AI5 Semifinals Round 1:
The Girls Rock It Out!

American Idol 5 kicked into gear this week with several exciting showings by the female semi-finalists. We haven't even heard from the guys yet, and already the competition is fierce.
The It's Destiny! panel (Destiny, Liza, and Tammy) will head straight into the battle as they give their take on the performances each week. Stay tuned- this season finds the panelists' opinions as varied and heated as ever. Let's get this party started!

Following is the It's Destiny! panel's take on the AI5 Semi-Finals Round 1: Girls.

Mandisa "Never"
Destiny: Great way to command the stage! It's the first week of voting, and the girl is already showing versatility. Love her!
Score: 8.5
Liza: Opening the show, you almost have to go upbeat and energetic, and she surprised me with this song choice. It was an excellent choice - the song really showed off her power vocals and versatility. Great showing by Mandisa!
Score: 8.5
Tammy: Good attitude brought to the song, good vocals. Thought the song choice was a bit cheesy, but I suppose that's par for the course for AI. Her choice of outfit was questionable, IMO. Looked like something out of Victoria's Secret. She has a fun attitude, though, and I'll be shocked if she doesn't make the next round.
Score: 7.9

Kellie Pickler "How Far"
Destiny: Too bad Kellie wasn't around last year when the producers were bent on a country singer winning the competition, because she's much more entertaining and personable than the one they chose. Adorable girl. Great voice. Personality plus. I look forward to what she does in the coming weeks.
Score: 7.5
Liza: I'm not as high on her as you are. I think Kellie needs to tone down the woe-is-me Dad angle a bit before she starts coming across as calculating. But it's a smart move on her part, because her vocals alone aren't as memorable. Her lower register was a bit weak, and when she moved to her upper register, it was a bit shrill, and she missed a few notes. She had some nice moments, and it showed that she really felt the song, but the fact that the judges only have nice things to say about her personality says a lot.
Score: 5.5
Tammy: Okay the squatty move she makes while she sings? HIGHLY DISTRACTING. Someone's watched a bit too much Fantasia in preparation for this show. Vocals are kind of all over the place. Honestly, a part of me wondered why she even bothered showing up. Like the AI PTB are really gonna crown a female country singer two years in a row? Not likely. She has a likeable demeanor, but nothing amazing overall.
Score: 7.0

Becky O'Donohue "Because The Night"
Destiny: She stepped out of the box she seemed to be put in and rocked it. Nice, original voice and interesting song choice.
Score: 7.5
Liza: I give her kudos for the song choice, but other than that, I was not impressed at all. She has a bit of a cheesy, sexpot type of stage presence, and she got totally drowned out by the background singers. Her ending was a mess, as she didn't hit the note and showed big-time nerves with her shaking hands. And again, the judges don't have much to say about her vocals.
Score: 4.0
Tammy: This performance screamed karaoke. She really didn't bring the sass required. Horrid top and a mess of a hairdo. And that last note...? Final nail in coffin.
Score: 4.0

Ayla Brown "Reflection"
Destiny: The song was very shaky in places, not holding a candle to Aguilera's version. That being said, it was decent and had a few moments of goodness.
Score: 7.0
Liza: Obviously it doesn't hold a candle to Christina. I'm not sure Christina herself could sing it better than she did back then. But I was very surprised at how well Ayla did. I was not expecting all of THAT. It was a very nice performance, and she totally debunked the robot criticism. Great job!
Score: 8.0
Tammy: A very ambitious song choice, and for the most part she did it quite well. But this song is known for that 'one' note, and on that she did not deliver. Why choose this song unless you can hit it? Maybe under other circumstances she can get the note but cracked under pressure? Overall, an okay performance, but there's nothing especially memorable other than the missed note.
Score: 7.2

Paris Bennett "Midnight Train To Georgia"
Destiny: GREAT!!! Love this girl! She is everything you could want in an American Idol contestant. Bring it on, Paris!
Score: 9.0
Liza: The gauntlet has been thrown DOWN. That was the total package right there. We always knew she had the voice, but that showmanship? Fantasia better watch her back!
Score: 9.9
Tammy: Why do I feel like I should like her more than I do? She just seems too 'pageant'. Big gestures, hamming up the stage, acting out all the lyrics of the song. Not necessary! No questioning she can sing, but I wouldn't be disappointed if this was the last we saw of Paris.
Score: 6.0

Stevie Scott "To Where You Are"
Destiny: I really like this girl and wanted greatness from her, but this was just terrible. I kind of get what she was going for in her interpretation of the song, but she didn't pull it off at all. Poor thing. I really hope she gets another chance to show what she's got, because there's something special there.
Score: 4.0
Liza: Stevie has a very lovely voice, but on American Idol, lovely does absolutely nothing for you. If you're going to sing a song like that on this show, you have to power it. Her performance wasn't as dreadful as Simon claimed, but her problems were magnified by following Paris' high-energy performance with that dull showing.
Score: 4.0
Tammy: Wow, after all the 'I can sing in a thousand languages and am a trained opera singer', I was expecting a lot more. Her song choice good...but her performance...was bad. The falsetto didn't work for the song, and she sounded sharp a lot of the time. Methinks this is the last we see of Stevie.
Score: 3.5

