the buzz log

"American Idol" took weeks to get down to 12 (plus one) and there are more to go. But already some are calling the winner.

Past history dictates that the pets don't always win: For every Fantasia and Carrie Underwood, there's Taylor Hicks. The past two seasons, singers showing slow-and-steady improvement moved past early talents like Melinda Doolittle or Michael Johns to win the Fox reality show.

Now even "Idol" title-holders are hauling out crystal ball: Season 3 winner Fantasia has her eye on Danny Gokey, who only has Lil Rounds to face down if judge enthusiasm were the sole factor. (And since Randy Jackson believes a guy will win, Gokey's got the XY advantage.)

In the Buzz world, two factors have emerged in guessing who wins: hometown pride and whom the cougars like. After all, the South owned the "Idol" crown for years ... until Hicks. Following voter geography and gender (laid out here from Season 6 and Season 7 posts) made the Cook projection easier to call.

"Idol" knows all this: Its contestant page plunks a map above the singers' mugs. Season 8 may throw in a few wrenches, given singers hailing from the same towns. Right now, the areas monitoring "American Idol" progress online are Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Columbus (Ohio), and Norfolk (Virg).

The question is, will these towns stay the course? And, if their favorite gets the boot, where will they throw their loyalties? Meanwhile, note who's entering Top 13 Week with the most Web searches, and where they live.

Top Searched 13 "American Idol" Contestants, past 7 days

1. Adam Lambert (Los Angeles)
2. Anoop Desai (Chapel Hill)
3. Megan Joy Corkrey (Sandy, Utah)
4. Scott MacIntyre (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
5. Danny Gokey (Milwaukee)
6. Lil Rounds (Memphis)
7. Matt Giraud (Kalamazoo)
8. Kris Allen (Conway, Ark.)
9. Allison Iraheta (Los Angeles)
10. Jorge Nunez (Carolina, Puerto Rico)
11. Jasmine Murray (Starkville, Miss)
12. Alexis Grace (Memphis)
13. Michael Sarver (Jasper, Tex.)

More on what "Idol"-loving womenfolk think, and search, in a future post...