The final 13 contestants for this year's American Idol have been selected. And their first round as finalists next week is going to be a tough challenge. The show's host, Ryan Seacrest has announced that the male contestants will be singing songs by the soul legend Stevie Wonder, whilst the females will be performing songs made famous by Whitney Houston, who passed away just a few weeks ago, on February 11, 2012.
With Whitney's passing still dominating the news, the girls, especially have a tough week ahead. Whitney Houston was famous for her impressive vocal range and many of her songs will prove a serious challenge for the amateur wannabes. Simon Cowell and La Reid recently told reporters that they would consider doing a Whitney tribute on the next series of X Factor but acknowledged that their rival talent shows would probably beat them to it. American Idol have been quick off the mark with their Whitney tribute, waiting to get the standard audition stages out of the way before challenging their contestants to live up to the late singer's standards.