BTW - if I recall correctly when Carrie Underwood won, there were plenty of other cl*****e contestants. Her face melted the hearts, not her body.

Daughtry had a better story than Taylor Hicks and a more marketable sound and stage presence. Which one is gonna get the backing of the record company? A guy who can wrangle a guitar with machismo with a modern sounding voice, or a guy blowin' on a harp and channeling Joe Cocker from 40 years in the past?

Only a couple of the American Idol winners have truly had staying power. That's what pop music is all about, isn't it? The next Beatles are not going to be discovered on American Idol/The Voice/X Factor. But YouTube - that's where it will be. My guess.

-Scott