James Durbin Overcome with Emotion on American Idol

In what could be one of the most emotional performances in recent memory on
American Idol, James Durbin performed "Without You, a powerful ballad by
Harry Nilsson from the 1970’s. It was the second performance of the night for
Durbin, who also sang "Closer to the Edge," a song that he used
to open the show. Durbin’s second performance, however, is what American Idol
fans will undoubtedly be talking about at the water cooler tomorrow morning.

Durbin became emotional and nearly broke down, both during and after his
performance. He was also emotional during rehearsals and noted that the song
reminded him of his wife, Heidi and young son, Hunter. Additionally, after his
performance, Durbin pointed to the sky, presumably acknowledging his father who
died when he was only nine-years-old.

From a technical standpoint, it was one of Durbin’s weakest performances of
the season. However, his raw emotion and emotionally moving performance didn’t
leave many dry eyes in the audience.

On Twitter and in message forums, people are already commenting how James needs
to do a better job of keeping his emotions in check. What many may not realize,
however, is that James has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and a
characteristic of the disorder for some (not all) is the tendency to become
overly-emotional in certain situations. Coupled with the many months away from
his family and his long journey to get where he’s at, it’s understandable why
James was so moved this evening.

While it wasn’t his best performance, James Durbin once again proved that he
is a well-rounded artist who has much to offer and should be performing in the
American Idol finals later this month.