This is a great CD which includes the incomparable KELLY CLARKSON! I really enjoyed the whole CD.
CD Reviews
American Idol: The Hits...well, sort of
M.K. | Montana | 10/19/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Honestly when I bought this cd I didn't expect too much from the Idols...just the same old songs. They proved me both right and wrong. Kelly Clarkson's "Natural Woman" and "RESPECT"~ She's a powerhouse, and it's very obvious why she won. These songs sound fantastic.Justin Guarini's "For Once in My Life" and "Get Here" I was impressed with the first song, but the last song really threw me. It sounds very different than previous live performances. Not bad, but just different. Nikki McKibbin's "Piece of My Heart" Nikki has never been a good live performer vocally, but this recording was very decent.Tamara Gray's "House is Not a Home" I was never a big Tamara fan, but I have to admit, she sounds phenomenol. She'll be the next big R&B "it" girl.RJ Helton's "Lately" RJ, with not the best vocal talent but otherwise sweet voice, remakes this Stevie song soundly. Christina Christian's "Ain't No Sunshine" I fell in love with song the moment I heard it. Christina never impressed me before, but this song fits her well. Ryan Starr's "If You Really Love Me" Ryan did a decent job on the song, but her voice is too rough for the recording. A.J. Gil's "My Cherie Amour" I disliked AJ from the get go. His voice was cheesy, but this song suits him well, I was rather pleased with the outcome.EJ Day's "I'll Be" The song did nothing for his vocal range. He should have done "Unchained Melody" but it was great nonetheless. He has the best male voice of the group.Jim Verraros "Easy" This song was fine, for Jim. Actually good, for Jim. But again, it was lacking compared to the others.California Dreamin': Good group song, but blending was poor. These kids just cannot sing together."A Moment Like This"~ Great song, great singer. Great message. Nuff Said. Unfortunately this will die out hard as all cheesy songs do."Before Your Love" I prefer this one over "Moment". Miss Clarkson really shines. All in all, this album has good variety and talent. If you're looking for recording quality, you will want to pass this by. It's crude, but not quite karaoke. However, if you're looking for sweet tunes by kids you've watched all summer: look no further!"
Great New Takes on Old Classics
Mr. JKW | Honolulu, Hawai'i | 07/15/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
""American Idol Greatest Moments" showcases the talents of 10 Finalists of Fox's American Idol's first season. Each of the showcased 10 finalists performs their signature song (as determined both by the judges as well as the fans) from the competition) winner Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Justin Guarini are featured on two tracks) and there is one group number. It should be noted that these songs were re-recorded in the studio and are not live versions as heard from the show.Below are the 15 featured songs with my comments on the side:THE TRACKS1. "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" - Kelly Clarkson: Kelly's powerful voice and awesome rendition of this classic prove without a doubt that she owned the competition..2. "Respect" - by Kelly Clarkson: And she does it again..3. "For Once In My Life" - by Justin Guarini: Not really my cup of tea, but an alright track.4. "Gere Here" - by Justin Guarini: Justin's acclaimed rendition of the Oleta Adam's classic. Awesome track.5. "Piece of My Heart" - by Nikki McKibbin: Awesome rock vibe by A.I.s bad girl.6. "A House Is Not A Home" - by Tamyra Gray: Awesome, sultry rendition of the Bacharach classic. Tamyra shows and proves why many felt she was eliminated too early from the contest.7. "Lately" - by RJ Helton: Awesome rendition of the Stevie Wonder and Jodeci classic.8. "Ain't No Sunshine" - by Christina Christian: Again, not my cup of tea but a nice groove to this tune.9. "If You Really Love Me" - by Ryan Starr: Not really my type of song, but this has a neat rock beat to it.10. "My Cherie Amour" - by AJ Gill: He didn't last too long, but AJ does a nice job with this Stevie Wonder classic.11. "I'll Be" - by Ejay Day: He didn't last long either, but he does a nice job here with this song. Real mellow tune. A nice song overall.12. "Easy" - by Jim Verraros: Another early elimination, but Jim does a solid job with this Lionel Richie classic.13. "California Dreamin'" - The Top Ten Finalists: As seen on the show, the Finalists cut an awesome remake of the classic Mama's and Papa's hit.14. "A Moment Like This" - by Kelly Clarkson: Kelly's debut release and #1 hit. Not quite as emotional as her performance from the show, but a solid track.15. "Before Your Love" - by Kelly Clarkson: Kelly's other single release, an equally powerful performance.THE VERDICT:Overall you get a SOLID mixed bag of tracks. Most of the tracks are winners with a few so-so's. In sum you're getting a great collection of American classics.Following my policy for purchasing CDs, there's at least 10 great tracks on here so that makes this CD a definite keeper.If you were a fan of the show you'll definitely want to get this CD. Even if you aren't an A.I. fan you'll definitely dig these new takes on some old classics.Highest Recommendation"
Reminding us all why Kelly was chosen.
J. Martin | Woodside, NY | 10/02/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"American Idol introduced the world to some of the hottest young talents in years and the compilation cd is a perfect companion for anyone who loved the show.
