'ODDS' - AND FANS - WITH MCPHEE.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

Our Kat did it again. Sherman Oaks songbird Katharine McPhee, 22, made it to the final four on "American Idol" after her twin performances this week wowed voters.

Paris Bennett wasn't so lucky.

17-year-old sang "Kiss" but instead of puckering up, audiences gave her the thumbs down and sent her back to Fayetteville, Ga.

McPhee sang Phil Collins' 1984 hit "Against all Odds" and KT Tunstall's "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree," and her loyal fan base kept her in the running.

Judges commented more on her appearance - all favorable - than her singing, which was mixed. But viewers were heard loud and clear.

Contestants sang two songs - one from the year of their birth and one from any Billboard chart's current top 10.

Though judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul praised Bennett's funky take on Prince's 1988 hit "Kiss," judge Simon Cowell derided it as "screechy" and "annoying."

In a turnaround, her second performance - a cover of Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You" - was deemed "pitchy" by Jackson but well-received by Cowell.

"I think she did rather well with that," Cowell said.

Elliot Yamin, 27, had the next-lowest vote total.

Cowell offered typical sugar-free criticism on Tuesday's program, saying Yamin's rendition of "On Broadway" was "disjointed." He also said he was "just a little bit concerned" following his cover of Michael Buble's "Home."