Supreme Foul-Ups
Although they were given good advice for a change from guest mentor Diana Ross, many of the American Idol Top 12 finalists were unable to capitalize with standout performances. Forgotten lyrics marred several performances, and ill-advised attempts at modernization failed to impress the judges. But did it impress the It's Destiny! panel?

The It's Destiny! guest panelist this week is Lisa from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Following is the It's Destiny! panel's take on the AI6 Top 12: Music of Diana Ross.

Brandon Rogers "You Can't Hurry Love"
Tammy: Though he is one of many competitors tonight to suffer from 'Forgot the Words' syndrome, that is not the lowlight of Brandon's performance. The entire performance is a lowlight. From his dull, dull, dull stage presence to his indistinctive vocals, it is an utter mess. The fact that he forgot his words may actually prove beneficial for Brandon, as he may pull in the sympathy vote.
Score: 5.5
Lisa: Oh this poor soul. I want to cheer for him, and I want him to be so amazing that he makes Simon stop bashing him, but poor Brandon just doesn't have that comfort zone to understand this competition. I thought the song choice was awful yet again - maybe that is his problem, bad songs and even worse musicality. I think he has an awesome voice but is completely clueless with what to do with it right now. He has already had 3 chances to prove us wrong, but he hasn't yet.
Score: 5.0
Liza: First of all, thanks for joining us, Lisa! It's good to have you on board this week. Like you, I want to cheer for Brandon, but he hasn't given us any reason to since his first audition. When they said he was doing this song, I thought "good song choice", as it has been covered successfully in the past by a male solo singer (Phil Collins). Unfortunately for Brandon, he still does not put out front man vibes at all. And that was even before he forgot the words and did not try to play it off. That's inexcusable for someone who supposedly has a lot of singing experience. Brandon may have pulled in the sympathy votes for forgetting the words ... if he weren't the only person to do it! He's in serious trouble this week.
Score: 5.0

Melinda Doolittle "Home"
Tammy: It's almost as if Melinda doesn't belong on this show. She is already refined in almost every aspect as a performer. Once again she absolutely owns her minute and a half. It's hard to dislike this one.
Score: 9.0
Lisa: Can we just give her the crown NOW and make her a star? From the humble personality to the down-to-earth modesty, this girl is a star. The instant second she opened her mouth, rich harmonies with jazz nuances blurted out of her mouth with so much fire that it reduced Paula to an absolute mess. And we thought she only cried for the Constantines and Justins of the world!!! Melinda can delivah ANYTHING and do it so effortlessly that you can only sit back and be amazed.
Score: 10.0
Liza: Paula's blubbering! Where are her meds?! I'm not sure that it was a performance worth CRYING over, but it was great vocally. I concur with you two ... she brings it every week, and I find myself eagerly anticipating her next performance. The only thing that worries me about her is that she is setting such high expectations for herself that even a great performance like this is a little bit of a let-down after previous showings. But that's a good problem to have, I guess!
Score: 9.25

Chris Sligh "Endless Love"
Tammy: Though raked over the coals by the Idol judges for daring to rearrange his song, I was not overly offended by the end result. His Coldplayification of his song at times seemed to be in dire need of a melody, but Chris's vocals sounded great, and overall I liked the performance. Losing the glasses was a mistake, however. Now isn't the time to be abandoning anything that made you stand out from the pack, Chris.
Score: 8.3
Lisa: Is it me or has the Jack Osborne look-alike turned in to the team leader of the Richard Simmons club? Clearly Chris has tried his hardest to look contemporary by ditching the glasses and cutting the hair, but he may have gone down the wrong road with contemporizing "Endless Love". As much as the panel of judges hated it, I loved the way Chris's voice sounded on this track. Sure the background was Coldplay esque-but shouldn't Chris have been given credit for actually TRYING to be different?? The voice is great but I guess he learned his lesson by changing up a classically cheesy song to something more exciting.
Score: 8.0
Liza: I'd give Chris credit for trying if he didn't give it such a bloody awful arrangement. I'm totally with the judges on this one. I hated it. And Chris Martin should sue the boy for not only stealing so obviously from "Clocks" but for soiling that great song with this mess. The funny thing is that Chris wanted to make the song more contemporary, but his arrangement made it sound maybe only five years older and even cheesier than the song is as recorded.
Score: 4.0

