History Awesome / AMERICANIDOL

* Music/PaulaAbdul, most well known on the show for acting "whacked out" (a side effect of being in chronic pain for a decade and thus on painkillers), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkYkeRwcqs4 choreographed]] the group number in season eight's disco week. Paula actually got her start as a dancer and choreographer for the Laker Girls and went on to choreograph for the Jacksons and dozens of the biggest pop culture names of the '80s, and even today she still absolutely comes alive on the dance floor. After years of her being brushed off by the media and fans alike as a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, to see her showing the choreography to the ''Idol'' contestants and being totally in her element, completely serious, and, to use her words, acting like a drill sergeant, is an incredible moment of awesome.

* Music/PaulaAbdul, most well known on the show for acting "whacked out" (a side effect of being in chronic pain for a decade and thus on painkillers), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkYkeRwcqs4 choreographed]] the group number in season eight's disco week. Paula had actually got her start as a dancer and choreographer for the Laker Girls and went on to choreograph for the Jacksons and dozens of the biggest pop culture names of the '80s, and even today she still absolutely comes alive on the dance floor. After years of her being brushed off by the media and fans alike as a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, to see her showing the choreography to the ''Idol'' contestants and being totally in her element, completely serious, and, to use her words, acting like a drill sergeant, is an incredible moment of awesome.

* Music/PaulaAbdul, most well known on the show for acting "whacked out" (a side effect of being in chronic pain for a decade and thus on painkillers), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkYkeRwcqs4 choreographed]] the group number in season eight's disco week. Paula had actually got her start as a dancer and choreographer for the Laker Girls and went on to choreograph for the Jacksons and dozens of the biggest pop culture names of the '80s, and even today she still absolutely comes alive on the dance floor. After years of seeing her be brushed off by the media and fans alike as a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, to see her showing the choreography to the ''Idol'' contestants and being totally in her element, completely serious, and, to use her words, acting like a drill sergeant, is an incredible moment of awesome.

* The very first season, Music/KellyClarkson emerging from the pack with her rendition of "Natural Woman" and suddenly perfroming a whistle note that brings the audience to their feet.
* Music/PaulaAbdul, most well known on the show for acting "whacked out" (a side effect of being in chronic pain for a decade and thus on painkillers), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkYkeRwcqs4 choreographed]] the group number in season eight's disco week. After years of seeing her act that way, seeing her show the choreography to the Idol contestants and being in her zone, completely serious and, to use her words, acting like a drill sergeant, it's a serious moment of awesome.

* Paula Abdul, most well known on the show for acting "whacked out" (a side effect of being in chronic pain for a decade and thus on painkillers), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkYkeRwcqs4 choreographed]] the group number in season eight's disco week. After years of seeing her act that way, seeing her show the choreography to the Idol contestants and being in her zone, completely serious and, to use her words, acting like a drill sergeant, it's a serious moment of awesome.

* Paula Abdul, most well known on the show for acting "whacked out" (a side effect of being in chronic pain for a decade and thus on painkillers), choreographed the group number in season eight's disco week. After years of seeing her act that way, seeing her show the choreography to the Idol contestants and being in her zone, completely serious and, to use her words, acting like a drill sergeant, it's a serious moment of awesome.

** Adam Lambert performing [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcdjaU5zrCQ Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin]] marked the first time the band ever signed off on an American Idol contestant covering their song. Doubly awesome since it was also the first performance Queen saw of Adam Lambert and sparked their interest in getting him to be the next frontman of their band.

** In Season 10, the judges saved Casey Abrams by cutting him off almost as soon as he started to sing, which made him think he was getting eliminated, and then telling him he was saved, which almost literally shocked him.

* In season 5, the top 4 was made up of early favorites Taylor Hicks, Chris Daughtry, and Katharine McPhee, as well as Elliott Yamin, who had not received much, if any, screentime before making the top 24. Despite being widely regarded as a fantastic singer, he was predicted to be the contestant to leave once the final 4 were announced due to him being less popular than the other three. But not only did Elliott sing well enough to escape elimination, he ''escaped the bottom 2 entirely'' while Kat and Daughtry wound up in danger (I think we all remember how that ended...); the fact that a contestant received more votes than two early favorites (possibly three; he could have easily beat out Taylor) due solely to his two fight-back performances that night is a fantastic achievement. Elliott went home the following week, but it's hard to deny him the awesomeness of his acheivement of outlasting the best-selling male AI contestant ever.

* Haley Reinhart's performance of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=035GStnLOaI House of the Rising Sun]] was enough to get Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to [[http://www.led-zeppelin.org/joomla/current-news/1548-led-zeppelin-offered-a-song-to-haley-reinhart-for-american-idol-performance give her permission]] to sing ''any Led Zeppelin song she wanted.'' Just wow.

* Joey Cook "nailing Fancy", giving the performance of the season. here is the link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYikSJ27fbM

* Season 10's James Durbin, who was diagnosed with Tourette's and Asperger's as a kid, brought HeavyMetal into the show [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent for the first time in its history.]] He managed to bring in Zakk Wylde and got to perform with Music/JudasPriest in the finale.

* CarrieUnderwood's performance of Heart's "Alone", which made ''Simon'' predict that not only would she win the show, she would outshine any other previous Idol winner. As of 2012, Carrie has not only outshone the ''previous'' Idol winners, but all subsequent ones as well.

* The very first season, KellyClarkson emerging from the pack with her rendition of "Natural Woman" and suddenly perfroming a whistle note that brings the audience to their feet.