Brenna Gethers "You Are The Sunshine of My Life"
Destiny: Mediocre voice. Wrong song choice. With that brash personality, she needs to have greatness in the vocal department if she wants to survive in this competition.
Score: 5.5
Liza: The performance itself was pretty average - nothing special, good or
bad, about it. It's the kind of performance that, in this round, would usually get her booted. But luckily for her, she is a memorable "character", whether you like her or not (see Gordon, Mikalah), and she showed her personality during the judges' comments. That just may save her.
Score: 5.0
Tammy: Annoying. Baffling outfit. Forgettable. Her odd camera whoring at the end of the show was a bit of a turn off too. I don't really need to see you waving your butt at the camera, thanks.
Score: 4.5

Heather Cox "When You Tell Me That You Love Me"
Destiny: Bad song choice and a weak weak voice. Eventhough she claims to be addicted to the show, she needed someone to give her some advice as to how to succeed on it. Meh.
Score: 4.5
Liza: The thing that struck me the most about the song was that she sang it in the easiest, safest key imaginable. She showed absolutely zero range, and it was very unmemorable. As someone who had very little airtime going into tonight, she probably made a fatal mistake in playing it safe.
Score: 4.0
Tammy: Oh maaaan. There's nothing redeemable about this performance. What on earth happened up there? That was just bad.
Score: 2.0

Melissa McGhee "When The Lights Go Down"
Destiny: Boring song. Pitchy voice. A mess.
Score: 6.0
Liza: I disagree. Yes, she did oversing it at times and was slightly off in her timing in the beginning, but I really like the tone of her voice. She has that Jessica Sierra raspy quality. I thought she did a nice job.
Score: 7.0
Tammy: Her range didn't fit the song. Appearance is a bit white trashy. Her makeup makes it look like she escaped from a bordello.
Score: 5.7

Lisa Tucker "I Am Changing"
Destiny: Nice stage presence. She had a few moments of questionable notes, but no doubt she's a great talent. I want to see her do something uptempo and fun next week.
Score: 8.0
Liza: Wow. The teenagers are bringing it tonight! She showed more confidence, power, control and maturity than just about everyone else tonight. That was an incredible performance.
Score: 9.5
Tammy: Noooo I cannot believe you guys liked that! Overrrrrrrated. She's definitely in the pimp position this season. And she totally didn't connect with the song. She sounded flat in parts and definitely did not do this song justice.
Score: 4.4

Kinnik Sky "Get Here"
Destiny: Beautiful job. I am seriously shocked at the judges' indifference towards her. Wow.
Score: 8.5
Liza: I think the problem with Kinnik is a lack of originality for most of the song. She sounded just like Oleta Adams in the beginning, and she didn't quite make it her own until the end. She has a really nice voice, though.
Score: 7.0
Tammy: She can sing, yes. But wow is her personality ever grating and fake. Her voiceovers and on-camera discussions were so rehearsed sounding (and yes, I know it is rehearsed, but it really didn't sound sincere). I don't think she was as bad as the judges made her out to be, though. Kinnik has a tendency to oversing. When nearly every note is BIG, BIG, BIG, then the 'wow' factor is not as effective as she closes the song with yet another BIG note. Er...and looking a little drag queen-ish, too. But overall one of the better performances tonight.
Score: 7.9

Katharine McPhee "Since I Fell For You"
Destiny: Pure voice and captivating stage presence. This girl is on her way to serious Idol success.
Score: 8.5
Liza: Katharine has an exquisite voice, especially when she sings simply. She did well with this song and didn't overcook it, like she did in previous auditions. With her song choices so far, I wonder if America is ready for a jazz/standards Idol. It could be with her ...she has it all - personality, looks and talent. She's a bit of Season 1 Kelly. I think she's going to go very far.
Score: 9.0
Tammy: Katharine is really unique. She's like a sassy badass Norah Jones or something. She's the only one who actually really appeared to lose herself in the song, and didn't fight to win the audience over. She just let it happen naturally. Hard to find fault with this one. She has fun personality, too.
Score: 8.8

Who Should Be Eliminated
Destiny: Brenna Gethers, Heather Cox
Liza: Heather Cox, Becky O'Donohue
Tammy: Becky O'Donohue, Stevie Scott

Who Will Be Eliminated
Destiny: Heather Cox, Becky O'Donohue
Liza: Heather Cox, Stevie Scott
Tammy: Becky O'Donohue, Stevie Scott

Come back tomorrow for the It's Destiny! panel's take on the guys of AI5.

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