Gina Glocksen "Love Child"
Tammy: It seemed to me that Gina's main struggle this week was to find a song in Diana Ross' catalog that somehow maintained her 'edgy' image. Evidently, this is as close as it gets. Gina's vocals seemed screechy, however, and the whole performance seemed a bit pointless, as she never really seemed to have any connection with the lyrics.
Score: 7.4
Lisa: Say what you want, I am just not convinced with this girl at all. Her voice doesn't do anything for any song she sings, and it frustrates me. I like her look and her funk quality, but right now I just don't HEAR that in her song selections. She did an OK job tonight but nothing made me remember her performance afterwards.
Score: 6.0
Liza: This was pretty much the best song choice for Gina. Diana Ross and "edgy" don't exactly go hand-in-hand. The energy was maybe lacking a little bit, but I enjoyed Gina's performance, and I thought she sang it well. She was able to "pronounciate" (hello, Miss Ross ... even Paula knows it's "enunciate"!) well enough.
Score: 8.0

Sanjaya Malakar "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
Tammy: Let's once again discuss the most entertaining aspect of any Sanjaya performance, HIS HAIR! This week Sanjaya seemed to be courting the 'Guarini' look. The end result is...a bit effeminate. Sanjaya's performance? Same as every other week. Bad.
Score: 5.0
Lisa: I didn't know whether to be afraid of the mop-top poodle curl or the scary singing that our good friend Sanjaya pulled off. I think he picked the worst and most OVERUSED song in Idol history to serenade his fans with. Sure, cute smile, somewhat interesting hair, but come ON - this is a singing competition not High School Musical 2. The vocals were atrocious, and the stage presence was completely gone.
Score: 2.0 for the voice, 9.0 for the ringlets
Liza: Ha! Funny you should say High School Musical 2 because I was thinking that if Sanjaya successfully courts the High School Musical and Corbin Bleu fanbase, we're in deep trouble because that movie has a ridiculous amount of fans! I do like Sanjaya's curlier locks, and that's as positive as I can get with him. First of all, the song choice ... As if this show hasn't sucked dry this song already! And speaking of sucking ... Sanjaya sucked, and he sucked the life out of the song. Let's hope this is the final nail in the coffin for this song and for him.
Score: 3.5

Haley Scarnato "Missing You"
Tammy: There were moments in this performance that I really enjoyed, but Haley's case of nerves and shaky voice made those moments few and far between. The song, requiring softer vocals, seemed a good match for her voice, but the poor girl seemed to have a bit of a meltdown onstage. Her cute, self-deprecating attitude may save her from the chopping block this week, though.
Score: 7.0
Lisa: AI 6's Katharine McPhee look-alike failed to impress me tonight. She started off the song too light and withdrawn, which had me worried, but as Simon said, she DID have some strong notes in the chorus which redeemed her. I think she has a good voice, but something just doesn't form a connection with her and the camera AND the audience. I always end up forgetting anything she ever does.
Score: 6.0
Liza: She certainly did channel the McPhee tonight with the hair and outfit. And at times, Haley's voice sounded just as lovely. But Diana Ross nailed what it is about Haley that is wrong for this show ... she has a recording artist's voice, not so much a performing artist's voice. She could barely project. Like Brandon, she also completely forgot the lyrics at one point. Unlike Brandon, though, she at least delivered strong moments before doing so. I think Simon's trying not to get her pity votes this week, so I'm not completely buying his praise, but based on what we've seen so far, I don't think she should be in the bottom 3, let alone eliminated.
Score: 6.0

Phil Stacey "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"
Tammy: I've had more than enough of Phil's overwrought vocals. He gives the same performance every week! I'd say his vocals are a bit Clay Aiken-esque, but I think that'd be an insult to Clay.
Score: 6.5
Lisa: Something about his look scares me ... still. BUT in the end, I actually liked his performance and thought he really did a great job. His lower range tonight was by far more impressive than it has been, and I have always been a fan of his upper range. I think he can be an ultimate pop singer because he has that pop voice with the big range.
Score: 7.0
Liza: His lower range has been atrocious in the past weeks, and almost anything could be better than last week's monstrosity! I am not sure why Phil insists on starting out in the lower register because once he kicked it into the higher register, his voice soared. This was the best male vocal performance of the night.
Score: 7.0

Lakisha Jones "God Bless the Child"
Tammy: Lakisha was just average for me this week. She added nothing special to the song, and seems to lack the dynamic stage presence of her closest competition, Melinda. She seems to be missing that certain spark which would be enough to take her all the way.
Score: 8.3
Lisa: I found it interesting that she didn't take Diana Ross's advice and use the mic stand in front of her ... hmmmm ... Other than that, the song was a perfect choice, even though I felt that Lakisha was holding back a bit too much. Sure, I love when singers just SING the song, but I also like the belting here and there. Mind you, LaKisha is not the type to be all screechy which is GREAT - and in the end, we can give an awwwwww yeah to the plus size ladies out there who can prove to Simon that they don't need to be thin to be commercial!
Score: 9.5
Liza: The song alone has the potential to be a show-stopper with the right person, and she made it one. I agree with the judges - she could have oversung it, but she didn't. She was appropriately emotive, and she gave a nearly perfect vocal. LaKisha does her best on these Broadway/movie musical type of numbers. Huh. Three of her four songs have been from musicals. What's next? "Anytime" from From Justin To Kelly?
Score: 9.25

