Canadian Idol Top 22
The Worst Ever!

The Top 22 contestants of Canadian Idol 5 hit the stage this week, the eleven guys performing on Monday and the girls on Tuesday. With only a few standout performances amongst the whole lot of them, this surely is the weakest group of semi-finalists Canadian Idol has ever seen. So many of the singers were terrible vocally, one begins to wonder if there is a problem with the sound system. Or the judges' ears. Here's hoping that things turn around drastically next week. Otherwise, they may need to cut the competition immediately to a Top 5, just for the viewers' sanity alone.

Following is the It's Destiny! panel's take on the CI5 Top 22: The Guys and The Girls.

Top 11 Guys

Jaydee Bixby "Johnny B. Goode"
Liza: Dennis the Menace over here is exactly the kind of cute, non-threatening boy that Idol voters love. His voice is astonishingly mature-sounding, and he does have some pizzazz onstage. I just don't know what in the world he would do in the current music scene, but he'll do great in the Elvis and oldies theme nights.
Score: 7.5
Destiny: I agree that Jaydee is sure to be a success on this show. He has everything voters love. This, however, was my least favorite performance we've seen from him. It seemed a bit stiff and uninspired. He did sound good, though.
Score: 7.5

Clifton Murray "I'll Be"
Liza: He had some pitch and timing problems in the beginning, and his voice just doesn't do it for me. It's far too wispy. And for someone who should be used to being on camera, he sure looked awfully uncomfortable at the beginning with the mic. That glory note may save him this week, but he's going to have to do a lot more to stay in it longer. I have to say it's refreshing to see the glory notes not treated as the be-all, end-all.
Score: 6.5
Destiny: Yeah, I was glad he got called out on the glory note, too. It came out of nowhere and wasn't needed. And it wasn't even that good. His voice does nothing for me, nor does his personality. Meh.
Score: 6.0

Derek Hoffman "Move Along"
Liza: Wow that was a horrible start, and it didn't get much better. The whole thing was out of tune and mostly inaudible. This reeked of early audition crap. This could be the worst performance I've ever seen at this stage.
Score: 3.0
Destiny: I don't know what went wrong here. Yikes. For looking like a cross between James Blunt and Josh Palmer, this guy's voice and stage presence certainly was a let down.
Score: 4.0

Justyn Wesley "Some Kind Of Wonderful"
Liza: I don't know what performance was about. The outfit and the cheesy stage movements were like something out of a third-rate Vegas revue. At least he stayed in tune, which is more than I can say for some of the others.
Score: 5.0
Destiny: This guy has shown elements of artistry, but this song choice and performance totally fell flat. He has the potential to be one of the most exciting contestants of the season (think Jacob Hoggard), but he ain't gonna get the chance if he doesn't step up to the plate in a big way next week.
Score: 5.8

Dwight D'eon "Cry"
Liza: Interesting song choice. I'm not sure what to make of this either. Dwight seems a bit over-intense. He's channeling the Daughtry a little bit. He has a good voice, but I find him a little uncomfortable to watch at times.
Score: 7.75
Destiny: Since the first time we saw him, it's clear that Dwight is totally the Canadian Chris Daughtry. He needs to lighten up. I see more diversity in Dwight than his American counterpart, so there could be some potential there. I don't get why the judges went crazy over this performance, though. As Liza said, it was over-intense and a bit uncomfortable to watch.
Score: 7.0

Greg Neufeld "This Love"
Liza: He looked so stiff in the beginning but loosened up fairly quickly and really turned in a good performance, weird dancing aside. I thought he sounded really good on this song.
Score: 8.75
Destiny: Greg did sound good on this song, but for what we know he is capable of, the performance was really below-par. He was awkward onstage for most of the song, and while he sounded good, it wasn't GREAT. Come on, Greg. Don't blow it this time. At least the judges are in his corner.
Score: 8.0

Tyler Mullendore "Brown Sugar"
Liza: He looks like Paul Williams but is about 50,000 times cooler, which says more (or less) about Paul Williams because Tyler really, really bugs. I barely understood a word he sang, and he staggered around stage like a drunk Mick Jagger at times. It was almost comical, and I don't think that was the effect he should have been going for. The stage performance was rather embarrassing.
Score: 7.0
Destiny: Wow. I couldn't disagree with you more, Liza! I think Tyler is totally cool and so interesting. He sounds great, and I was impressed with his stage movement. I was wondering how he would do without his guitar, and he proved that he is a true rock star with his command of the stage. Definitely the most exciting male in this competition. Can't wait to see what he does next.
Score: 8.9

