Season 7 -- American Idol

I've been a fan of this show since it's inception . As much as people joke about it, it has clearly produced some incredible talent. Sometimes this talent has not come from the actual winner, ie Daughtry, but, in most cases, the best and most talented singer has won....Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood.

They're touting this season as the season with the most talent thus far and, guess what, I have to agree. After watching the initial 12 guys and 12 girls sing, I'm convinced that this year's winner is going to be a guy. And after watching some of the talent perform on this first night, I'm still reeling that homeless singer, Josiah Leming, didn't make the final 24. They showed clips of him living in his car as he pursued his dream of becoming a singer. I thought he was terrific and he's not even on the show. But then he appeared on The Ellen Show this week and she gave him $8,000 worth of musical equipment to help him on his way towards his dream. This made me happy to see and I just hope I don't end up reading that his homeless, living in a car scenario was some ruse to get him on the show.

I don't think there's anyone in the female group who stands out as much as the male contestants. There's one girl who reminds me of Carrie Underwood but, since we already have one Carrie Underwood, there's certainly no need for another. I'm going to go out on a limb here and pick the winner. This is someone who actually gave me the chills when he sang Bohemian Rhapsody in Hollywood and then Light My Fire on the first official show of the season. His name is Michael Johns and here he is....

There's one other boy who's only 17 years old, David Archuleta, and he actually has a chance but the time is right for Michael Johns to walk away with this year's win. I know a lot is being said about some of this season's contestants, as many of them have had recording contracts or have been on Star Search or have put out a CD but, according to the show, as long as they are presently not under contract with a recording studio, they are eligible to compete. While it might defeat the purpose of finding someone who has never performed anywhere, it does give those, who have never gotten the exposure needed to succeed, a chance to achieve the fame they so deserve.

So there will be a lot of songs sung and a lot of episodes watched before we finally get to the finale where the winner is selected. It will be a two hour show and, of course, the winner will not be announced until there are only 4 minutes left in the show leaving the viewer, who has loyally watched all season, only three minutes to share in the excitement while everyone congratulates this year's winner.....Michael Johns. Let's see if my prediction is right.