Top 25 Performances of 2012 – New Year’s Countdown – #4
American Idol · The X Factor
At #4 is a tie between Joshua Ledet and Jessica Sanchez with their duet “I Knew You Were Waiting for Me”! Okay, okay… I realize this is sort of cheating, but if you absolutely have to hack poor Mackenzie Bourg off the list at #25 to make yourself feel better, go for it. There is no cheating on American Idol! Good luck deciding between them! “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World” and “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” would have been my individual choices for these two, but I figured, why bother deciding when we were served up one monster of a duet from both at one point? I took it all into consideration.
First, let’s talk about Joshua. Joshua’s the kind of performer who blacks out while singing on stage, snapping out of it only to realize at the very last moment that Ryan Seacrest has been yapping in his ear about some important phone number and JLo’s abs. Then, poof! Off to the post-performance interview. “I was probably great?” Cue Skylar Laine scolding him for yet another warranted standing ovation. Seriously, has there ever been a more electric performer on American Idol than Joshua Ledet? I could have thrown so many of his performances in this #4 spot, and it would have been well deserved in any case. Still, “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World” probably has the edge as his best work.
Jessica Sanchez could have been just another young girl with an astounding voice, but a brush with elimination, followed by the “judges save,” put a little urgency into her singing. Maybe it was just the residual static shock from all of Joshua’s on-stage electricity during their duet the week prior? As my sister put it, it was like Jessica Sanchez had been buried in the Pet Sematary, rising from the grave of premature elimination with a fighting edge and ready to deliver knockout performances. Jessica has a ton of soul in her voice. To duet with Jennifer Holliday on her iconic Dreamgirls number without perishing from all of the star power proved that Jessica is far beyond a gifted singer. Where is her album?!
There you have it, readers. The superb Jessica and Joshua share the #4 spot for a reason. Both were standout contestants this year and both have promising careers ahead of them. Remember when Jimmy Iovine incessantly promised us a Joshua album week in, week out? What a funny prank, Jimmy! It was not really a funny prank, Jimmy.
Here is a video of the duo performing their duet together on tour:
Joshua’s Solo Performance:
Jessica’s Solo Performance:
If you’re interested in how this countdown works, check out the original post Here!
