American Idol Season 4 - The Showstoppers
Few would risk making guarantees when it comes to a hodgepodge of a disc likeShowstoppers, but one thing is for sure: it's bound to become the only CD in your collection you bought knowing full well you would have to hold your nose through certain tracks. That, of course, is the fun of theAmerican Idolfranchise: You may love Carrie Underwood's rootin'-tootin' version ofMartina McBride's "Independence Day" but loathe Anthony Federov's syrup-soaked rendition of the '80s chestnut "Everytime You Go Away"; you may swoon over Bo Bice'sGrass Roots-style vocal on theGavin DeGrawhit "I Don't Want to Be" but find yourself making the gag-me gesture when Mikalah Gordon steps up to the mike for aStreisand-aping take on "God Bless the Child." Call it a lowbrow musical twist on the famous theatrical formula "You will laugh! You will cry!", but instead of laughing and crying you will love and hate (then again, laughter and tears could enter into the equation after a close listen to Constantine Maroulis's "My Funny Valentine"). The final cut, an ensemble number, puts this amateurs' jumble into perspective: given the right producer, anybody can sing, even those Simon Cowell would sooner see at a cut-rate karaoke bar. --Tammy La Gorce