WHAT'S WORKING Katharine's low-key charm and pitch-perfect delivery have drawn comparisons to season 1 champ Kelly Clarkson. Fair enough, considering both ladies tackled risky Aretha covers early in the competition and pulled them off with panache.
WHAT NEEDS WORK For Katharine, it all comes down to focus. And that means her listless, frumpy alter-ego (the one who limped through ''All in Love Is Fair'') must be permanently banished from the Idol stage.
FROCK U If Katharine's got an Achilles' heel, it's probably her questionable taste in clothing: The dumpy black scoop-neck and rumpled jeans she wore during the March 7 semifinal, for example, should've stayed stuffed in her suitcase.
REQUEST LIST Hank Williams' ''I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry,'' the Motels' ''Only the Lonely,'' 'Til Tuesday's ''Voices Carry''
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