the buzz log

"American Idol" has once more come down to the final three. A remarkably scandal-free Season 8 leaves only talent to distract the audience, but does this boys' club seem somehow inevitable? The judges' panel has looked more like an Adam Lambert rally (especially once Simon Cowell capitulated), Danny Gokey from the first was producers' clear sentimental favorite, and Kris Allen didn't take long to be dubbed as the dark horse.

If it hadn't been for that surreal Top 5 week when the so-called Glambert landed in the bottom three (spurring much conspiracy conjectures), the Fox show's audience might have been, dare we say, complacent about who would coast to the top.

Blip aside, no matter how the Search data gets sliced and diced, the Web passions are running his way, with more searches than his competitors combined. That's even before Cowell's Complete Capitulation: The persnickety judge is declaring Mr. California the winner. If all this is true, then the real suspense is, who'll be the runner-up to step in should Lambert be unable to fulfill his "Idol" duties. Oh wait, coming in second doesn't really matter.

For those who do care, here are some 2nd-place scenarios depending on how you mix up the Secret Search Idol Projection Hot Sauce.

• The states most into "Idol" in the past 7 days have been Arkansas (Allen's home state), Wisconsin (Gokey's home state), Oregon, California and Utah. In a look at these five states' candidate searches, Allen barely edges out Gokey for second place.
• Narrow that down to women 35-54 (core Idolers) within those five states, and Gokey squeaks past Allen by a nose hair for the spot.
• Don't count out home state fervor: Allen's Arkansas leads the nation's searches for "Idol," and by a sizable margin. The South may be itching to rise again and reclaim that "Idol" dominance.
• Don't count out the ladies: Women 35-54 from all states favor Gokey.

Confusing enough? Basically, it'll come down to performances, so Allen will have to get animated and Gokey tone down the horror high notes. 

Check out the chart below, and look for more updates after performance night.

The "Idol" Search for the Winner
Top Three	Top States Searches	Search Heat Map
Adam Lambert	Kansas, Arkansas, Wisconsin, California, Michigan
Danny Gokey	Wisconsin, Arkansas, Ohio, Illinois, Texas
Kris Allen	Arkansas, Kansas, Wisconsin, California, Texas