Reviews: American Idol "Season 5 Encores"

Reviews: American Idol "Season 5 Encores"

American Idol "Season 5 Encores": Aidin Vaziri | Like Sasquatch, unicorns and the Chalupa Supreme, it's a mystery scientists of the future will be pondering for years: Why did millions of people devoutly tune into the Fox network every week for a glorified karaoke contest featuring so many bad singers doing so many bad songs? Despite Paula Abdul's progressively incoherent rants and finalist Taylor Hicks' horrifying dance moves, the fifth season of "American Idol" proved as riveting as ever, with an unexpected group of front-runners that bucked the series' seemingly unspoken rule that the louder you sing the further you will go (well, except for crowd favorite Katharine McPhee, pictured at left). The show's magical allure was so strong that people unwillingly found themselves rooting for Chris Daughtry, the guy who sounded like the lead singer of Staind. But without Simon Cowell's spot-on commentary and the thrill of sending some off-key loser home the very next night, it's not quite the same, which makes this highlights disc nearly as pointless as a new Justin Guarini album. Half the aspiring Beyonces have already disappeared into the pop culture ether (Melissa McGhee? Lisa Tucker?) while others, such as the insufferable Kevin "Chicken Little" Covais, are just painful reminders of the wasted hours spent in front of the tube. There are no showstoppers. Nothing even worth hearing twice. Mandisa's "I'm Every Woman" is OK, until you remember that she's purportedly homophobic and definitely not Chaka Khan. On live television, Ace Young's version of George Michael's "Father Figure" felt like a star-making moment. Now it feels like a waste of five. And if only it was possible to hear Hicks' spin on "Takin' It to the Streets" without picturing him slapping his knees. Oh, the embarrassment.