Syesha Mercado
Placing third in American Idol’s Season 7 was Syesha Mercado. Her star quality was apparent from the beginning, but she didn’t break out of the pack until late in the season. She had several close calls with elimination, but managed to stick around until the final three.
Her clear, powerful voice was evident in almost all her song choices, even though those choices weren’t always popular with the judges or America. She did an especially good job on tunes like “Yesterday,” “I Will Always Love You,” and “A Change Is Gonna Come.” But her performance of “One Rock and Roll Too Many” during Andrew Lloyd Webber week was probably the one that made the most people sit up and take notice.
One thing’s for sure: Syesha had staying power throughout the season, and hopefully the same thing will be true of her career in general. See her performance of “One Rock and Roll Too Many” below.