Jessica Sanchez Performs In Front Of The "American Idol"

The sing-off on this week's "American Idol" doubled as a warning - to the viewers.On Wednesday's show, contestants had to pick a song by the artist they've modeled themselves after. In other words, they showcased the style and sound they'll most likely pursue on CD should they take the prize.

Let's just say, for the most part, it wasn't a promising tease.Many performances showed just how far these young singers fall into the shadow of their own idols - including some of the season's most favored players. Jessica Sanchez owns one of the season's burliest voices. But her take on a song by her clear role model, Beyonce, showed too much similarity in their timbres and phrasing, making Sanchez's voice seem redundant. This, despite the fact she switched up the arrangement of the bootylicious song she chose, "Sweet Dreams."

Likewise, judges' pet Philip Phillips sounded like a frustrated understudy for Dave Matthews (despite singing a Johnny Lang song, "Still Raining").

Jason Ledet, who owns the churchiest shout of the season, showed an unfortunate taste for sap by choosing to Mariah Carey kitschy version of "Without You." It's gooeyness undermined his gospel brilliance.

Other singers made choices that revealed similarly unfortunate taste. Colton Dixon selected Lifehouse's sub-grunge ballad, which he murmured through, while Hollie Cavanagh offered a duller xerox of an earlier Idol champ, Carrie Underwood, on her "Jesus Take The Wheel." Fellow country fan Skylar Laine showed more distinction on Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder and Lead," but she still too closely recalled the original's spunk.

Ironically, some of the least favored contenders showed the most moxie. Heejun Han, having been humbled by the drubbing he took over his jokey performance last week, played it straight on Leon Russell's "A Song For You," with encouraging results. An even more dramatic turn around came for Deandre Brackensick, who'd seemed listless in recent weeks. On Wednesday, he returned to his trademark falsetto, soaring Eric Benet's "Sometimes I Cry" to the sky.

But the top jaw-dropper of the night came from Elise Testone. While she'd formally excelled at soulful jazz, this time she performed Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" with a stone cold rocker's guts. Her performance showed the kind of flexibility and canny that makes an audience not just passively watch you on TV but actively buy your work on CD.