American Idol

Odes and Odds

How do we love these stars in training? Let us count the ways -- and, while we're at it, make some predictions about who will win.

Kellie Pickler

WHAT WE LOVE America's favorite dumb blonde is the total package: She can actually sing, she's sexy/cute enough to be Jessica Simpson's long-lost sibling, and she's so full of Southern charm that she's practically batter-dipped and honey-glazed.

BUT THEN AGAIN... It's possible she really doesn't know the difference between a mink and a minx (and if so, our condolences). But if she's more wit than twit, then shame the devil and tell the truth, Blondie!

BEST PERFORMANCE Her rendition of Kelly Clarkson's ''Since U Been Gone'' at her Greensboro, N.C., audition. She admitted that she rarely sang in front of an audience, and we worried that she'd fall apart. But the steel magnolia nailed it.

WHY SHE'D MAKE A GREAT IDOL Because anybody who apologizes after a shaky performance was raised right.