American Idol Season 5: Contestants pared down to a dozen

Four contestants, Kinnik Sky, Will Makar, Ayla Brown, and Gedeon McKinney, were eliminated last week in the American Idol Season 5.

BY A CORRESPONDENT

14 March 2006

The line-up of contestants in the fifth season of American Idol, have been narrowed to a dozen hopefuls. The six girls who will participate in the finals are Paris Bennett, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Mandisa and Lisa Jackson.

The contestants who walked were Kinnik Sky, Will Makar, Ayla Brown, and Gedeon McKinney.

Among the boys, Taylor Hicks, Ace Young, Chris Daughtry, Elliott Yamin, and Kevin Covais made it, while McKinney and Bucky Covington were sent away.

According to host Ryan Seacrest, 46 million votes were cast to determine which contestants would make it to the final 12 of American Idol 5.

The 12 Idol finalists celebrated their victory at a red carpet bash in West Hollywood.

"This is amazing. I don't know if it hit me yet," said Lisa Tucker, 16, who is the youngest female contestant in the talent hunt.

Paris Bennett, 17, is from Fayateville, GA, and was trained by mother Jamecice Bennett and Grandmother Ann Nesby. Paris Bennett's favorite artist is Beyonce.

Kellie Pickler, 19, is from Albemaria, NC. Her favorite female artist is Kelly Clarkson. After making it to the final twelve, she said her father, currently incarcerated in Florida State Prison, has been cheering her on from behind bars."Him and all the guys there gather round to watch," she said. "They made me this huge card and sent it out here, saying 'Go get 'em, Kellie. We're picking Pickler.' "

Katharine McPhee, 21, is from Los Angeles, CA. Her favorite singing artists are Whitney Houston and Brian McKnight. She says her American Idol is Gene Kelly.

Mandisa, 29, is from Antioch, TN. Her favorite female artists are Alicia Keys and Beyonce. Her favorite male artists are Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, and John Legend. She says that if she didn’t sing then she would like to be an “annointed and effective Bible teacher.”

Taylor Hicks, 29, is from Birmingham, AL. His favorite female artist is Cyndi Lauper and favorite male artists are Billy Joel, Van Morrison, and Bob Seger. His American Idol is Ray Charles.

Ace Young, 25, is from Denver, CO. His favorite female artist is Janet Jackson and favorite male artist is Mel Torme. His American Idol is Prince.

Chris Daughtry, 26, is from McLeansville, NC. His favorite artists are Kelly Clarkson and Rob Thomas. He says his lucky charm is his wife.

Elliott Yamin, 28, is from Los Angeles, CA. His favorite artists are Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani, Donny Hathaway, and Stevie Wonder. 

Kevin Covais, 16, is from Levittown, NY. His favorite artists are Kelly Clarkson and Brian McKnight. 

Starting next week, the competition will be aired on two nights on Fox. The Idol 5 contestants will perform on Tuesday and the results will be shown on Wednesday.

Even in the fifth season, American Idol continues to dominate TV ratings, consistently averaging between 25 million and 30 million viewers each telecast.