Contestant:
Ashley Rodriguez
The Lowdown: Potentially the first Puerto Rican woman (although a non-Spanish speaker) to make the
Idol big stage. An old-fashioned songstress in the Celine legacy.
Background: Recent Berkeley graduate. Posh Spice called her "sultry" in her audition, cites meeting Jordin Sparks as her favorite
Idol moment and sang Jordin's "Battlefield" in Hollywood Week.
Core Voting Block: Dads
Strength: Personable, photogenic, strong vocals.
Weakness: May be too familiar a type to stand out; not cuddly enough to recapture Jordin's tween appeal.
Idol Predecessor:
Syesha Mercado
Real World Predecessor: Alicia Keys
Early Tracking: Low to mid-pack. Needs a very big moment early to break out.
Contestant:
Crystal Bowersox
The Lowdown: Instantly known as the girl with dreadlocks, but her winning personality and soulful singing has made her an early favorite.
Background: Giant sunflower tattoo on back
Core Voting Block: Hippies, current and former, aspiring and actual.
Strength: Strong personality, distinctiveness, powerful vocals.
Weakness: The tattoos, piercings and dreadlocks may be just a bit further than
Idol Nation is ready to go right now.
Idol Predecessor:
Jason Castro
Real World Predecessor: Tracy Chapman
Early Tracking: Definitely top tier, but hard to see her as a contender for the crown.
Video: Performing "
Piece of My Heart"
Contestant:
Didi Benami
The Lowdown: Hyper-emotional gusher both endears and potentially annoys.
Background: Dedicated audition to memory of BFF who passed away four years ago.
Core Voting Block: Free-spirited country girls
Strength: Open and honest personality, and seeming wholesomeness; won huge Kara DioGuardi points by performing her song at
Hollywood Week.
Weakness: Overstated prettiness and model-like past will aggravate cougars and tweens. L.A.-based, the ultimate curse.
Idol Predecessor:
Brooke White
Real World Predecessor: Jewel
Early Tracking: Also top tier after being strongly featured in auditions and Hollywood Week, but could easily stumble as the rest of the pack steps forward.
Contestant:
Haeley Vaughn
The Lowdown: 16-year-old genre breaker strives to be
Idol's first black female country singer.
Background: Premature baby "miracle child"; father passed away when she was 7.
Core Voting Block: Country fans, tweens
Strength: Only country-singing girl in the pack; bubbly personality lends to huge tween appeal.
Weakness: Youth and inexperience in talented field; may ultimately be a bit lightweight.
Idol Predecessor:
Carmen Rasmusen
Real World Predecessor: LeAnn Rimes
Early Tracking: Middle of the pack; potential to break in either direction.
Contestant:
Janell Wheeler
The Lowdown: Magnetic appearance could work for or against the 24-year-old Floridian.
Background: Friend diagnosed with cancer urged her to audition; had a hip-hop dance team in college. Considers
shopping her special talent.
Core Voting Block: Straight male viewers (both of them)
Strength: Supernaturally pretty golden-girl appearance makes her instantly stand out of the pack; delivered some very strong, if somewhat bland, audition performances.
Weakness: Overt prettiness is often the kiss of death, inciting the rage of the cougar/tween alliance.
Idol Predecessor:
Kimberly Caldwell
Real World Predecessor: Hilary Duff
Early Tracking: Starts toward the front of the pack, but could easily be brought low by the alliance's prejudices.
Contestant:
Katelyn Epperly
The Lowdown: Midwestern teen favoring soft-alternative rock.
Background: Parents broke up last year. Fronts both a folk band and an "experimental rock band" back home.
Core Voting Block: Teenage girls
Strength: Affecting air of melancholy and Midwestern wholesomeness may draw in females who would otherwise be turned away by her appearance.
Weakness: Style doesn't stand out from the pack; too low-key and familiar.
