Is Joshua Ledet The Best 'American Idol' Singer Of All Time?

'He's really good and probably the best singer of the last three or four seasons,' one 'Idol' expert tells MTV News.
By Gil Kaufman

Joshua Ledet performs on "American Idol"
Photo: FOX

Just about every season of "American Idol" seems to have at least one: a singer whose talent is so impressive and complete that their weekly performances come off as effortless. Whether it's winners like Ruben Studdard, Fantasia or Carrie Underwood, or runners-up like Adam Lambert, Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson or Chris Daughtry, these finalists make it seem easy.

If you believe Randy, Jennifer and Steven, we are seeing one of those rare moments right now in the form of Joshua Ledet. The old-soul singer has been crushing it without fail just about every week on the show, with just a few missteps along the way.

"I've been doing this 11 years, and you're one of the best singers ever on this show. Ever!" Jackson said following Ledet's take on the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody." "No matter what goes down, you're one of the best singers ever on this show, and that is a big feat, that was incredible. Nobody could do that better." Tyler offered similar praise earlier in the show after Ledet pulled off a near-flawless cover of the Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," telling Josh, "You've gotta be one of the top two best 'Idols' of all time." Hell, Lopez, who is 42, called Ledet one of the "best singers I've seen in 50 years!"

So, is Josh one of the best "Idol" singers of all time? Or just one of the best singer ever, period? We convened a panel of "Idol" experts and asked them to weigh in.

"Idol" blogger MJ Santilli said it is undeniable that Josh is a gifted singer, but she begged to differ with Tyler's claim that Ledet is one of the top "Idol" contenders. "Adam Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard are, arguably, better singers," she said. "When Joshua is excited, he has the tendency to push his vocals to the breaking point. He's had missteps along the way -- his 'gospel' rendition of Billy Joel's 'She's Got A Way' was a hot mess of over-singing."

And, at just 20 years old, Santilli said she doesn't get the sense that Ledet has a complete handle on who he is as an artist. "In comparison to DeAndre Brackensick, who demonstrated knowledge of the greats that came before him, Joshua seems to have very little understanding of not only past masters, but current pop trends," she said.

Could it be that Josh's repeated claims that he's unfamiliar with the songs he's crushing is a savvy rope-a-dope move? Maybe. But as far as Entertainment Weekly staff writer Kyle Anderson is concerned, Ledet is "technically very good," but seems to be good at just one thing. "Even for a show that deals in hyperbole, that seems awfully hyperbolic," he said of the sky-high judge's comments on Wednesday night. "He's really good and probably the best singer of the last three or four seasons, mostly because the past few have tended toward people with gimmicks nor niches, so it's been a while since a pure voice has blown us away."

Former MTV News "Idol in 60 Seconds" host and "Idol" authority Jim Cantiello thinks the problem might be that while Ledet sings it very well, he excels at a style of music that just isn't very "now."

"The only pop artist who has success dabbling in retro-ish R&B tunes is Bruno Mars (and, by extension, Cee Lo, which Mars had a hand in). Yet Bruno injects a modern spin to his retro leanings and has the charisma and personality to back it up," Cantiello said of Ledet's throwback Otis Redding style of gritty R&B belting. "Joshua has only shown strength going REAL old school and typically has the presence of a sedated patient."

Despite the over-the-top raves from Interscope boss Jimmy Iovine and bestie "Little" Steven Van Zandt, Cantiello wondered whether the label had "a secret top-notch retro unit with the right songwriters and producers that could craft Joshua the perfect throwback album." There is no doubt that Ledet crushed it when he sang "To Love Somebody" and, earlier in the season, "When a Man Loves a Woman," but the issue, he said, is that nobody writes those kinds of songs anymore.

"In order to have a big radio hit, Joshua and Interscope would literally have to bring an entire genre back to life, and I'm not sure the personality-challenged Ledet is the one to start that movement," he lamented. Maybe the judges meant that Joshua is "one of the best young male soul singers to come out of the show, versus one of the best singers period," Cantiello speculated, ticking off a list of others who were more versatile and have massive voices (Lambert, Kelly Clarkson, Melinda Doolittle, Fantasia).

Do you think Joshua Ledet is one of the best "Idol" singers of all time? Let us know in the comments!

