Lucky 13?

I haven't been able to tune into much of this season's preliminary American Idol episodes.  I think the beginning stages can be comedic, but I don't clear my calendar to watch it. I try to concentrate more once they get the gang down to the Top 10, and at that point I may even blog about it.  I have no idea which contestant made Jennifer Lopez and the rest of North America cry to see let go, and the only contestant that I remember from the initial shows is the big tall guy with Tourettes that can wail like nobody's business. 

Tuesday night, there wasn't anything else on, so I tuned in to the Top 12 guys.  And after seeing Jovany, I almost opted to turn the TV off and go get a book to read.  However, I did keep on watching (because I was snuggly under my cozy throw and can blame sheer laziness over being actually entertained).  However, truth be told, I was actually entertained within the last 1/2 hr or so.  My socks were blown off by the following contestants:  Paul McDonald & Casey Abrams.  An honorable mention goes to Brett Loewenstern because he's unique, and can sing, and to Scotty McCreery because even though I abhor country music, he hits the nail on the head of it.  James Durban can wail, yes, but I am not sure if he'll be able to mould himself into the other genres that he'll be asked to cover to allow him to last past the first few weeks after the Top 10 have been decided upon (he, and the others I've mentioned are destined to be within the Top 10, though imo).

I missed the girls' singing on Wednesday night too, on account of Survivor - but I did catch the final half hour.  After seeing the recap of the entire show, I really don't think I missed much, and of what I did see, I can say that Lauren, Haley, Pia and Thia should go far.  And, since I didn't see the results show last night either, I caught a tiny recap on the AI website to see that the majority of my picks made it through (too bad about Brett, though). High stakes, maybe? Having it ended with 3 wildcards for a Top 13, instead of 10?  Should be a good singing competition. 

What about you?  Are you watching?  Who are your favourites?