American Idol's Top 8; Who Will Win?

"American Idol" has narrowed down to the final eight contestants for season seven. Who will win? Who will go home next? Here are my predictions for this season of "American Idol."

8^th place - Kristy Lee Cook

The singer with nine lives has been in the bottom three three times in the last four weeks. And, I agree with Paula that her voice is getting stronger and she is gaining confidence. But, how long can she hold up against far better competition? I think this will be Kristy Lee's week to leave simply because the competition is too fierce.

7^th place - Syesha Mercado

Yes, Syesha is a beautiful girl with a beautiful voice, but there is little "wow factor" about her performances. And, she has been in the bottom three two of the last four weeks. You cannot hold on forever without really putting in a great performance, something she has yet to do. Unless she really pulls out all the stops and really, really wows the judges, she is leaving soon.

6^th place - Jason Castro

Sanjaya Malakar has shown us that you can only go so far on hair alone. Jason is a cute, sweet, old soul, but again, there is no "wow" factor. What will take him farther than Syesha is the teenage girl vote, but again, you have to end somewhere unless you put down the guitar and step up the singing.

5^th place - Brooke White

It hurts me to write this, as Brooke is one of my favorite contestants, but I don't think she will win the show. Would I like to see her win it? Yes, but as much as I love her singing, I don't think the world (or at least the American Idol viewing public) is ready for another folksy singer cut from the Carly Simon/Carol King mold.

4^th place - David Cook

Rockers seem to only go so far in "American Idol," so I am predicting that precedent will continue and David will be knocked out in fourth place. Yes, he is good, but there have been some recent concerns about his seemingly original performances that were really knock-offs of other artists. Plus, this year is tough - even if he has some great performances like the "Billie Jean" one, will the audience think he is just ripping off another artist again?

3^rd place - Michael Johns

I love Michael - love, love, love Michael. Queen is my all time favorite band and I usually cringe when others sing any of their songs. I loved it when Michael belted out "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Will Rock You/We are the Champions." Simon gave him much deserved props for last week's "It's All Wrong...But It's All Right." Nevertheless, I am not sure he has what it takes to go all the way. Too bad INXS already found another lead singer to replace Michael Hutchence - Michael Johns would have been an excellent replacement. However, even if he is eliminated on "American Idol," I don't think we've heard all we will from this Aussie import.

2^nd place - David Archuleta

I picked David Archuleta to finish second not based on his voice, but the American public. While everyone cheered teenager Jordan Sparks' win last year, they certainly didn't take that glee into the music stores. Her debut album barely cracked the top 10 and then only briefly. While America loves to cheer for the teenagers, they don't like to buy their albums. And, since Sparks won just last year, I think America is ready for a more radio-ready winner.

1^st place - Carly Smithson

In 2001, Carly Smithson (then Carly Hennessy) released an album on MCA Records titled Ultimate High. The record company spent $2 million promoting the album yet it sold less than 400 copies in the first three months, which was the listener's loss.

Fortunately, Carly has gotten a second chance to show America how great her voice is. If she can spruce up her look as Simon suggested, I think Carly can win the whole thing.