Andrew Austin "Freedom '90"
Liza: Oh man, more embarrassing dancing. Andrew has a nice voice, but he sounded out of breath at a key moment of the song ("All we have to do now is take these lies and make them true somehow") and changed the pronoun to you instead of we. The creepy look into the camera at the end didn't help either.
Score: 6.5
Destiny: I like this guy, but this was not a good song choice or performance. He was so uncomfortable onstage, and his voice was shaky. Poor guy. I think he could have done so much better than this. I'm sure he'd love to be able to rewind time and make another choice.
Score: 6.5

Matt Rapley "Isn't She Lovely"
Liza: Oh that old Idol staple. Yawn. It's a shame that Matt picked this song because he has a chance to really stand out as the only male R&B singer, but he won't stand out with a song like this. But then again, this isn't American Idol, where that kind of singing is kind of a dime a dozen. Great voice, though. Could be Ruben-esque.
Score: 7.75
Destiny: Great voice? Really? The little we got to hear of him in the previous episodes did sound good, but this performance was so out of tune it made me crazy. Maybe there is something wrong with my speakers, because I almost fell out of my chair when the judges heaped high praise on Matt. Huh?
Score: 4.0

Brian Melo "Stereo"
Liza: The man of many hats. I wonder if he has a Phil Stacey dome. I think Brian accomplished what Derek tried to do earlier. This was the most credible performance of the night and one of the only times I've never felt like I was not watching Canadian Idol. Incredible.
Score: 9.5
Destiny: Brian is so Enrique Iglesias, it's crazy. I think their closets would look almost identical. That being said, he has a smooth voice and a cool demeanor. This wasn't my favorite song choice, and I wouldn't call this performance incredible, but it was definitely one of the best performances of the night (mostly by default, considering the clunkers turned in throughout the night).
Score: 8.0

Liam Styles Chang "This Magic Moment"
Liza: An oldie sung emo style. Jaydee could take some lessons from Liam in how to make old songs sound new. And Chris Daughtry could have taken some lessons from Liam on how to take an old song covered by someone else and give the cover artist a shoutout while the judges give attribute the retread to you. Interesting song choice, but Liam actually has a good voice and comfortable stage presence.
Score: 8.5
Destiny: Liam sounded good on this song. Like Brian before him, the poor performances by most of the other guys before him makes him come off better than he actually is. He definitely should stick around, but I would like to see some more strength from him onstage. I'd also like to see him try out some new looks. It's all a bit too cliche right now.
Score: 8.0

Who Should Be Eliminated
Liza: Derek, Justyn
Destiny: Derek, Matt

Who Will Be Eliminated
Liza: Justyn, Andrew
Destiny: Andrew, Justyn

Top 11 Girls

Tara Orem "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden"
Tammy: While praised for 'staying true' to who she is (or some such nonsense), the reality is that yes, this may have been a genre performance, but it wasn't an especially inspiring one. You know it's going to be a long season when the judges can't muster up much to say about you except that you stuck to your roots. Next!
Score: 6.8
Liza: She does stand out as the only country singer in the competition, but she reminds me of Kellie Pickler vocally, and that usually is not a good thing. Plus, her performance wasn't exactly memorable. Her ending was odd and kind of deer in the headlights-ish. I'm also not thrilled with her old-school country song choice. I just don't understand why people choose old-fashioned songs like this when faced with an open-themed night. They'll have enough time to deal with older songs during theme nights.
Score: 6.75
Destiny: I wasn't all that impressed with this performance either. She looks so much like Carrie Underwood (the mouth and the chin in particular) that it is distracting. Unfortunately, she also had Carrie's stage presence during this performance. Boring and disconnected. I'm with Tammy: Next!
Score: 6.2