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

Related Photos

• 'American Idol' Season 11 Performances

office space shell houston open ray allen mega millions winners anthony davis palm sunday toure

Marketplace for Windows Phone gets 22 more stamps in its passport

If you've been holed up in Thailand, waiting to browse the latest and greatest apps for your Windows Phone online, then things are looking up. Microsoft has just announced that 22 new countries are being graces with their own online Marketplace. The full list covers Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Croatia, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, UAE, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Israel, Thailand, and Vietnam. The same blog post advises that work is also underway to improve the search results delivered by the site. So you might not have to play Hungry Birds for much longer.

Marketplace for Windows Phone gets 22 more stamps in its passport originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 07:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Windows Phone Blog  | Email this | Comments

williams syndrome hoya casa de mi padre corned beef and cabbage diners drive ins and dives jeff who lives at home 49ers news

Independent Crafts Marketplace Etsy Buys Artisanal Goods Seller Trunkt, Moving Into Wholesale?

Etsy has become the go-to site for people looking for home-made crafts and vintage items from independent artisans -- and for artisans wanting to sell them, and it now counts some 39 million monthly unique visitors, 13 million items and 800,000 storefronts within its virtual walls. Now it looks like Etsy wants to expand into serving a new class of buyers and sellers: the company has apparently bought Trunkt, which specializes in selling artisanal goods wholesale.

platypus platypus overboard east of eden weather radio indiana autoimmune disease

Facebook's iPhone Messenger to get video chat, enlarged variant for iPad?

Been itching for Facebook's iPhone-dedicated Messenger app to make its way over to the iPad? ? Maybe for the iPhone variant to finally reap the benefits of Skype video chat integration as well? Well, according to 9to5Mac, Camp Zuckerberg is testing both in-house, with the latter planned to hit iPhones this summer. According to the site, one of its trustworthy tipsters was able to grant it access to beta versions of the new apps, and it has the pictures to prove it. Unsurprisingly, the Messenger app for iPad is described as simply a sized-up port of the iPhone version, but surely the bump would be appreciated by many if it ever gets officially released. Perhaps more interesting, though, is having Skype video chat baked into the iPhone version -- tapping an arrow next to a contact initiates your video session, and 9to5Mac reports that it's "smooth most of the time." Of course, it's always worth taking such leaks with a grain of salt, but hit up the source link below if you'd like to find more information and screenshots of the apps in question.

Facebook's iPhone Messenger to get video chat, enlarged variant for iPad? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  9to5Mac  | Email this | Comments

nba dunk contest 2012 act of valor woody guthrie benson henderson 2012 dunk contest edgar vs henderson berkshire hathaway

Ortiz homers twice to spark Red Sox

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:37 p.m. ET April 30, 2012

BOSTON (AP) - David Ortiz turned a warmer than expected April into an incredibly hot start.

Ortiz finished the best April of his career with a pair of solo homers, Mike Aviles hit a three-run shot and the Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 11-6 on Monday night.

His reason was a simple one.

"With this weather, yes," Ortiz said, without hesitation when asked if it's the best he's felt this early into a season. "You try to work on something you haven't done in five months."

Darnell McDonald had a two-run homer and Marlon Byrd drove in a pair of runs to support a decent start by Clay Buchholz, who held Oakland to one run until he gave up five in his last inning.

But it's Ortiz's torrid start that's helped carry Boston's offense. He hit .405 in April with six homers and 20 RBIs, posting a .543 average in Fenway Park (19 for 35).

"David's the star of star's right now," Boston manager Bobby Valentine said. "He's hitting to all fields. It's hard to get a strike by him. The swing is probably as good as it can get."

It was Boston's seventh win in eight games, coming off a 6-1 road trip.

Former Red Sox outfielder Josh Reddick hit a three-run homer for offensively challenged Oakland, which dropped its third straight. The A's entered the day having scored the majors' second fewest runs (67) behind only Pittsburgh's 46.

When the Red Sox left town after their initial homestand of the season, they were on a five-game losing streak and had just blown a 9-0 lead in a loss to the rival Yankees.

Boy, how things changed.

Boston charged through Minnesota and Chicago, only losing the finale of a four-game series against the White Sox and returned to Fenway looking like a team that was expected to be strong in the AL East.

On Monday, they knocked around A's starter Tommy Milone (3-2) for eight runs - seven earned - in 4 2-3 innings en route to an 11-1 lead after five innings.

Milone had retired 22 of the 26 lefties he faced until Ortiz homered leading off the second, the first of two he gave up to the big slugger.

