BEN ~ MICHAEL JACKSON

"Ben" is a song written by Don Black and Walter Scharf and recorded by Michael Jackson for the Motown label in 1972. The theme song of 1972 the horror film Ben, it is a melancholy ballad to the film's title character, a killer rat – a choice critics have noted as singularly odd. It was initially released as a single, and later appeared as the title track to Ben, Jackson's second solo album. The song was Jackson's first number-one hit as a solo artist on the American pop charts, and also performed well overseas, reaching number one in Australia and number seven in the United Kingdom. Cover versions were later recorded by Marti Webb and Akon, and the original featured in the 2003 film Willard, a remake of the film to which Ben was a sequel. "Ben" won a Golden Globe for Best Song. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1973; Jackson performed the song in front of a live audience at the ceremony.

Lyrics | Michael Jackson lyrics - Ben lyrics

AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 9 TOP 16

Haeley Vaughn who made her own version of a Miley Cyrus song but failed to impress the judges
Michelle DeLamor who sang "With Arms Wide Open" which is her best performance so far, according to Kara
John Park who is the only Asian contender failed to impress the voters.
Jermaine Sellers, as what Simo Cowell is expecting to happen, ended up his Idol Journey.



AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 9 TOP 16

TOP 8 GIRLS
Crystal Bowersox, Didi Benami, Katelyn Epperly, Katie Stevens, Lacey Brown, Lilly Scott, Paige Miles, Siobhan Magnus


TOP 8 BOYS
Aaron Kelly, Alex Lambert, Andrew Garcia, Casey James, Lee DeWyze, Michael Lynche, Tim Urban, Todrick Hall

OH CAROL ~ BY NEIL SEDAKA

"Oh! Carol" refers to Sedaka's Brill Building compatriot and former girlfriend Carole King. King responded with her answer song, "Oh, Neil".
Sedaka wrote this for the songwriter Carole King, who was his high school girlfriend. They went to Abraham Lincoln High in Brooklyn, New York along with Neil Diamond.
After studying hit records in several countries, Sedaka incorporated common factors like a certain drum beat and the use of a girl's name. This was the result.





Lyrics | Sedaka Neil lyrics - Oh Carol lyrics

AUBREY ~ BREAD

"Aubrey" is a song written by David Gates, and originally recorded by the Pop/Rock group Bread of which Gates was a member. It appeared on Bread's 1972 album Guitar Man. The single lasted 11 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 15.
The songs features no drumming but relies on various melodic resources such as orchestral strings, classical guitar and a music box. Lyrics talk about a short-lived love (referenced by "she had been mine for a day") for a girl called Aubrey and furthermore Gates' like for that name. It's regarded as one of Bread's most beautiful yet melancholic songs. The song was later recorded (1973) by Perry Como and released on his And I Love You So album of covered songs.

Lyrics | Bread lyrics - Aubrey lyrics

BLACK BETTY ~ RAM JAM

"Black Betty" is a 20th century African-American work song often credited to Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter as the author, though the earliest recordings are not by him. Some sources claim it is one of Lead Belly's many adaptations of earlier folk material. In 1977, the rock band Ram Jam — whose members included Bill Bartlett, formerly of Starstruck and The Lemon Pipers — rerecorded the song with producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz under Epic Records. The song became an instant hit with listeners, as it reached number 18 on the singles charts in the United States and the top ten in the UK and Australia. At the same time, the lyrics became the cause of a boycott by civil rights groups NAACP and Congress of Racial Equality, who claimed it insulted black women. The origin and meaning of the lyrics are subject to debate. Some sources claim the song is derived from an 18th century marching cadence about a flint-lock musket with a black painted stock; the "bam-ba-lam" lyric referring to the sound of the gunfire. Soldiers in the field were said to be "hugging Black Betty". In this interpretation, the musket was superseded by its "child", a musket with an unpainted walnut stock known as a "Brown Bess". The earliest meaning of "Black Betty" in the United States (from at least 1827) was a liquor bottle.

Lyrics | Ram Jam lyrics - Black Betty lyrics

ANNIE'S SONG ~ JOHN DENVER

"Annie's Song" is a song recorded and written by John Denver. (Although credited as "Words and Music by John Denver", the melody is actually based on the theme from the Second Movement of Tchaikovsky's "Symphony No. 5"). It was his second number one song in the USA, occupying that spot for two weeks in July 1974. It also went to number one in the UK, where it was Denver's only major hit single. "Annie's Song" was written as an ode to Denver's then-wife, Annie Denver (née Martell). Denver "wrote this song in about ten-and-a-half minutes one day on a ski lift" to the top of Bell Mountain in Aspen, Colorado, as the physical exhilaration of having "just skied down a very difficult run" and the feeling of total immersion in the beauty of the colors and sounds that filled all senses inspired him to think about his wife. The song has since become a wedding standard and an expression of love for many people, due to its grand imagery and the fact it could apply to anyone (Annie is not mentioned by name in any part of the song).

Lyrics | John Denver lyrics - Annie's Song lyrics

I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU ~ WHITNEY HOUSTON

"I Will Always Love You" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton in 1973. In 1992, singer Whitney Houston recorded the song for the soundtrack to The Bodyguard, her film debut. Houston was originally to record Jimmy Ruffin's "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" as the lead single from The Bodyguard. However, when it was discovered the song was to be used for Fried Green Tomatoes, Houston requested a different song and her co-star Kevin Costner brought her Linda Ronstadt's 1975 version of "I Will Always Love You" from her album Prisoner in Disguise. Houston and producer David Foster re-arranged the song as a soul ballad. Her record company did not feel a song with an a cappella introduction would be as successful; however, Houston and Costner insisted to maintain an a cappella intro. Whitney Houston's recording is not the only version of the song featured in the movie. In a scene where she dances with Kevin Costner, a version by John Doe can be heard playing on a jukebox. Houston's version was a massive worldwide success, selling over 15 million copies worldwide. It became a regular on countdown lists: appearing at number 8 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the Past 25 Years; number 4 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s and number 1 on VH1's 100 Greatest Love Songs. The song also lists at number 68 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time.

Lyrics | Whitney Houston lyrics - I Will Always Love You lyrics