Idol Goes 21st Century

The Top 10 sang songs of the 21st century this week on American Idol 5. This theme should have provided a week of exciting performances, but instead found most of the contestants playing it much too safe or making seriously bad song choices. With the caliber of talent in this year's group of finalists, there's no reason for such mediocrity. It's time to step it up, Idols!

Following is the It's Destiny! panel's take on the AI5 Finals Round 3: Music of the 21st Century.

Lisa Tucker "Because Of You"
Liza: I'm shocked that Kelly Clarkson allowed this song that is deeply personal to her to be sung on Idol. After hearing Lisa's performance, she'll probably never allow it to be sung again. Not only was the arrangement choppy and, basically, awful, but she hit a few clunkers that were magnified by bad backing vocals. Her pouting onstage didn't help her, either.
Score: 5.0
Tammy: If Lisa isn't booted from the show after this sub par performance, there is no justice in this world.
Score: 5.0
Destiny: Why in the world would anyone sing a Kelly Clarkson song on Idol? No one could possibly come close to the original, so why even try? Like Liza, I am shocked that Kelly would even allow this particular song to be sung by anyone other than herself. It's sad to watch Lisa week to week chosing poor songs for herself and burying all the potential she showed at the beginning of the season. She needs major advice, and I'm surprised she has no one in her life to help her make better song choices. Lisa should have at least listened when Liza warned the Top 12 to not touch this song. She has sunk her own ship.
Score: 5.0

Kellie Pickler "Suds in the Bucket"
Liza: Vocals weren't bad, and we were treated to minimal Kellie idiocy, but her performance was very bland and surprisingly boring. She should have had so much more fun with this kind of song.
Score: 6.25
Tammy: Hmm. What was it that was wrong with this performance? It was weird. Kellie didn't seem to be connecting with much of anything, the song or the audience. Though I think the song is well suited for Kellie, for some reason she didn't sound very convincing singing it, and appeared almost lethargic. Maybe playing the 'dumb hick' is tiring.
Score: 6.0
Destiny: Yes, something was definitely missing from this performance. I agree with the judges that Kellie could have chosen a much better song for herself. I also think that she could have done a much better job with this one. I didn't like how the song was cut and arranged. It didn't allow her to embrace the storyline of the song (like she did in her video intro clip), and storytelling is one of Kellie's strongest performance skills. That being said, I still love this girl. She makes me happy when I see her, and I look forward to what she will do next. I liked her makeup a whole lot better this week, too.
Score: 7.0

Ace Young "Drops Of Jupiter"
Liza: So much has been made of Ace's looks. What's funny is that tonight his appearance and presentation was pretty awful between the ugly shirt and the flat hair, but I found his singing to actually be better tonight. So maybe he just needs to ugly it up in order for me to like him. I kind of agree with Simon that it was karaoke because he sang it straight up and did not make it his own. Ace really needs to get control of his nerves, too. When he reached his arm out at the end of the song, his hand was shaking so much.
Score: 7.0
Tammy: Aw, Liza, why'd you have to point out the arm shaking? Now I feel bad for him and won't be able to snark without the guilt! Actually, I like Ace. I just don't think that tonight's performance was..umm..good. Showing the 'scar' as you sang the 'permanent scar' lyrics? CHEESY! Gah. A bad song choice by Ace. Each week his limited vocal abilities are further exposed. Also? A word with Randy, please. Since when is 'nsync' considered 'soul'??!!
Score: 6.5
Destiny: Yes, Ace seriously needs to get control of his nerves. He was shaking like a leaf up there! I agree with Tammy, too, that every week Ace gets weaker vocally. It's really sad to see his decline in the competition, because, like Lisa, he is sinking his own ship with poor song choices and performances. He seriously needs to step it up. At this point, he's so far removed from the frontrunner status he had at the beginning of the semi-finals, that he'll be lucky to stick around very much longer.
Score: 7.0

Taylor Hicks "Trouble"
Liza: Brilliant song choice by Taylor. Since no one knows the original, he won't be compared unfavorably to the original artist or called karaoke, as Lisa and Ace were. Taylor did an excellent job with the song. Great vocals and finally no tics!
Score: 9.0
Tammy: I couldn't disagree more, Liza. The clothing was more memorable than the song. The jeans and leather jacket were a good choice, and with any luck they have burned that dreadful blue suit from last week. As for the song, it sort of went nowhere. Would it kill Taylor to choose something current that people have actually heard of? He has the skills to put his own spin on a more contemporary song, which I think would have been more interesting than what he delivered tonight. Tonight he was good, but there was no 'wow'.
Score: 8.0
Destiny: I have to agree with Tammy on this one. It would have been nice to hear Taylor put his unique spin on a current song that everyone knows. While I like the song he chose, it didn't "wow" me either. That being said, I love Taylor and the awesome tone of his voice. Just wish it was put towards something a little more dynamic.
Score: 8.0

