Finale"	May 21, 2008	1	17.7 / 28	11.4 / 30	31.661

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