Worst 'American Idol' Semifinalists Ever - #1: Juanita Barber

We're teaming with AOL Television to name the 10 worst 'American Idol' semifinalists ever. Here's our pick for #1. Also make sure to check out the entire list of 10 at AOL and on VFTW.

Name: Juanita Barber
Season: 2
Worst Performance: 'What About the Children'
Why We Loved Her (But Everyone Else Hated Her): Many people are upset about VFTW pick Tim Urban's survival this year since he wasn't even supposed to be in the top 24. But there's one contestant whose semifinal spot was also handed to them at the last minute that went on to help inspire a movement called Vote for the Worst. That contestant is Juanita Barber. And here is her story.

Juanita Barber wasn't shown much during season 2 of American Idol leading up to Hollywood week. All we saw was the fact that she was in the room that was eliminated. Juanita Barber dropped down onto the floor and started bawling uncontrollably (in this video at 1:22 or at the bottom of this page). Then when someone attempted to console her, she slapped their hand away and caused a huge ruckus. It was such a shame to see someone so hilariously over the top go home.

But then a miracle happened. Frenchie Davis, an incredibly popular season 2 contestant was disqualified for taking some risque pictures (flash forward 4 seasons and by that time Antonella's scandal seemed like nothing). A big hubbub ensued. But a contestant had to be brought back to take Frenchie's spot in the semifinals. And that's where Juanita came in.

Juanita Barber's picture suddenly appeared on the Idol website. And it was a glorious picture indeed. After seeing it (left), the possibility that she would be just as over the top as she was before was inevitable.

Semifinal week 4 for American Idol 2 rolled around and it was literally one the biggest train wreck shows in Idol history. But nothing topped Juanita's over the top performance and the resulting hilarity.

It started out innocent enough. Juanita picked one of the most pageanty songs ever selected on Idol, Yolanda Adams' "What About the Children." Because the children are important. As soon as she started out singing "Tears streaming down, her heart is broken, because her life is hurting, so am I..." I knew we were going to have a classic performance on our hands. As the horrible singing continued, it got funnier and funnier. And then Juanita ended by pointing at the camera to ask "What about your children?" What about them indeed.

But if the performance wasn't already awesome enough, Juanita decided to make it even better by talking back to the judges.

Paula started off trying to be subtle and mention that Juanita was oversinging a bit. Simon went for the jugular though and that's when it became classic. Simon started off with, "It was not good" which immediately sent Juanita into a tailspin, shooting back at him in disbelief. When Simon told her she picked the wrong song, Juanita shot back, "Well I think America picked the wrong judge." And when Randy stepped in to mediate, things got even worse for him when Juanita mocked his voice. It just needs to be seen to be appreciated.

The icing on the cake though was Randy Jackson asking Juanita, "Do you know who I am?" as if he was someone important. But Juanita wasn't having it, so she shot back, "Do you know who I am? I'm Juanita, I can sing, I made it this far. Do y'all know who I am? Okay, y'all don't know who I am. I hope y'all find out who I am!"

It was so completely ridiculous that you couldn't help but not love her for her cajones. Juanita wanted you to find out who she was, and boy did we ever. Unfortunately, Idol utilized the semifinal format where contestants were voted into the top 12, and Juanita clearly wasn't going to make it after that display.

But Juanita's performance stuck with Dave, who went on to not enjoy American Idol 2 as much as he thought he would. After that season, he wondered if trying to keep around the singers like Juanita would be more entertaining than seeing Clay Aiken make the top 2. And thus, Juanita's outbursts and other season 2 moments helped to inspire Vote for the Worst, which started during American Idol season 3.

Juanita is now a legend around these parts. If you ax any Worster about the children, we all know what you're talking about. And the best part is, she probably has no idea how revered she is. Juanita didn't fight back with the judges for fame or power. She just did it because she couldn't believe she picked the wrong song and wasn't gonna hear it. Back then, Idol contestants weren't expecting much from their time on the show, so the fact that she truly stepped up to entertain us made all the difference. And for that, AOL and VFTW award Juanita with the title of Worst (But Our Favorite) Idol Semifinalist Ever. Everyone else may hate Juanita or not understand why we love her, but we don't care. She's awesome.

We wonder what Juanita is up to now. But knowing her, she's probably helping the children somewhere. Because she's a giver. And we love her for it. I'm sure if we told her she won the #1 spot on this countdown, she'd shoot back an insult at us. And it would make us love her all over again. Her contribution to society helped this site become what it is today. Juanita, we know who you are and we thank you.