Enough of the awful audition clips already. The 3rd season of American Idol finally kicks into high gear and UrbanWire profiles the 12 finalists.

By Sterling Wong . UrbanWire

Sign of an impending apocalypse: It's been 2 months since the 3rd season of American Idol, the mother of all talent search shows, began and thus far, the biggest star to have a significant breakthrough this season? None other than William "She Bangs" Hung.

It seems as if this time around, the show is all out to celebrate mediocrity with a hideous amount of screen time devoted to bad auditions in the earlier episodes, one of them being Hung's infamous Ricky Martin homage.

Has the talent pool in America run dry? Judging from the brand new batch of 12 finalists, it would seem that way. We've endured 5 weeks of some horrible semi-final and Wild Card performances (the Roman brothers, anyone?) to see the chosen 12 emerge in a strangely underwhelming fashion.

By this time last year, there were already some who stood out. Clay Aiken was one, of course, with his geek-to-chic transformation and that powerful voice. Then there were Ruben "205" Studdard with his Luther Vandross-esque soulful pipes and Kimberley Locke, who had the antics and voice of a diva.

Alas, none of the 12 finalists stand out insofar, and UrbanWire doesn't see anyone reaching the heights of their Idol predecessors like Kelly Clarkson and Ruben. Then again, if a civil engineering student can become the most desirable man overnight, who knows? We analyse the 12 singing apostles and pray for a miracle that just one will save this contest after all.

Amy Adams
Apparently, there's a stipulation that there must be a pink-haired finalist in every season of American Idol (think ex-Idols Nikki McKibbin and Vanessa Olivarez). The 24-year-old has a vibrant personality and a powerful voice, if a tad weak when she attempts the high notes. She does look old for her age, putting her at a disadvantage when pulling for the youth vote.

Camile Velasco
Camile is one of the prettiest girls and that's probably the reason why the 18-year-old Hawaiian is in the finals in the first place. She certainly didn't get through by virtue of her voice, which though unique, is far too breathy and shaky to make any impact. She also has zero stage presence and shouldn't last long in the competition. Then again, anything's possible if she could top her semi-final group despite a middling performance of Bryan McKnight's 'One Last Cry'.

Diana DeGarmo
You know those kids whose parents send them to all sorts of enrichment classes when they're young and they grow up to be eerily self-possessed and driven? Diana's one of them. At 16, she's already a pro at performing, having started singing professionally by the age of 5. With a voice comparable to Christina Aguilera and an energetic presence, Diana ought to go far. Her cutesy image, which some find grating and contrived, might just turn people off however.

Fantasia Barrino
With a name like that, how could Fantasia not be in showbiz? As one of the early favourites, Fantasia gains points for her sense of humour and good voice, which is entirely reminiscent of Macy Gray's. The 19-year-old, who has a baby daughter, is also this year's Kimberly Caldwell (read: the resident camera-hogging desperado). She won't win the competition because her nasal voice will grate at least half the American population after 10 weeks.

George Huff
George must thank his lucky stars that Donnie Williams didn't behave himself, hence giving him a 2nd chance at making the finals. The 22-year-old has been pretty maligned by the judges for looking like he's 40 and he's responded by behaving as if he's 12. Still, he has a nice, deep and gravelly voice, which is soothing to the ears. Cut the spastic actions (jump up and down and do a full turn) and he might go far.

Jasmine Trias
Like Camile, Jasmine is a teenager hailing from Hawaii. Unlike the former, Jasmine takes every opportunity to shove that fact in our faces. If you're reading, girl, we appreciate that you're representing your homeland, but do you really need to put a different flower in your hair every week? Sorry, some may find it cute but it just bugs me no end. And drop the "Hawa-II"! Has a competent voice, but needs to know that over-doing melisma (or known as Mariah Carey-isms) does not equate good singing.

Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer is one of the most colourful contestants and we don't just mean her outlandish excuses for clothes. The 22-year-old never takes herself seriously, is quick with a retort for Simon, and has one of the most powerful voices among the finalists, though she needs to learn to rein it in. She also displays a worrying tendency to thank Jesus and cry too much. Expect a bawl-fest when her eventual booting occurs.

John Stevens
John's a one-trick pony, a one-woman man (the woman being Rat Pack songs) and any other variations of that phrase you can think of. Never in the short history of American Idol has there been a more 'niche' singer than 16-year-old John. The lad does have, as Simon said to him after his semi-final performance, "the most unique voice in the competition". But he also has the ability to suck the life out of every performance he does. Amazingly, he has managed to garner for himself a big fan base already, which explains his 1st place finish in the semis, but even that will not take him the distance.

Jon Peter Lewis
With Lord of the Rings breaking box-office records and sweeping major awards, it isn't surprising that hobbits, like the dwarf-ish 24-year-old Jon, are so popular with the American audience. What else could explain Jon's inclusion in the finals as the Wild Card audience pick after an excruciatingly embarrassing dance accompaniment to 'A Little Less Conversation'? Many have likened Jon's voice to that of Kermit the Frog so you could say that he has a special voice. Nevertheless, never underestimate the power of a hobbit.

La Toya London
La Toya is the only one of the 12 finalists who unfortunately didn't have any screen time on the show prior to her semi-final performance, so she got in purely on the merits of that performance, and deservedly so. Though the 25-year-old sang 'All By Myself', a beaten-to-death song, she managed to inject new life into the piece and, in the words of Randy Jackson, La Toya "sang". If she can maintain that level of performing standard every week, she's a shoo-in for the title. But that's quite an if, so keep your fingers crossed.

Leah Labelle
Leah's Bulgarian pop star mother's apparent fame in her homeland must have gotten to her head, for the 17-year-old struts around with a sense of entitlement on her face despite not having performed up to par thus far. It's baffling that Paula would pick her as her wild card pick but then again, Leah's pretty face, passable voice and her youth makes her a malleable package to sell to the public. She's one of the least popular contestants and one of 2 (the other being Jennifer Hudson) to have not been in the Top 3 during the semi-finals, which means curtains for her in the foreseeable distance.

Matthew Rogers
If Matt's singing career doesn't work out, he could always consider being the spokesperson for Rogaine or Yun Nan Hair Care. It's strange how the judges keep saying George looks old but have not picked on Matt because if George looks 40, the 25-year-old Matt looks 50. Then again, you don't wanna piss this big fella off, do you? And yes, Matt, we know you won the Rose Bowl, you can quit mentioning it every 10 seconds. Look for Matt to be one of the first to go because he has one of the weakest voices and his loud and obnoxious personality can only carry him so far.

American Idol airs Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10pm, on Chan 5.