Idol Predecessor: Brooke White
Real World Predecessor: Colbie Caillat
Early Tracking: Low to middle tier. Had a lot of airtime in the preseason, but needs to truly distinguish herself quickly.
Contestant:
Katie Stevens
The Lowdown: The Massachusetts teen was one of the
instant stars of the audition tour, perhaps not accidentally singing the same song
Idol's prodigal daughter Kelly Clarkson used for
her audition. Has powerhouse vocals to win over adults and genuine youthful charm that could score big with the tweens.
More details: Cares for grandmother suffering from Alzheimer's.
Core Voting Block: Tweens and grandmothers
Strength: Likable, seeming innocence and non-worldliness despite apparently practiced skills.
Weakness: The Northeast has not sent a singer to the finals since Justin Guarini.
Idol Predecessor:
Kelly Clarkson
Real World Predecessor: Selena Gomez
Early Tracking: A possible frontrunner. Hers to lose.
Contestant:
Lacey Brown
The Lowdown: Old-fashioned, school marm-ish Texan.
Background: Church event director from Amarillo; made it to the Green Mile last season, sitting alongside Megan Joy for the final elimination.
Core Voting Block: Red-state America.
Strength: Christian roots, Southern accent.
Weakness: Very old-fashioned style (sang "Over the Rainbow" and "Wonderful World") in auditions.
Idol Predecessor:
Katharine McPhee
Real World Predecessor: Reba McEntire
Early Tracking: With little airtime in the auditions, starts near the bottom of the pack.
Contestant:
Lilly Scott
The Lowdown: If she makes it to the big stage, the white-haired 20-year-old could be the first female indie rocker ever to advance to the finals.
Background: "Musician/sandwich maker" Denver native, sang for a
band called Varlet, which cites as one of its influences "Amy Winehouse on cocaine"
Core Voting Block: College students
Strength: Distinctive style and strong sense of self guarantee she won't get lost in the pack.
Weakness: "Indie" is not traditionally
Idol's strongest genre. Punkish look could scare the tweens. Distinctive as the indie genre may be, the glimpse we've seen so far of Lilly's ironic, seemingly blasé attitude does not historically endear itself to an audience which demands "I want this more than I've ever wanted anything" gushing.
Idol Predecessor:
Amanda Overmeyer
Real World Predecessor: Feist
Early Tracking: Looks well-placed to make the Top 12, but how far she can go there is in doubt.
Contestant:
Michelle Delamor
The Lowdown: Almost unseen in the pre-season, the 22-year-old Miami native brings strong gospel training to the competition.
Background: Cites Mary J. Blige as her greatest influence.
Core Voting Block: Church goers
Strength: Bubbly personality and gospel background appeals to a major
Idol demographic.
Weakness: Too little exposure thus far and somewhat bland persona.
Idol Predecessor:
Mandisa
Real World Predecessor: Mandisa
Early Tracking: Starts off very far back in the field.
Contestant:
Paige Miles
The Lowdown: Almost entirely unseen thus far.
Background: 22-year-old Floridian; musical influences range from Aretha Franklin to Lady Gaga.
Core Voting Block: Potential youthful appeal.
Strength: A blank slate has few marks against it.
Weakness: Little time to break through.
Idol Predecessor:
Paris Bennett
Real World Predecessor: Haylie Duff
Early Tracking: Bringing up the rear.
Contestant: Siobhan Magnus
The Lowdown: Little seen thus far but refreshingly awkward personality could stand out from the pack.
Background: 19-year-old Massachusetts girl was featured in the WB show
High Drama about the making of a high-school production of
The Wizard of Oz, which profiled her family's financial struggles.
Core Voting Block: Tweens could relate to her natural quirky personality.
Strengths: Extremely likeable, hard luck background.
Weakness: Middle of the road musical style may not stand out.
Idol Predecessor:
Mikalah Gordon
Real World Predecessor: Aubrey Plaza
Early Tracking: Starts toward the back, but has strong breakout potential.