Martha Joy "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing"
Tammy: The girl is talented vocally, but this performance just reeked of pageant. The ceaseless smile, the absolute lack of connection to the words, all made me cringe just a little bit.
Score: 6.5
Liza: Reeked is exactly what I was thinking about this whole performance. It was a horrible song choice to start off with, but it got worse the way Martha Joy Celined it. She is a good singer, but this was excruciating and boring.
Score: 4.5
Destiny: I find it insulting that you would refer to what what Martha Joy did as "Celined". Her performance was so wrong and weird on so many levels, that I cannot believe she didn't get a total bashing from the judges. Unlike my fellow panelists and the CI judges, I did not walk away from this thinking that Martha Joy is a good singer.
Score: 4.0

Montana Martin Iles "The Bird And The Worm"
Tammy: Good grief, her resemblance to Lukas Rossi is now downright eerie! The skunked-out hair, the pink eyeshadow, the faux-goth ensemble, and even the manner in which she carried herself onstage all is reminiscent of the Rock Star performer. Unfortunately, her vocals weren't that strong, and even sounded somewhat nervous. But she was definitely the most entertaining performer of the night, and knows what to do to stand out from this year's pack of warbling balladeers.
Score: 8.3
Liza: Yeah, the Lukas resemblance was the first thing I noticed. Let's just hope she doesn't go off and marry a porn star like Mr. Rossi did. But back to Montana ... I totally admire that she is staying true to herself and showing originality, but I think this may be too obscure and too hard for this show. Personally, I'm not into that kind of music, which took my enjoyment of the performance down a notch, but I appreciate her performance and what she brings to the table. And unlike, say, Derek last night, she sang in tune.
Score: 8.5
Destiny: I agree that this song choice, while kind of cool, was probably too obscure and hard for this show. Besides that, I loved the softer stuff she did in earlier rounds and want to see her return to that. She is a gifted artist. And she's funny, too! Definitely one of the best contestants this year.
Score: 8.9

Mila Miller "I'm Going Down"
Tammy: She works the stage comfortably, has a fun vibe about her, and seems to know what kind of performer she wants to be. I found, however, that her vocals weren't all that impressive. But with this crop of bland Idol wannabes, that shouldn't hold her back much.
Score: 8.0
Liza: Smart move on her part to embrace the fro. It gives her a schtick. But she doesn't really need a schtick after that performance. She proved to be an interesting performer and one we've never seen before on Canadian Idol.
Score: 8.25
Destiny: I like the girl, but I hated the song choice. Even with better song choices, however, I think Mila's vocal ability is pretty weak. Although, as Tammy said, with this weak crop of contestants, Mila can probably go pretty far.
Score: 7.0

Maud Coussa-Jandl "Dreams"
Tammy: Doing a Dolores Riordan impersonation did this one no favours. She seemed completely unaware as she performed, though, and appeared to be having a ball up there, which does make her somewhat endearing. Whether she'll live to see another week is anyone's guess, but after this strange performance, there's no where to go but up?
Score: 6.0
Liza: Kudos for the song choice, but it wasn't a smart thing to do because Dolores O'Riordan's version is so ingrained in everyone's mind, and it really can't be sung any other way. And, even worse, Maud didn't come close to doing it justice vocally.
Score: 4.5
Destiny: I found Maud endearing, too, but have to agree that she was weak vocally on this song. It was bad. This is another Top 22 performance that wouldn't have made it past the first round of auditions. What's going on?
Score: 4.0

Annika Odegard "Helplessly, Hopelessly"
Tammy: I don't even know what to say about this performance. She looked like she wanted to run off the stage! The whole thing was a bit too 'high school talent show'. And she wouldn't have won the show.
Score: 5.0
Liza: I was going to say county pageant, but maybe that's too ambitious for her. Her opening was kind of a train wreck, and the whole performance was so comically pageanty, right down to her dress, arm movements and smile at the end.
Score: 5.0
Destiny: What is going on here, Canadian Idol judges?! Another terrible performance that didn't even hint at great talent underneath. Surely nerves cannot be to blame for all of the below-par showings by the Top 22. This girl is cute enough, but this was a poor song choice sung poorly. And why was she wearing a dress straight from the Muppets' wardrobe department?
Score: 4.0

Naomi-Joy Blackhall "Judgment Day"
Tammy: One word: poser (or poseur, if you will). The vocals were completely, painfully off key, (not to mention off tempo at point), and the requisite 'rock star' hair tossing made me want to toss my lunch.
Score: 5.0
Liza: Hey, it's Canada's version of a tone-deaf Nadia Turner! Naomi-Joy sounded SO out of tune to me. She should have tried to make some excuse that she was purposefully singing in minor key.
Score: 3.0
Destiny: You mean an excuse like Rose from AI Season One who famously proclaimed that she "wasn't trying to do the right notes"? Hee! Naomi-Joy was pretty good in her first audition, but everything we've heard from her since has been off-key like this performance. Obviously, her good looks earned her a spot in the Top 22.
Score: 3.5