Blake Lewis "You Keep Me Hanging On"
Tammy: Once again the Idol judges criticize a performer for messing with the original arrangement, while I thought Blake did an excellent job making this song a bit more contemporary. The men are already at a disadvantage, being forced to sing songs that are more suited for a female's voice. But Blake certainly knows how to sell what he's delivering onstage. At times, however, his vocals seemed a bit restrained, the result of perhaps yet another case of nerves?
Score: 8.9
Lisa: All hail to thee Sting's long-lost love child. At first I was a bit interested in what Blake would do with the changing of the beats, but when he started out in that high girly pitch, I became very afraid. I honestly think that Blake cannot sing just anything that the judges give him since he is very R&B and hip hop so you can't blame the guy. However, he is quite different and I guess he can be the next Jacob Hoggard with the weekly, "what is he gonna do next?"
Score: 5.0
Liza: Oooh daring choice. He obviously did not go on his computer to do his Idol homework. This song has gotten two previous contestants booted in the first week of the finals. I doubt he will see the same fate since he, unlike Chris Sligh, managed to modernize the song without making it an utter mess. Blake is not the first artist to electronify this song, though. Kim Wilde had a huge hit with this in the 80's. I'm not really sold on him as a vocalist the way the judges are. I haven't been all that impressed so far with his vocals, especially on the group songs we've heard so far!
Score: 7.25

Stephanie Edwards "Love Hangover"
Tammy: A trainwreck of a song choice. The tune seemed to go nowhere, and I found myself just waiting for it to be over. Stephanie continues to bring the cute fashion-wise, however.
Score: 7.6
Lisa: I thought she pulled off a much better performance tonight without dipping in to the Beyonce effect. I quite like her voice and think she definitely has star presence, but there is something I just cannot relate to right now. The voice is there, though, and she can pull the punches.
Score: 7.0
Liza: Speaking of modernizing songs, this is how you do it without screwing with the arrangements. You can do it just with the style of singing. I thought she sounded quite good, although some of her held notes rang a little sharp at times. I don't know the song enough to have been awaiting this great part of the song, and if she forgot some lyrics, she covered pretty well.
Score: 7.25

Chris Richardson "The Boss"
Tammy: Oof. I defend Chris's vocals as much I can, but this was just painful to listen to. He may have commanded the stage, but I doubt anyone could listen to this more than once before curling up into the fetal position and praying for the bad man to stop.
Score: 5.8
Lisa: Timberlake's twin didn't quite hit it out of the park tonight. You could see the complete discomfort in his face whilst singing the tunes of Diana Ross. I felt for him because his style is VERY selective and completely reduced to hip hop and R&B, which could be a problem. I slightly prefer his style over Blake's, but in the end, it must have been pretty embarrassing for this yo-yo-yo guy to be crooning to the likes of Miss Ross. Not good tonight!
Score: 5.0
Liza: Against my better judgment, I found this to be one of the better male performances tonight. I have zero fangirl feelings for Chris Richardson, and I know that his vocals are weak, but the "bad man's" smoke and mirrors of good performance skills, energy and theme embracing are really working a number on me. HELP!
Score: 7.25

Jordin Sparks "If We Hold On Together"
Tammy: Jordin delivers a Disney-riffic performance this week. The whole thing was a bit too sweet and syrupy for my liking, but the song seems to call for it, so I'll let it slide. This 17 year old is performing with more confidence than many of her older competitors.
Score: 8.6
Lisa: Now this is one teenager who doesn't sound like any other teenager. Diana DeGarmo and Kevin Covais, I think not. I thought she did a great job with her rich and elegant vocals as she proved that ballad singing is more for her than your usual upbeat stuff.
Score: 9.0
Liza: Jordin just replaced Haley as the next Disney hope (yes, I know The Land Before Time was a Universal flick!). I'm with Tammy on the song and the singing having such a syrupy feel, and I will also give Jordin a pass because it's appropriate for the song. Jordin is adorable, and she hit a few notes that were truly angelic. She does, however, need to be careful about shouting at times. Overall, though, it was lovely.
Score: 8.5

Who Should Be Eliminated:
Tammy: Sanjaya, Brandon
Lisa:You mean how MANY should go home right?? I say Sanjaya because the quality of singing is ridiculously bad at this stage in the competition.
Liza: Sanjaya