1.Natural Woman-Kelly-The reason she won this competition is right here. Her voice, her energy, and he power all shine through. Taking Arethas classic and making it her own, and when she kits that one note, "I Feel so Alive", is thrilling.10/10
2.Respect-Kelly-once again, Kellys shows off her amazing vocals. So beautiful, powerful, and effortless.10/10
3.For Once in My Life-Justin-one of Justins best performances. Shows off his charisma and nice voice.9/10
4.Get Here-Justin-the reason why Justin got so far as he did. Proving he is an amazing talent with a very strong, lovely voice.10/10
5.Piece of My Heart-Nikki-a great song for Nikki, and while I wan not the biggest fan of hers, I think she sounds great on this song.8/10
6.A House is Not a Home-Tamyra-Incredible voice that was by far the one of the best performaces of the competition. One of the standouts on the album, and we all know Tamyra will be a star.10/10
7.Lately-RJ-a nice song for him. His voice sounds great.8/10
8.Ain't No Sunshine-Christinas best performance. She sounds beautiful. 9/10
9.If You Reall Love Me-Ryan-Not the best song for her but she sounds great, and the production is a bit cheesy on this one. Sounds like we would hear this one in an elevator.7/10
10.My Cherie Amour-AJ-I never likes AJ or his voice, and I disliked this song by him. I thought he could have done a better song for this compilation. 6/10
11.I'll Be-Ejay-Great Voice and great song but he tries way to hard to show off, and his high tenor voice does not fit for a rock ballad. He should have done an R&B song. 6/10
12.Easy-Jim-nice song and Jim has a nice voice but its a bit boring and the production on it is cheesy. He sould ahve done When I Fall in Love-7/10
13.California Dreamin-All-They sound great together, and a nice bonus to have on the Cd-9/10Of course A Moment Like This and Before Your Love is included, reminding us why Kelly was the winner. Her voice is stunning and make these bland ballads sound incredible.
Overall a great collection with some fantastic performances and some with bad production and a few reminders why certain contestants were voted off."
Burning up my CD player.. American Idol's Greatest Hits
01/26/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"...The people on this CD went threw hell to get as far as they did, so wether you like them or not, you have to give credit where credit is due.1. Natural Woman-Kelly Clarkson- Her live performance rocked the house and the cd track was no exception. Let's face it the girl can blow! The only disapointment was I really wanted to hear the Mariah Carey high note on the cd (like she did on the show) but they toned it down a bit.2. Respect-Kelly Clarkson- again, awesome job but I feel that her live performance of this song is way better than the cd song.3.For Once in My Life-Justin Guarini-I think he is a great live performer. He has excellent stage presence and he is totally at home on stage, the cd makes him sound so much better than his live performances. He did a great job on this song.4.Get Here-Justin Guarini- Always loved it when he performed this song and the cd version is great. He sounds completly professional,again great job.5. Piece of my Heart- Nikki McKibbin-not a big Nikki fan. I feel to appreciate her voice you'd have to catch her singing in the shower. Did not like the song, a little to rough sounding for me but out of everyone on the show, no one handled Simon's critisicm better than she did. She did her thing, and I respect that, just have never really liked her voice.6. A house is not a home- Tamayra Gray- this chick is going places. She ripped this song up and made it her own. I think that America screwed up when they voted her off but hey that is the way it goes, nontheless she performed this song beautifully!7. Lately-R.J. Helton- what a cutie!! I always liked him. The song on the cd wasn't the best, but his voice is real pure and he never has to strain to hit the notes.8. Ain't no Sunshine-Christina Christian- By far my favorite song on the entire album. She has such a unique voice and her live performance of this song was great. She sounds great and I look for her to land a record deal anyday.9. If you really love me-Ryan Starr- hated it.To me it sounds like she alters her voice into something it's really not. She slurs on the word "clearly" in the middle of the song and it sounds like she has a bull in her throat, I just wish that she would sing her age.10.My Chere Amor-A.J. Gill-I'm sure he has a heart of Gold but it's a little to "Backstreet" for me. Wasn't crazy about this song or his singing.11.I'll Be- E.J. Day- What was America thinking when they voted off E.J.? He was by far the best male singer of the group. He rocked this song and I like it better than the original. He was underestimated and I think that if he would have gotten past the first week, he would have been the one standing next to Kelly at the end.12. Easy-Jim Veraross- Simon was right when he said Jim was out of his league- His top ten spot definitly could have gone to someone else. He just doesn't have the range like the others and although he sounds okay on the cd, it just didn't do much for me.13. California Dreaming-Group- Would have rather heard "Joy to the World" but I liked the harmonies and I think that they sing good together, very impressed by the song.14. A Moment Like This-Kelly Clarkson- this song was made for her. Her range and tone is unbelivable and this song gives me goose bumps.15. Before your Love-Kelly Clarkson- this girl could sing the back of a Corn Flakes Box and it would probably make it to number 1. I like this song even better than "A Moment Like This" and I am so glad that America voted her as the American Idol."
Calling all "AI" fans....Youve got to buy this CD!!!!
K. Gambrell | Oxon Hill, MD United States | 10/01/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If your enjoyed watching the performances on "American Idol" each week, you need to buy this CD. I just purchased a copy and I'm so happy with the results. To be honest, I really only purchased the CD to hear Tamyra Grays version of "A House Is Not A Home",(which happens to be awesome). After listening to all of the songs, the standouts to me are "Get Here" by Justin Guarini, "I'll Be" by Ejay Day, and "Aint No Sunshine" from Christina Christian, and "Lately" by R.J. Of course all of Kelly Clarksons songs are good, that goes without saying. There's only one or two songs on this CD that I'd skip over, the rest of the CD is great! You will NOT be disappointed. This CD is definitely worth adding to your collection. My only complaint would be that there weren't more songs on it!"
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1
Marci S. 
