American Idol Top 5 - Kat McPhee

(c) Fox


#3.Katharine McPhee

Musical Style
Big voiced soul-diva, with a pop sensibility, she comes off as a more polished version of season 1 winner (and now superstar) Kelly Clarkson.

Image
By far she is the easiest on the eyes of any of this year’s Idol finalists (sorry Ayla, you didn’t make the finals), she’s tall, gorgeous and has that ‘fun girl next door’ thing going for her.

The Good
The girl can really belt out those ballads and she does it with a big smile and immense stage presence. She has charisma oozing out of her and she is very marketable. She has been very consistent all season long and if there is anyone who can fit the ‘perfect idol’ mode its her.

The Bad
I think with Katharine, the comparison to Kelly Clarkson can only hurt her. She comes off as too polished a performer and at times too precocious for her own good, unlike Clarkson at the time who turned into a star right before our eyes. Hey Kat, when you start breaking into impromptu duets with the guest coaches (Rod Stewart week; Andrea Bocelli week) you’re not making us root for you, you can hang with these big boys already, why do you need us to vote for you?

The Ugly
Kat has the tendency to sometimes pick songs that are way too big for her and she can hit some sharp notes on the way. This was most evident during her take on Christina Aguilera’s ‘The Voice Within.’ Oh, and the producers need to stop cutting to a shot Pappa McPhee tearing up every single week during her performances. Producers, please, cut that shit out.

Favorite Performance
In what was the best week for most of the top 5, her rendition of ‘Someone To Watch Over Me’ in week 10 was her shining moment on the show and arguably the best performance by any singer this season.