Christine Hanlon "Possession"
Tammy: I found this performance borderline insulting. This song, written by Sarah McLachlan, was about a stalker who had been threatening to kill her. Christine sings it as if she has paid absolutely NO attention to the lyrics, like at the part where she sings 'and I would be the one to hold you down/ kiss you so hard/ I'll take your breath away', she's grinding suggestively? GAH! No! Away with you! I have no use for your kind!
Score: 3.0
Liza: Heh. I don't know who hates her more - Tammy or the editors! You can tell the editors hate her because after all that chit-chat with Ben about being from Rexdale, the pre-packaged piece shows her saying she's from Toronto. I'm not fond of her myself, and I didn't think she should have made the Top 22 over Jessica. I thought she sounded good but performed poorly, and that was even without taking Tammy's comments into consideration. Even without being lyrically inappropriate, the grinding was embarrassing. Sadly, I thought it was the best I've seen her on the show, which really says a lot about how poorly I thought she's done prior to.
Score: 7.0
Destiny: I am not on the Christine love train either. I, too, didn't think she was worthy of making it past the first round of Toronto, and I thought Jessica deserved a spot in the Top 22 over her (speaking of which, why wasn't Jessica the alternate?). I never knew the backstory behind the lyrics of this song, but as Liza said, the performance was awkward enough without even knowing that. Her voice is nothing to write home about, and her personality is grating.
Score: 4.5

Scarlett Burke "I Learned From The Best"
Tammy: Scarlett does have a good voice, and shone on some of the glory notes, but the majority of the song was very bland and forgettable. And yet? Sadly? Still one of the best of the night.
Score: 6.9
Liza: I'm on a different wavelength than the judges tonight. I actually quite liked that. The opening was rough, and the key was too low, but her phrasing and tone in the chorus really made that song interesting and soulful. She needs to fire her makeup artist, though!
Score: 8.0
Destiny: I thought she sounded good on the song, but I didn't like the song itself. Boring.
Score: 7.0

Khalila G "Family Portrait"
Tammy: Nice performance from Khalila. Confident, in key, and worked the stage well. Sometimes that's all it takes.
Score: 8.2
Liza: Best vocals of the night so far, and, as the judges said, she was feeling the song, and her honesty was shining through. Well done!
Score: 9.0
Destiny: Sure, she sounded pretty good, but I just didn't get anything special out of the performance. Meh.
Score: 7.0

Carly Rae Jepsen "Put Your Records On"
Tammy: I was really enjoying Carly's performance until she got up from her stool, started to oversing, and worked the stage in a manner that looked completely out of place. The song doesn't really call for that, and the sincerity completely disappeared.
Score: 8.3
Liza: Good song choice for her - it's right up her alley vocally. But I also thought she should have stayed on that stool and kept her stage movements to a minimum. It kind of reminds me of watching Tyler Lewis last year and screaming at him to stop moving because he. was. so. awkward. Oh, and don't think I didn't notice the Chris Richardson-esque pimpage with the guitar player on stage!
Score: 8.5
Destiny: Carly sounded really good on this song and has huge star quality. I thought she looked a little nervous, though. I think the getting off the stool thing was a direct response to Zack's crazy rant during Toronto week about working the whole stage during a performance. Hopefully, Carly can stay focused and quickly catch on to what works on this show and what doesn't, because she has something special.
Score: 8.5

Who Should Be Eliminated
Tammy: Naomi-Joy, Annika
Liza: I say "Joy to the World" if Naomi-Joy and Martha Joy both get booted.
Destiny: Martha Joy, Annika

Who Will Be Eliminated
Tammy: Naomi-Joy, Annika
Liza: Naomi-Joy, Annika
Destiny: Annika, Maud

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We Asked You, "Which Is The Best American Idol Finals Song?"
42% A Moment Like This, 13% I Believe, 11% Do I Make You Proud,
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5% Before Your Love, 2% My Destiny, 2%Dreams, 1% Long, Long Road,
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