Last five take the stage in tonight's Idol

It's one week at a time on Idol
The last five take the stage in tonight's show
By ANDREW DANSBY
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

American Idol's final five take the stage tonight, and it's a different group than I expected seven weeks ago.

Vonzell Solomon and Anthony Federov are both still in the game — one because she improved week by week, the other for reasons unknown.

Some middling performances and a revealed arrest for a domestic disturbance couldn't sink Scott Savol, whose voice can do great things and who seems to draw an underdog, Everyman vote. You can't accuse him of coasting on his looks, unlike Constantine Maroulis.

For all the outrage expressed about the exits of Anwar Robinson and Maroulis, neither should've come as a great shock. Voters review Idol one week at a time. It's how Bo Bice spent one week in the bottom three this year. The same thing happened to 2004 winner Fantasia.

Aspiring Idols are only as good as their most recent performance.

The weeks are full of ups and downs, but one thing is certain: By increasing the maximum age of contestants from 26 to 28 when they audition, the show greatly improved the quality of the performers. With the possible exception of Bice, none of this year's singers have been as consistently fantastic as Fantasia. But 10 of the final 12 could have bested last year's runner-up, Diana Degarmo.


Tale of the tape:
Bo Bice
Age: 29
Home: Helena, Ala.
Best performance: Whipping Post
Worst performance: Remedy
Odds: Even. He remains the most dynamic performer but suffers a bit when he gets away from the growl. An unearthed cocaine arrest in '01 doesn't help matters. But the energy of Idol's first genuine rocker should get him through.


Anthony Federov
Age: 19
Home: Trevose, Pa.
Best performance: I Want to Know What Love Is
Worst performance: The rest
Odds: 6-1. Maroulis' ouster should give him a boost among teenage girls, but he's been coasting on a mediocre voice for far too long.


Scott Savol
Age: 29
Home: Shaker Heights, Ohio
Best performance: Against All Odds
Worst performance: The Impossible Dream
Odds: 5-1. Lower register kills him, the domestic dispute didn't help, but he keeps slipping through by not being the worst on any given night.


Vonzell Solomon
Age: 21
Home: Fort Myers, Fla.
Best performance: Best of My Love
Worst performance: I Turn to You
Odds: 2-1. A certain early exit, Solomon enjoyed a massive spike in confidence and unleashed a huge voice that was dormant during auditions.


Carrie Underwood
Age: 21
Home: Checotah, Okla.
Best performance: Alone
Worst performance: When God Fearin' Women Get the Blues
Odds: 3-2. When her voice is big and booming, Underwood's an exciting front-runner, but her penchant for new country shows a boring side.
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