"Both fastballs," he said. "They were supposed to be a little more in than they were. But, you know, caught too much of the plate and obviously a good hitter like that is going to hit those pitches."

After the big lead, the Red Sox almost reverted to that ugly loss against the Yankees before Vicente Padilla escaped a bases-loaded jam by striking out Daric Barton in the seventh. Reddick bounced into an inning-ending double play with the bases-loaded in the eighth.

Buchholz (3-1) gave up six runs on seven hits, walking five and striking out five in 6 2-3 innings.

Oakland cut it to 11-6 in the seventh, with Coco Crisp getting a two-run single before Reddick hit his homer.

Milone, who had a pair of eight-inning scoreless outings in his first four starts, had given up only six total runs in his previous starts.

Trailing 1-0, the Red Sox scored four in the second. Ortiz, in his 15th season, led off with a homer into the A's bullpen, Byrd and Aviles had RBI singles, with Aviles later scoring on second baseman Jemile Week's throwing error.

McDonald homered off a light-tower in left-center to make it 6-1 in the third.

The Red Sox then chased Milone during a five-run fifth. Ortiz homered into the Red Sox bullpen to make it 7-1, a drive that right fielder Reddick made a leaping attempt on, and had the ball tip off his glove before he fell into the pen. A member of the Red Sox picked up his hat and handed it to him before he hopped back onto the field.

"That's actually the first time I've had a chance to rob one," he said. "I've done it 1,000 times in batting practice and never had it in a game."

Byrd had an RBI double against reliever Jordan Norberto and Aviles hit his three-run homer into the Green Monster seats to make it 11-1.

The A's had taken a 1-0 lead in the second when Kurt Suzuki scored from third as the Red Sox caught Barton in a rundown.

NOTES: It was Ortiz's 38th career multihomer game, 36th with Boston. He's one behind Ted Williams for most in club history. ... Red Sox 3B Kevin Youkilis was a late scratch with tightness in his lower back. He also missed Sunday's loss in Chicago with the same injury. ... Reddick, traded from the Red Sox in an offseason deal that brought OF Ryan Sweeney and injured closed Andrew Bailey, played his first game against his former team. "I hope I can go out and have a few good games and show my former team what they're missing," he said before the game. ... Buchholz has now allowed at least five runs in each of his five starts.11

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement

More newsDenis Poroy / Getty Images

Braun bashes 3 HRs, triple

HBT: Ryan Braun, who struggled in spring training while avoiding a 50-game steroid suspension, hit three homers and a triple as the Brewers beat the Padres 8-3.

Kemp belts 12th HR, but Dodgers lose

DENVER (AP) - Juan Nicasio pitched six solid innings, Troy Tulowitzki hit a two-run double and the Colorado Rockies overcame Matt Kemp's latest homer, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 Monday night in the first of 18 meetings this season between the NL West rivals.

donald payne elizabeth berkley mlb 12 the show sabu jenelle evans jenelle evans the voice

The Best and Cutest Bike Lock Is a Dog [Video]

Specifically, it's a Golden Retriever. And this Golden Retriever in China guards his owner's bike when his owner is away and then hops onto the seat when his owner comes back (he gives a bark when he's comfortably set). So wonderful. [Sun Sentinel] More »

the lion king suzanne collins cherry blossom festival nc state erika van pelt pat robertson hunger games trailer

Cheapest DIY Home Improvement Tips that Add Most Value to Re-sale

There are still people flipping houses in this down market, but there still are a few things you can do to your home to help up the resell value.? You have to be careful in this economy to not spend much money trying to add value to your home, because many things will not pan out to add more value than cost.

However, there are a few tips that seem to add value to nearly every home that you may be looking at buying and selling.? There is new research indicating some of the most profitable DIY Home Improvement Projects for your Home.

This article states some interesting findings:

?The results from HomeGain?s annual 2012 D-I-Y Home Improvements for Sellers spiked a few myths about what improvements pay off in marketing homes today. Nearly 500 real estate agents nationwide participated in the survey to determine the top 10 low cost, do-it-yourself home improvements for people getting their home ready to sell.

Cleaning and de-cluttering continues to rank as the top suggested home improvement (since the survey was originally conducted in 2003). This low cost home improvement is recommended by 99 percent of real estate professionals. The average recommended cost is $402 with a returning value of just over $2,000 to the home?s sale price, or a 403 percent return.?

x factor results x factor results the hobbit movie trailer xfactor frankincense cloudy with a chance of meatballs the hobbit movie