Mandisa "Shackles"
Liza: Destiny! I know you've been dying for someone to sing this song! And what a person to sing it and do it justice. There were a few notes that were iffy, but she's fabulous, and she commanded the stage. The religious undertones may turn some off, but not enough to make a big difference.
Score: 8.0
Tammy: The religious undertones didn't turn me off, but the singing sure did. Again, Mandisa chose a song that highlights her vocal flaws. WHY?? The song itself seemed like a poor choice as well, and seemed like an ill fit on the Idol stage.
Score: 7.0
Destiny: Yes! I've been wishing and hoping for someone to do this song on AI for years and even requested that Mandisa sing it this season. When she said she was singing it, I leapt for joy. When she hit the stage with the music, I was hyped (as was George Huff in the audience). But as the performance went on, I grew slightly disappointed because Mandisa just basically wailed and never sang the actual chorus of the song ("take these shackles off my feet do I can dance, I just want to praise You")- she left that to the backup singers. Why?! Girl, if you had sung that part it would have been so golden you wouldn't have believed it! Can she please have a do-over? This is not how it was meant to be!
Score: 8.0

Chris Daughtry "What If"
Liza: There goes the light show again. That was just too much for me. Too screamy, too angry, too many scary faces and a really bad note at the end.
Score: 6.5
Tammy: Wow, it went from zero to LOUD. It was a little off-putting. Not one of Chris' finer performances. He yelled the whole song, and his vibrato was very evident. Hate to agree with Simon, but that song does not suit Idol. I don't even think it would have suited the Rock Star series. Brave choice, but possibly also foolish. The boy needs to reel it in a bit.
Score: 6.5
Destiny: Really glad that the judges called him out on this song choice and vocal performance. Both were just irritating. That was the epitome of pitchy rock singing. Yikes. And nice way to cover up last week's "Walk The Line" fiasco by casually mentioning that he did the band, Live's, version of the song. I guess it's better late than never, but that should have been clearly stated by Chris post-performance last week. I've said before that Chris' style of singing doesn't do anything for me, and he has yet to do anything to change my mind. Also didn't like his snarkiness towards Simon tonight.
Score: 5.0

Katharine McPhee "The Voice Within"
Liza: I thought she sounded off to begin with, and she didn't bring even half of the power and passion that Christina brings to the song, so when Simon said it was almost better than the original, I was shocked. I thought Katharine didn't really sound right until the key change. The ending was lovely.
Score: 7.5
Tammy: The only reason the ending was lovely was because it signaled that we were finally being put out of our misery. That first note was rough, and a sign of things to come. This song was a poor choice for Katharine, as it emphasizes the difficulties she has with her upper register. If you're going to choose a song where you're supposed to wail, you should be able to wail, darlin'. And her delivery of the song was a little too 'Stepford Wives' for me.
Score: 6.7
Destiny: I agree that the song started off poorly, but I thought she quickly gained her footing and turned in a very good version of a very difficult song. That being said, why would you ever choose a Christina Aguilera song to sing on Idol and then attempt to do it in Aguilera's style when you know you're not a belter? She could have at least jazzed up the arrangement a bit and made it more stylized. Good, not great.
Score: 8.0

Bucky Covington "Real Good Man"
Liza: This is right up Bucky's alley, and he looked comfortable and sounded good, if you like that kind of thing, which I don't.
Score: 6.25
Tammy: Bucky seems more relaxed on stage this week. At times, he sounded a bit drowned out by the band, which is due to no fault of his own. Bucky's voice sounded quite good on this song. One of the better performances tonight. Yikes. Did I just say that?
Score: 8.2
Destiny: I agree, Tammy, he was drowned out by the band throughout the song. Wanted: New Sound Technician for The #1 Show On TV. That being said, Bucky did sound decent on this boring song. He did manage, however, to throw in a nice sideways one-legged slide dance move. Everyone, do the Bucky!
Score: 6.0

Paris Bennett "Work It Out"
Liza: FINALLY! Someone who sings something that is totally relevant to today's music scene. Simon said that she looked like a little girl trying to be Beyonce, but Paris moved like anything but a little girl. She's got some moves! That was fantastic. She is the total package.
Score: 9.5
Tammy:I want to give this girl a handful of Ritalin and shove her off that Idol stage. She used to be cute. Now she annoys. And that hairstyle has never looked good on anyone. Why does this trend continue to exist? For shame, stylists! That said, she sounded good.
Score: 8.2
Destiny: I'm with Liza on this one. Paris tore up the stage and was the only one of the night who turned in a legit performance relevant to today's music scene. From the look to the moves to that KILLER voice, Paris has got it all. Even with praise from two out of three judges, the girl was seriously underrated this week.
Score: 9.5

Elliott Yamin "I Don't Want To Be"
Liza: The faux white-boy rapper dance moves and the strange arrangement ... er, I don't know. I spent the entire performance looking oddly at the television.
Score: 7.25
Tammy: He showed more personality with this song than he has throughout the whole competition. However, his hopping up and down was a bit tedious to watch (nerves, perhaps?). His vocals were kind of up and down as well (maybe due to the hopping?). Nice choice by the stylists again this week with Elliott. But yeah...strange.
Score: 7.2
Destiny: Despite his messing up the first few lines, I loved the performance and arrangement of this song. That was the epitome of "making it his own." Elliott has such a stunning voice and he finally put out extra energy this week to turn in a strong performance. He kicked up his game for sure.
Score: 8.5

Who Should Be Eliminated
Liza: Lisa
Tammy: Lisa
Destiny: Lisa

Who Will Be Eliminated
Liza: Lisa
Tammy: Lisa
Destiny: Lisa

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We asked you, "Who Did The Best On 50s Night?"
Ace 37%
Mandisa 11%
Paris 10%,
Elliott 9.1%
Chris 9%
Lisa 7.3%
Taylor 6.7%
Katharine 5.8%
Kellie 4%
Kevin 0.1%
Bucky 0%

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