All About
American IdolMelinda? Blake? Sanjaya?! Who will win ''Idol''? (continued)
That's not to say the Idol Class of 2007 has nothing going for it: Melinda Doolittle, Jordin Sparks, and LaKisha Jones can belt it out with the best of them, while beatboxing Blake Lewis and the Timberlake-esque Chris Richardson are arguably the most current contestants yet. Stacey has an irresistible backstory, and Scarnato boasts the sexiest legs ever to strut across the Idol stage. Then there's the phenomenon that is Sanjaya Malakar — we'll get to him in a bit.
If there's one thing this season's contestants have in common, it's the savvy that comes from watching Idol for five years. ''They're students of the show,'' says Seacrest. ''When they audition, I believe some of them have thought through the entire process. What do I need to say? Where do I need to stand? How do I need to look? Which camera do I use? '' That perspective, along with the advent of MySpace, where some of the top 12 had been promoting themselves, has produced an improbably polished group of amateurs. ''It's hard to believe that many of them have never been to Hollywood before, the way they hit their marks,'' marvels Seacrest. ''You're talking about 30 million people watching, and sometimes, I don't think that they're even nervous!''
Perhaps that's because they don't even feel like they need to win. After all, season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken outsold Studdard, season 3 castoff Jennifer Hudson bested Barrino for the Dreamgirls role that won her an Oscar, and an album from season 5 evictee Chris Daughtry easily surpassed Taylor Hicks' effort, and is dominating rock radio. ''You don't have to win it,'' says Richardson. ''To me I've already won, being in the top 10 and going on tour [this summer].'' That attitude doesn't sit well with Cowell. ''I think that we suffer from Jennifer Hudson- and Chris Daughtry-itis, which is people who didn't win getting great careers and now a lot of the contestants believing it absolutely doesn't matter,'' he says. ''Sometimes there's part of me thinking, You genuinely couldn't care less what we've got to say; everything's going to go your own way now.''
They'll certainly continue to dominate the entertainment headlines through the May 23 finale, with perhaps the most wide-open field in Idol history. ''It's as close as it's been in any season,'' says Cowell, who thinks it's a five-way race between Lewis, Richardson, Sparks, Jones, and Doolittle. Presented alphabetically by first name, click through for a close-up look at the seven singers still vying for this year's crown after the April 11 results show.
NEXT PAGE: Blake Lewis
