10 Great Songs You've Probably Never Heard

You may not know this about me, but I'm a big American Idol fan. Well, I was before Paula and Simon left. Now I'm just nostalgic for the good old days when I would scour the internet looking for whatever bits of music from Idol alumni I could find. I have to admit that I love Pia Toscano's new song, This Time. But that's sort of why I'm not such a big Idol fan these days. Not only did one of the best singers they've ever had on the show not even get to the top five, but the show all but admitted that winning the show no longer matters by letting Pia release a single before either the winner or the runner-up. Idol and sham are both four-letter words. Coincidence? Anyway, tonight's blog is dedicated to ten songs I love that you've probably never heard. All by Idol alum. I hope you like them as much as I do. 


10. Desperate Girls and Stupid Boys by Kimberly Caldwell – I have to be honest. I was searching for a really old song of hers, Who Will You Run to, and couldn't find it when I stumbled on the video that I think is from this year. I gotta say, I'm quite impressed.


 


9. Leaving Tonight by Ne-Yo featuring Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls came out in 2006, which was three years after J-Hud was on Idol so I was jonesing bad for some music from her. Then even after Dreamgirls it was almost two years until her debut album. Thankfully, in between she did the vocals on this hot duet with Ne-Yo.



8. Before by Kimberley Locke – Now, you may have heard this song before if you were paying attention to the 30-day song challenge I did on Facebook. The only version available online is this not-so-great live version. You really have to hear the studio version to understand why I love it so much.

You’re watching Kimberly Locke, 'Before' (AOL Sessions). See the Web's top videos on AOL Video

7. Earth Stood Still by Lee Dewyze – I still think his debut album was the best for an Idol winner since Carrie Underwood, but no one heard it. This is my second favorite song from the album. Live it Up was on my Best Songs of 2010 list.





6. Beautiful Moon by Kris Allen – This song was recorded before he was on Idol. He should have put it on his debut album because it is better than all but maybe two of the songs that ended up on it.







5.Learn to Breathe by Latoya London – Here's one of those Idol alumni that I was certain would have a career, especially after I heard this song (circa 2005). But she never amounted to anything. Kind of a shame really.





4. Heartbreak on Vinyl by Blake Lewis – I'm going to say the same thing about three artists in a row here. You all suck for not supporting Blake Lewis. He's amazing. It's a crime that he doesn't have a better career. It was actually hard for me to choose only one of his songs to put on here, but this one is awesome.





3. Better Off Alone by Katharine McPhee – You all suck for not supporting Katharine McPhee. She's amazing. It's a crime that she doesn't have a better career. And again, it was hard to narrow it down to one but this was the song that I listened to non-stop for about the first three months I was sober.





2. Don't Stop by Tamyra Gray – You all suck for not supporting Tamyra Gray. She's amazing. It's a crime that she doesn't have a better career. This would be number one on this list except that once again, she's one upped by Kelly. (The only version of this I could find is this Bieber Tribute video -- weird).





1. Close Your Eyes by Kelly Clarkson – It's almost ridiculous that Kelly would even be on this list, right? Well, she's on it because this song was a leaked demo from My December and it never made it on the album. So, unless you troll the internet looking for all things Clarkson, you've almost definitely never heard this song. And that's a real crime because it's one of my three favorite Kelly Clarkson songs ever.