Is Joshua Ledet really the best American Idol singer ever?

The show's judges showered the young contestant with unhinged praise after his Wednesday performance, and some Idol fans were turned off by the favoritism

Joshua Ledet
(Image credit: Michael Becker / FOX)

American Idol's judges are playing favorites. After 20-year-old belter Joshua Ledet unleashed his version of the Bee Gee's "To Love Somebody" on Wednesday night's show, the trio of easily wowed adjudicators reacted as if Jesus had returned to earth. (Watch "To Love Somebody" below.) "I've been doing this for 11 years, and you're one of the best singers ever on this show. Ever!" proclaimed Randy Jackson. Steven Tyler called Ledet "one of the two best Idols of all time." Jennifer Lopez, who's 42, defied space and time by declaring him one of the "best singers I've seen in 50 years!" The effusive praise helped move Ledet on to the Final Four round of the competition next week. Idol's birthed the careers of Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, and Fantasia, four singers regarded as among the best of their generation. Does Ledet really belong in their class?

No way: C'mon, MJ Santilli tells MTV. Underwood, Clarkson, Fantasia, and even Adam Lambert and Ruben Studdard are all better singers than Ledet. His flaws are too easy to spot. He has a tendency to push his vocals too hard, to the point that his voice breaks. Unlike past Idol stars, he hasn't even had a perfect track record this season. "His 'gospel' rendition of Billy Joel's 'She's Got a Way' was a hot mess of over-singing."

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