How do current ‘Idols’ stack up to old ones?

If you keep up with “American Idol,” you know that contestants often find themselves compared to their predecessors from previous seasons. Taylor Hicks gets the surprising news that he dresses like Clay Aiken, while Kellie Pickler finds herself favorably compared to Carrie Underwood. But can the new contestants be reduced to mathematical formulas based on the old ones? We sat down and crunched the numbers.

Katharine McPhee
One-half Kelly Clarkson times two-thirds Diana DeGarmo, plus one-tenth Justin Guarini

Perhaps the current frontrunner among the women in spite of her odd bottom-three finish last week, McPhee invites comparisons to Kelly Clarkson. They both have the same polished pop voices, tailor-made for VH1 and the adult-contemporary charts, perfect for videos in which they stare earnestly at the camera while tears make their eyeliner run. She also has, however, a good dose of perky runner-up Diana DeGarmo, who shared Katharine’s inability to identify with the emotional heft of Aretha Franklin tunes. Katharine grinning her way through “Freedom (Think)” was, after all, weirdly familiar to those who saw Diana bounce happily along to “Chain Of Fools” during her audition. Finally, there is a generous spoonful of Justin Guarini in Katharine’s tendency toward overconfidence masquerading as unconvincing humility.

Bucky Covington
One-half Josh Gracin plus one-third Kimberly Caldwell, multiplied by Nikki McKibbin

Bucky has a more aw-shucks version of Josh’s country sensibility, without the military angle. In a fight, Josh would beat you in hand-to-hand combat; Bucky would hit you over the head with a bottle. But where Josh had more of a Garth Brooks look, Bucky has Kim’s flowing blonde locks and even a bit of her scratchy, growling voice. Most notably, however, Bucky is musically overmatched even by relatively underwhelming competition, much like notorious karaoke princess Nikki McKibbin. He tries hard, but he’s just not that good, and like Nikki, his blank-faced desire to please does nothing to redeem his lagging performances.

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Elliott Yamin
George Huff plus one-fifth Justin Guarini, minus John Stevens

Elliott is an appealing, talented singer who has trouble putting everything together into a standout performance, much like the fondly remembered George, although Elliott seems to have a little more edge to his style. George probably would not have had the guts to be the one contestant out of a bunch of 17-to-29-year-olds to admit, as Elliott did, that he was not a fan of Barry Manilow. Elliott also sports a taste of Justin’s soulful appeal, but he avoids falling into the cheeseball crooning of someone like John — or, for that matter, this season’s David Radford.

Mandisa
Fantasia times two-thirds Nadia Turner plus the square root of Jim Verraros

Mandisa’s voice calls to mind the best parts of Fantasia’s dominating, assured style, although she’s got a far less affected delivery. She also echoes Nadia Turner, both in powerful sound and in the introduction of overtly Christian music (not including “Jesus, Take The Wheel”). What is becoming less appealing by the week is the sense that she wants to be inspiring, which gives a certain cloying, overly mushy quality to her personality. The minute an “Idol” contestant starts to think consciously about inspiration, it’s a short distance to the land of Jim Verraros signing to his parents.

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