I agree with you. I can't say about Reuben, but with Fantasia, she had a couple of good songs and Summertime was her best, but all the others after a while you realize that all she is doing is creaming and screeching. I started out liking her, but by the end I felt that Diana was the better vocalist and performer and that she was robbed.
I think the main problem with Diana that year was her youth and inexperience. She was only 16. Over the long haul, though, she is on track to have a far better and more lasting career than Fantasia. So is Jennifer Hudson, who got booted early in the top 10 that year.