Song: I Ain't Got Nothing But The Blues   (Ella Fitzgerald  )

...Katharine gives a confident, fun performance, which apart from a few too many vocal decorations, is quite entertaining. She's kind of enjoying herself too much ...

Song: Over the Rainbow   (Judy Garland  )

...This is the Katharine McPhee we've been longing to see. Katharine has just jumped over her rainbow...

Song: I Believe I Can Fly   (R. Kelly  )

We're a bit surprised with Clive Davis' choice for Katharine tonight. R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" has had the life sung out of it during American Idol auditions, to the point that earlier this year Simon Cowell is reported to have banned future auditionees from singing it! ...

...One pair is the bottom two, the other pair the top two... "Which is which?" asks Ryan. The audience figure it out... we'll find out "after the break". Grrr! ...

Song: Hound Dog [1956]   mixed with a bit of I'm All Shook Up [1957]   (Elvis Presley  )

We're expecting big things from Katharine as she hits the Idol stage... disappointment soon sets in as we hear a less than high class rendition of "Hound Dog"...

Song: Can't Help Falling In Love   (1968  )

We're pleased Katharine's chosen a ballad... Unfortunately.... it's a very decorous, showy interpretation of the song...

Birth Year 1984
Song: Against All Odds   (Phil Collins  )

Somewhat ironically she's now up on the Idol stage belting out the lyric "Take A Look At Me Now"! We do, and we like what we see...

Song: Black Horse and the Cherry Tree   (KT Tunstall  )

Katharine's current Billboard selection is KT Tunstall's catchy allegory "Black Horse And A Cherry Tree". It's a quirky number and Katharine's performance is kind of quirky too...

Idol nears it's endgame as six become five on tonight's results show. The voting tally is higher than ever before for a non finale, a staggering figure of 47.5 million votes. Perhaps the big vote is partly due to viewers strongly disagreeing with the panel comments? Some of the critiques last night were jaw droppingly wide of the mark!...

Song: I Have Nothing   (Whitney Houston  )

...Katherine performed really well tonight, yet sadly not an ounce of her potential was recognized...

Song: Someone To Watch Over Me   (Rod Stewart  , Also: Frank Sinatra  , Etta James  )

...Katharine's vocal is beautifully delivered, and totally believable. Yes, there are a few runs here and there, but thankfully they aren't "here, there and everywhere" ...

In Queen-speak Ryan Seacrest reminds us "Another one bites the dust". The final 8 show is an hour long, so we've got a long wait before we eventually find out! ...Prickly Simon Cowell gets tickly with Paula, but she blows the whistle on his underhand antics...