The Top 24 are here!

The Top 24 are finally here, and now it's time to post. I couldn't bring myself to care too much about the auditions since historically it has been a waste of time to get invested at all, but in a strange twist this year, we actually got to see a lot of good auditions, and even learned at least a little bit about most of the Top 24. This bodes well for more people this year. No more "I didn't get enough exposure so there is no way people are going to vote for me over the less talented hack that got a lot of air time because (he's cute, she and her father don't get along, I sold my ring to get here, my baby was born in line while I waited to audition, I sing in the Air Force/Army/Navy/Marine/Coast Guard/etc. band, Simon called me a muskrat, fill in other excuse here)."

On to my one liners on this year's Top 24 so far. I reserve the right to change my opinion soon and frequently until we really get to see more of them.

Alaina Whitaker--I don't remember you, so good luck.

Alexadrea Lushington--You are the runner up in the "Unexpected Extra Punctuation in Your Name" award.

Amanda Overmyer--This one could get old really fast.

Amy Jean Davis--She seemed quirky enough to be interesting for a while.

Asia'h Epperson--She wins the aforementioned "Unexpected Extra Punctuation in Your Name" award, and seems like a lock for Top 12 status.

Brooke White--She is talented and unique enough to make it a ways, but we need a stylist, STAT!

Carly Smithson--Definitely a front-runner at this point--can you say "Irish (American) Idol."

Chikezie Eze--He dropped off the map after his initial audition, but I'm glad to see Studdard Lite on the menu.

Colton David Berry--I'm not sure about the three name bit (a la Jon Peter Lewis), and I wonder if he'll recover from that whole Kyle deserves to be here fiasco.

Danny Norriega--I have nothing against effeminate guys, but honestly, this guy could be in the Top 12 Girls and we wouldn't bat an eye; this one is already old for me.

David Archuleta--If I were going out on a limb here, I'd say this guy could legitimately challenge for top 3 or 4 overall.

David Cook--His picture on the AI website is a little scary, but he has the stuff to hang around for a while.

David Hernandez--This guy can sing, but I don't know if he's got "Top 6 Guys" written all over him.

Garrett Haley--The Michael Bolton lookalike act won't help him, as well as the essentially absent coverage so far.

Jason Castro--We found the lead for that upcoming Milli Vanilli retrospective, but not a Top 12'er.

Jason Yeager--Who are you again?

Joanne Borgella--She is talented and refreshing, but I don't really need another Mandisa this year.

Kady Malloy--She has a great name for a pop star, but I don't remember her at all.

Kristy Lee Cook--If she can pull off something other than "Amazing Grace" she could be a competitive contestant.

Luke Menard--This guy looks like a boy bander, and he's another the producers have not spent much time plugging.

Michael Johns--The rest of the contestants are probably wishing this early potential Top 3'er had tried out for Australian Idol.

Ramiele Malubay--Is this girl the Philippines answer to Paula Abdul?

Robbie Carrico--A little Bo, a little Bucky, a little tight to make the Top 6 Guys.

Syesha Mercado--This girl has it all, and should make it to the final half or better.

So, my early Top 12 predictions based on virtually nothing but guesswork at this point are:

David Archuleta
David Cook
Michael Johns
Robbie Carrico
Chikezie Eze
Danny Norriega (think, Sanjaya)

Asia'h Epperson
Brooke White
Carly Smithson
Kristy Lee Cook
Ramiele Malubay
Joanne Borgella

And if I were a betting man, I'd put money on Michael Johns at this point, but as they say in the sporting world, "That's why they play the game."

Counting down to next Tuesday . . .