A whole new group of idols and their celebrity look-alikes.
Season 5 of American Idol was absolutely amazing! However, what made is so special was not the way that Taylor Hicks or Chris Daughtry sang, but rather how they and their fellow contestants looked. In a stroke of serendipitous coincidence, almost every one of the Top 12 that year had an uncanny resemblance to a celebrity. I immediately felt the need to document this incredible phenomenon and created my American Look-Alikes page which quickly became an internet hit. When Season 6 came around, I kept my eyes peeled for a new group of look-alikes but ultimately came up empty. Rather than trying to beat a dead horse, I decided that Season 5 was a once in a lifetime event and refrained from “forcing” things with a follow-up piece.
As the Top 24 for Season 7 were selected, coming up with another look-alike piece was the furthest thing from my mind. Like I said above, I really didn’t expect lightning to strike twice. It wasn’t until Colton Berry pointed out his own celebrity resemblance that I even began to consider the possibility. After scouring the contestants, only Jason Castro popped out at me as being a potential look-alike candidate. Unfortunately two people out of twenty four just isn’t enough to make a quality article, so again, I figured that a second edition simply wasn’t in the cards.
However, over the past few weeks of watching the show, I’ve begun to notice more and more that some celebrity resemblances are actually present in the group. It’s funny, because with Season 5 I picked up on all of them immediately. There was no mistaking how eerily similar they looked. This time around, it’s been more of a week by week thing where I’ll notice one here and one there. After a while, I felt I had a substantial enough of a list to possibly create a second article, and I went back to check out some of the contestants who had already been eliminated. Sure enough, there were even a few look-alikes that I missed! In the end, I managed to find a celebrity doppleganger for thirteen contestants out of the Top 24, and after taking a look back at the original article, I think this season’s edition may actually be better! Anyway, you’ve heard enough of me rambling through the history of this piece. It’s time to get onto the real reason that you’re at this page – Your 2008 American Look-Alikes!
Colton Berry and Ellen DeGeneres
Seeing as it was Colton’s admission to resembling Ellen DeGeneres that started this whole American Look-Alike resurgence, it’s only fitting that we begin with him. While I’m grateful, I still can’t figure out why he answered “That I look like Ellen DeGeneres”, when Ryan Seacrest asked him what he’d like America to know about him. Honestly, after a beyond strange response like that, is there really any question as to why he was the first person voted off? And to think, Randy and Paula passed on that nerdy wanna-be Oklahoma governor guy to let Colton in the Top 24 – a move that may have single-handedly robbed us of our next Sanjaya!
Garrett Haley and Rod Stewart
It just goes to show you that having the Rod Stewart hair cut does not equate with having Rod Stewart talent. I honestly have no idea what the judges were thinking by even putting Garrett through to Hollywood, let alone the Top 24. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone bomb as bad on this show as he did during that first week! The only thing I can think of is that perhaps they intentionally plant a dud in the final group of contestants to encourage all the bad singers out there to audition next year, thus ensuring plenty of hilarious material. I mean, if Garrett made the Top 24, then anybody’s got a shot!
Luke Menard and Hugh Jackman
I was debating including Luke in this article. Every time I look at him I think, “Oh, he kinda looks like Hugh Jackman”, but then when I actually look at Hugh Jackman, I’m like, “Wait, no he doesn’t.” I can’t really figure it out. After much debate, I decided to let him in, if only for the opportunity to post this picture.
Now you can see what I’m talking about!
Danny Noriega and Jessica Alba
Nothing pleases me more than a cross-gender look-alike combination. Guy/Girl comparisons are so much funnier than guy/guy or girl/girl ones. Overall, those types of pairings are pretty rare, so it’s pretty amazing that the Top 24 cast-offs have produced two of them.
