American Idol Season 3 was by far the most interesting season of the three so far, not in the least for its line-up of talents, in the Top12 as well as those who didn't not make the cut for one reason or another. Following the tradition set by past AIs, the producers have once again come up with a compilation of songs to showcase the vocal abilities of the Top 12 contestants.

As in the television program, on this CD, the better ones shine while the lesser talents just scrape by (but barely). George Huff , Jennifer Hudson and LaToya London produce the most polished works, while Fanatasia, Diana Degarmo and Jasmine Trias show why they are worthy of reaching the upper echelons of the competition. The rest of the line-up basically just make up the numbers, with Matt Rogers, Amy Adams and Camille Velasco doing slightly better then the other three.

The one thing I would like to comment in defense of the 'lesser' performances is that it may seem a tad unfair to highlight just one genre of music, in this case soul music. Clearly, some of them are good singers who might have done better in other genres like country (Amy Adams) and hip-hop (Camille Velasco). As such I would approach this CD as merely an introduction of the Top12 and would hold off judgement of their actual talent until the release of their respective solo works. - Dr Gan