Great Moments in Idol History: Hold My Weggy Weggy Lishes

It's that time again, friends! Idol time! And while this season of American Idol won't kick off until exactly one month from today, we thought we'd take these precious days leading up to the premiere to review what are, in our authoritative judgment, some of the greatest moments in Idol history.

Today's highlight...

Let me take you back to season 5, top 12 week. Melissa McGhee has just narrowly beaten Ayla Brown, the far more likeable (and taller! Remember Ayla? She was so tall!) contestant, to the Top 12. Stevie Wonder himself is mentoring, and Melissa has opted to sing Stevie's 1980 masterpiece, "Lately." Immediately, in rehearsal, she sings the wrong lyrics... while looking at the sheet music. Prompting Stevie Wonder himself to ask, "what's wrong witchoo, girl?" without even pretending to be joking. Touché, Stevie.

When performance time comes around, Melissa takes the stage, wearing a dress "for the first time on stage ever," and also for the first time ever, she doesn't suck. It's actually kind of good. Until around (1:35) in the clip below, when she doesn't just fuck up the lyrics. She fucks up the lyrics to the chorus of the song. Repeatedly. Because it is the chorus. Now, forgetting the lyrics happens on Idol all of the time, but usually the offender will do one of two things:

a) Sing lyrics from a different part of the song.
b) Freeze up and sing NOTHING.

What makes this song a Great Moment in Idol History is that Melissa instead chooses to:

c) Sing unintelligible nonsense syllables.

And she does it repeatedly, every time she hits the chorus. What comes out is something along the lines of...

Well, I have many, many wishes
Hold my weggy, weggy lishes...

The second time it kind of sounds like "hope my record is delicious," which is, to her credit, a collection of real words.

Melissa McGhee's Wikipedia entry tells me that post-Idol, "[s]he has sung at various festivals such as Weeki Wachee and the Pet Rock Festival. McGhee also went on tour with Ruben Studdard from October 3rd to 7th."

I have never been to Weeki Wachee, but I like to imagine it as a special ceremony of ridicule and torment for girls who have made Stevie Wonder die a little on the inside.