Here’s Danny Noriega, who just may be the biggest pretty boy to ever get on the show. That being said, it’s unsurprising that he happens to strike a strong resemblance to knock-out Jessica Alba. Still, I’m not sure which disturbs me more – the fact that with the right hair and make-up job I might actually be fooled into finding him attractive, or the fact that when he busted out the phrase, “that was T.M.T.H.!” in one of his promo videos, I knew exactly what he meant. (It’s “Too Much to Handle”, by the way!)
David Castro and John Travolta
Moving onto the Top 12, I’ll begin with David Castro who’s resemblance to John Travolta is crystal clear! As I mentioned before, Jason is the only contestant out of the twenty four who I immediately thought had a celebrity look-alike. Honestly, this picture doesn’t even begin to do them justice. When Jason is up there strumming his guitar and singing, it’s uncanny how much he looks like Barbarino with dreadlocks!
Syesha Mercado and Emanuel Lewis
Most people remember Gary Coleman for acting like a kid when he played Arnold on “Diff’rent Strokes”, but many forget that Emmanuel Lewis pulled off the same exact feat in the series “Webster”. Well it just so happens that Syesha Mercado has given this often-overlooked shorty another moment in the sun, because they happen to look quite a bit alike!
David Hernandez and Jorge Posada
What do David Hernandez and Jorge Posada have in common besides looking alike?
Wait for it…
Wait for it…
Wait for it…
They’re both best known for “performing” in front of a predominantly male audience! *Bah-dum-chhhh!*
Brooke White and Suzanne Sommers
When I was thinking about a look-alike for Brooke, Suzanne Sommers immediately popped into my head. I was a big fan of Three’s Company back in the day and Brooke’s golden locks brought back memories of Chrissy. However, trying to search for pictures from a show that aired in the pre-internet era isn’t all that easy. Enter “Suzanne Sommers” into a Google Image search and you’ll get tons of bo-toxed photos that just don’t do the pair’s resemblance justice. Finally, in the deep recesses of the search engine, an old-school photo finally popped up. You have to admit, they’re a pretty identical pair.
Just a word of advice Brooke – say “No” to the facelift in twenty years!
David Archuletta and Eddie Munster
I can only imagine the amount of hate mail from 14-year old girls I’m going to receive after posting this look-alike combo. My apologies ladies, but your heart throb does bear somewhat of a resemblance to a child werewolf. In case some of you are too blinded by love to recognize this fact, I’ve cooked up some Photoshop magic to further drive home the point.
Chikezie and Alfonso Ribeiro
I’m cursing the producers of American Idol for giving us a second week of the Lennon/McCartney songbook instead of going with a Tom Jones-themed episode. The comedy level of Chikezie singing and dancing to “It’s Not Unusual” would have been through the roof!
Carly Smithson and Boy George
I think it goes without saying that Carly Smithson has the best voice out of any contestant on the show, so it initially shocked me when she found herself in the bottom three with eleven people still left in the competition! Then I realized who her celebrity look-alike was, and it all made sense. I don’t care if you can belt out a song note for note with Celine Dion, when you remind everyone who lived through the 80’s of this guy, you’re going to have a hard time getting the votes. Sorry Carly, it just wasn’t meant to be.
Michael Johns and Tim Daly
My goodness! Tell me these two don’t look frighteningly alike! Honestly, after looking at those photos side by side, the chances that Tim Daly took a trip to Australia in the late 70’s and sired an illegitimate child have to be at least 60%. Really, what other explanation is there?
David Cook and Barry Watson
I was going to save the best for last and finish this article off with Michael Johns, but then I thought, “Why not save the worst for last?” You see, as far as look-alikes go David Cook and Barry Watson are somewhat mediocre, but as far as contestants go, they don’t get much more revolting than David Cook. I’d explain my feelings about David here, but I’ve already done a six-page diatribe on the topic already. It’s the “Anti-David Cook Campaign” and it’s a must-read for any Idol fan, especially if you’re one of the millions who have been duped into phoning in for this phony over the past several weeks. Now that you’re done with this article, you can go check it out here. See, that was a pretty smart advertising move on my part, wasn’t it?
