the boys are back...

Let's hear it for the boys...

Alright, enough of the cheesy song titles.  Let's get down to business.  Finally. 

Idol is premiering its new, let's-force-more-gender-equity policy tonight with the male half of the final 24 taking the stage.  The desire of the producers to insert more testosterone into the game is understandable after last year's estrogen-laden finals, but, as with any quota system, a more talented male might be booted in favor of a required female.  Or vice versa. 

But it's an experiment.  Let's see how it fares. 

The women (or girls as they insist upon calling them) will debut Tuesday, and on Wednesday we will shed a tear for four who will be drop-kicked to the curb and back to waitressing or sacking groceries.

But it's time for the men.  The problem at this stage of the game is that the producers, as we knew they would do, pulled several faces out of a magical hat on the final 24 show, faces (and voices) we've not been well-acquainted with.  That's the kiss of death often, unless you have a powerhouse voice that will knock people off their chairs.  (Remember LaToya?)

Others have been well documented, well followed and already have fan bases in place, ready to dial.  So, it's going to take, for both sexes, a considerably-more-than-adequate performance from the likes of Judd Harris, Joseph Murena and Jared Yates to avoid a first-round elimination.  And it's going to take an extraordinary effort for any one of these three to survive three weeks of drop-kicking.  I don't see that happening.

We're going to say goodbye to two of those three Wednesday, unless one or more can pull off a Clay/Ruben calibre performance.

It's a tough call to look at the twelve photos and try to predict which six of the twelve will stay and which will go.  But it's always fun to try, unless you're at Caesar's Palace and have a C-note in your hand.

Here's my final six prediction.  As always, it's not necessarily who I want.  It's who I think:

Anthony Federov.  This kid has an amazing back story, one which will touch the hearts of young and old voters alike.  And his cuteness will capture the teen/pre-teen voters, the ones with the dialing fingers which won't quit. 

He's being hyped as a Clay-wannabe, but he has the chops to pull it off. 

Anwar Robinson.  Who doesn't love a middle school music teacher?  And who wouldn't have loved to have ours look like him?  He is quiet.  He is confident but without ego.  He has the maturity to appeal to the older voters and the youthful good looks to appeal to the younger ones.

And he has hair to die for.  With a voice to match.

Constantine Maroulis.  We need a change of pace in the finals, and he's the one to give it.  And, while the voters will be given a choice between him and Bo Bice for the "rocker slot", Simon's emphatic non-support of Bice will tip the scales, because I do not see both of them going through.

Constantine is the more attractive of the two, both physically and personality-wise.  And his fan base is possibly the biggest of all of the contestants. (And I just learned to spell his name, so they have to keep him.)

David Brown.  What's not to like about this kid?  He's cute.  His voice is heavenly.  He's got a sparkling personality.  And he goes to church.  What's not to like?

He was one of the stars of the New Orleans auditions but hasn't been heard from much since then.  That may be his only downfall.  Butif his auditions are any indication, he will pull out the stops andignite some teenaged hearts along the way.

Mario Vazquez.  He's been the darling of the producers, who followed him along with his mom during the Hollywood episodes. 

He's cute.  He performs well.  He's confident.  He needs to keep that confidence in check, though, to avoid any more of the emergence of ego.  Voters don't like attitudes, and one hint of being too sexy for this show can result in an exit from it.  But his fan base is large.  And loud.

Scott Savol.  This was the toughest pick to make.  He in no way resembles an American Idol, but he has a voice like none of the others. 

His problem, aside from the style issues that are so important to the industry and the voters, is his personality.  He is different.  He is odd.  Some have called him mentally challenged.  But I think the voters will put that aside during the prelims and keep him around for the finals.

There you have it.  My picks.  Now we'll just watch to see if they can handle the pressure of true competition.

Tomorrow, I'll give you my female choices.

Who's on your final six list?