American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics

The third season of American Idol is by far the most ghastly, so it comes as no surprise that this CD collection of American soul standards is absolutely horrible. Even though some of these kids are decent singers, forcing them to sing songs made famous by Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and Gladys Knight comes off like a cruel joke. Even the show’s few bright lights (Fantasia Barrino, La Toya London) come off flat, largely due to the fact that the arrangements are cheesier than karaoke discs.

The only Idols that are even bearable on this disc are George Huff, who pushes himself to pull off "Me And Mrs. Jones" and plucky little Diana Degarmo, who delivers a surprisingly ballsy "I Heard It Through The Grapevine." If you want to torture your roomate by playing Jon Peter Lewis’ abysmal "My Girl" non-stop, buy this CD. If you want to listen to anything resembling music, leave this on the shelf.