"Another molten hot lava bomb tonight!"
-- Randy Jackson

"I never thought I'd ever see a man sing 'Memory' with dreadlocks."
-- Andrew Lloyd Webber about Jason Castro

"It was a bit like ordering a hamburger and only getting the bun."
-- Simon Cowell to Brooke White

"Simon Loves Me (This Week)"
-- Carly Smithson's T-shirt

"You sounded like Dolly Parton on helium."
-- Simon Cowell to Kristy Lee Cook

"I just found out "ma belle" is French. I thought it was English -- 'my bell.'"
-- Jason Castro

"I have a minute and a half to show America what they would see if they came to my show."
-- Amanda Overmyer

"I was very afraid to come audition for the show. And now I'm here and I'm so happy."
-- Carly Smithson

"I wore [that suit] on TV, you can't wear it twice. Only you do that."
-- Chikezie to Simon Cowell

"I'm going to bring the house down everywhere I go."
-- Danny Noriega

"I just want to squish you, squeeze your head off and dangle you from my rear-view mirror."
-- Paula Abdul to David Archuleta

"I'll take second-rate Whitney [Houston]!"
-- Asia'h Epperson

"White, gray and black. Come on, dude. Who's your stylist? Charlie Chaplin?"
-- Chikezie to Simon Cowell

"Season 7 is turning out to be the year of the young ones."
-- Randy Jackson

"I am your brother, your best friend forever…"
-- Renaldo Lapuz

"How do I pretend to be overpaid for doing no work?"
-- Ryan Seacrest

"I did my first ballet recital to that song."
-- Paula Abdul referring to Jason Yeager's rendition of "Moon River"

"I bought my first puppy to that song."
-- Simon Cowell responding to Paula Abdul's comment

"I kinda like the song. I thought it'd be fun for the first show, but I don't know, some people weren't liking it."
-- Danny Noriega shows Simon Cowell some attitude after his criticism of his "Jailhouse Rock"

"I cannot wait to make it to Hollywood to prove Simon wrong. I am America's next top model."
-- Elizabeth Erkert after her Omaha audition

"This show is fake and rigged."
-- Joshua Boson from the Charleston

"I'm cute -- and God I hate that. Because that's not cool. I'm like your niece, and nobody wants to date their niece. It's the chubby cheeks. The whole reason people voted for me on American Idol is because I'm an everyday, normal girl."
-- Kelly Clarkson

"You know honestly I think Simon prepared me for the critics. Simon really prepared me for a lot of things they are saying. It just rolls off my back."
-- Justin Guarini on enduring criticism

"My singing wasn't horrible, but my dancing really made it look silly. It's not like I'm a horrible singer that can't sing. But I don't have the consistency or the presentation skills that a good performer has."
-- William Hung after being voted off

"I auditioned just for fun."
 -- Clay Aiken on why he tried out for American Idol

"Who cares what Simon Cowell has to say?"
-- Jennifer Hudson, as she accepted the New York Critics Circle Award for best supporting actress in “Dreamgirls.”

"We've got to talk about this Jessica Simpson hairstyle."
-- Simon Cowell to Bucky Covington

Ryan: "Simon, any advice on the high heels?"
Simon: "You should know Ryan."
Ryan: "Stay out of my closet."
Simon: "Come out."
Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest exchange words during Ryan’s interview with Melinda Doolittle

"I've never been drunk. I have never done recreational drugs. Just look at my 20-year career. Tell me someone who is into partying and or doing drugs that could have done that."
-- Paula Abdul responding to speculation about her bizarre behavior during a television interview

“You look like one of those creatures that live in the jungle with those massive eyes.”
-- Simon Cowell to Kenneth Briggs during an audition, referring to him looking like a bush baby.

"I’m definitely hiring a bodyguard."
-- Sanjaya Malakar on the pros and cons of celebrity

"I have fake eye lashes on and they feel like tarantulas. But they're not real tarantulas."
-- Kellie Pickler

"It doesn’t make sense logically."
-- Chris Daughtry after being eliminated

"Being on American Idol was the lottery ticket."
-- Blake Lewis

"Just because I don’t sing Il Divo or Teletubbies doesn’t mean that I’m not a good singer."
-- Chris Sligh to Simon Cowell after performing on the show

“I really want to make David Hasselhoff cry.”
-- Chris Sligh referring to how David Hasselhoff had cried when Taylor Hicks won Season 5, after Randy Jackson asked Chris why he was auditioning