I have been a fan of American Idol since season two. With the season eight finale looming, my friends and I were discussing the successes of previous contestants. We're all Kelly Clarkson fans, even though most of us (me included) didn't watch the first season. Beyond that, Idol alum albums aren't exactly clogging our shelves-or our ITunes playlists. Seriously, who can name one Taylor Hicks song?

During this discussion with my friends, we reminisced about the great performances of past seasons. Some live on in our memories in much better focus than the contestants themselves. I decided to put together a list of personally memorable (not all are the best) American Idol performances from seasons 2-7. These are in absolutely no particular order.

1. Fantasia singing "Summertime" stands out in my mind as one of the greatest performances ever on that stage. I own precisely zero of her post-Idol releases, but when people talk smack about her winning I always refer back to this.

2. Jason Castro's "Hallelujah" renews my crush on him every time I hear it. It was tough for me to choose between this song and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." I was a huge Jason fan during the show, and I still consider myself to be. Cut an album, fool!

3. Blake Lewis "Time of the Season" may seem like a random choice, but I really dug that kid. I was pretty disappointed when he lost to Jordin Sparks, but I'm not positive that I would have attended his record-release party if ya know what I'm sayin'. He brought something different to the competition by giving anti-adult contemporary performances. He proved that this particular week.

4. David Archuleta's innocence made his version of "Imagine" feel genuine. Plus, this clip has Paula's classic critique where she threatens to squeeze his head off and hang him from her rearview mirror. What more could you ask for?

5. Jennifer Hudson's "I Have Nothing" wasn't as flawless as she would do today. However, her talent is undeniable and this clip is hilarious. Her favorite movie was Sister Act II and she pontificates on its musical significance. Now she has an Oscar for a real musical with unbelievable performances. Cracks me up!

6. Clay Aiken performing "To Love Somebody" sealed his lite rock fate. It's easy to make fun of Clay for a lot of things-I almost selected his Idol performance of "Grease" because I vividly remember Simon ripping his dance moves. Looking back, I think I was a fan of his simply because he's from North Carolina. His style doesn't exactly fit my musical taste, but he really did his thing on the show.

7. Melinda Doolittle destroyed "I'm a Woman." It's funny how she sang this with such attitude and then she looked so humble and almost frightened during judging. She was a real powerhouse, but sadly, I always hear Simon calling her Shrek (simply rude!) in my head.

8. I remembered Carrie Underwood's "Alone" not for her vocal prowess, but for her insane hair. I wonder how embarrassed she'd be to know this was being dredged back up. Plus, it's the night that Simon made the prediction that Carrie would win and sell more records than any other winner.

9. I had to include Chicken Little/Kevin Covais on this list. What an adorable kid! His interviews were the best and that's what I had a hard time choosing between. I'm not even sure which song this is; the "sex symbol" comment was enough for me.

10. I really didn't want to put so many performances from last season on this list, but as I was thinking about it, I remembered David Cook's version of "Always Be My Baby" and had to add it. Some people were all about his version of "Billy Jean" but it didn't knock my socks off the way this one did.