the buzz log

If you know the vintage Abbott and Costello routine, the "American Idol" variation would go: Lambert's on first. Who's on second? I don't know. Third base!

But finally, we do know. Ryan Seacrest would hate this, but credit should go to Simon Cowell. The outspoken Brit made a plea against complacency during Top 3 performance night. Since the caustic judge made clear his preference that the Season 8 crown be placed on Adam Lambert's head, rallying the troops was key to making his projection come true.

And yes, people got off their duff: Searches for "how to vote for american idol" jumped into the top 75,000 terms on Yahoo!. People also looked for the telephone numbers, which means either people tune out Seacrest when he talks, or they're just voting without watching. Either way, score one for the Brit on promoting democracy.

As for the contestants, Lambert maintains his lead among women 30-64 (the Fox show's faithfuls), key "Idol" states, and the world. But the close race for second doesn't look so close anymore: The data-slice-and-dice now puts Kris Allen far ahead of Danny Gokey.

Could be his acoustic guitar won the night... or maybe he was helped by folks who spelled his name "chris allen." Hey, a vote's a vote.