NOW that the current season of ?American Idol? is down to its top six finalists, some potential winners have begun to emerge, and everybody else is redoubling his or her efforts to make it to the top three.

Some weeks ago, it looked like the girls had the competition all packed, sealed and just waiting to be delivered ? but, unexpected rallies by male bets like Lee Dewyze and Aaron Kelly have made the tilt?s final outcome less predictable.

Cliffhanger

We still expect our best bets, Crystal Bowersox and Siobhan Magnus, to be among the final five survivors, but the fact that some of the guys are ?rebounding? has made the tilt?s ultimate outcome a relative cliffhanger.

Indeed, for some weeks now, it?s the girls who have been bidding the show a tearful goodbye. Didi Benami, otherwise a formidable singer and star in the making, was a particularly unexpected ?fatality,? indicating how keen and even cutthroat the competition has become.

In the light of these recent developments, how will the rest of the current season?s survivors pan out? At this writing (Wednesday), the expectation is that the next finalists to be booted out could be Tim Urban, due to his less than spectacular showing to date. (This, in fact, turned out to be the case last Thursday).

So, if he?s so deficient, why wasn?t Tim voted out two weeks ago? Well, his moptop looks click with the show?s generally young and female viewership ? but, even that strong and biased demographic couldn?t coopt the tilt?s judging process forever.

Also less than marvelous is Aaron Kelly, but he?s holding on for dear life due to his extreme youth (he?s only 16).

Katie Stevens is similarly youthful at 17, and she has a bigger, better voice and stellar good looks ? but she hit the dirt two weeks ago.

Still, our bet is that she?ll do well as a recording star, because she has the combination of voice and looks that sells millions of albums ? even without an Idol title.

We hear that Andrew Garcia is married to a Filipina, so we hoped that he would be able to hang on for dear life ? as our sort of ?representative,? even if only by association. Thinking more objectively, however, we feared that his weeks may be numbered ? and, so they were, because, sadly, ?our? bet is no longer in the competition.

Mike Lynche is the ?big guy? who won viewers? hearts, because he became a father right after auditioning for the show. But, he can?t bank on that emotional advantage for long, and needs to hustle more in order to keep surviving.

Foregone conclusion

Only a couple of weeks ago, Lee Dewyze?s ouster was a foregone conclusion. However, he belatedly perked up and jazzed up his act, so he?s become one of the top male bets to beat on the show. Some observers even think that he could give frontrunner, Crystal Bowersox, a run for the ?AI? title!

We?re less sanguine about Lee?s title prospects, however, and we believe that the final square-off could be between Crystal, Siobhan and Casey James, the tilt?s resident golden boy and heartthrob.

Whichever way the finals go, the current season of ?American Idol? could go down in pop history as one of the tilt?s most keenly-fought competitions, with the winner not all that clearly identified until the final-finals night ? because its best bets are definitely in it to win it. Abangan.