Chris Sligh--the one to watch out

Is Chris Sligh the rumored curly-haired 'Idol' favorite ?

The rumors about a "curly-haired" boy have been circulating for weeks. According to the Idol judges, this curly-haired boy is "the one to beat" in this year's Idol competition.

And Tuesday night in Birmingham, we met Chris Sligh, a Jack Osbourne doppelganger, with a full head of "Justin Guarini" curls.
Could he be the "chosen one" they speak of?

In Entertainment Weekly, Randy Jackson said this year's winner would be "someone with curly hair." Simon said that one guy who stood out from the crowd, "has what I call the likability factor. He's not what I would call the typical American Idol because he's different... but everyone liked him.'' In the New York Post, Paula Abdul described the judges' favorite guy as someone resembling magician Penn Jillette.

Chris Sligh is extremely likable, and funny, and has that fabled "curly hair." He does resemble Penn Jillette in this photo on his website. And Chris certainly doesn't fit Simon's idea of what a "typical" American Idol looks like.

[Start rant] Of course, Simon is starting to piss me off. He keeps yammering about this one and that one not looking like a "typical" Idol. So far, our Idols (besides Carrie Underwood) have had very diverse looks. The American public doesn't seem to want Britney Spears/Jessica Simpson clones. And I just wish that after five seasons, Simon would admit that you don't have to look like a generic-blond-anorexic-Hollywood-sex-symbol in order to win American Idol. And he should stop acting surprised that Americans actually like contestants that don't fit his narrow preconceived idea of what an Idol looks like.[End of rant]

As far as Chris Sligh being the curly-haired guy to win this thing, who really knows? Even if he is the judges' favorite, he still needs to impress the American public. I know from the buzz on the internet that some of you are already won over by Chris. What about the rest of you? Do you think Chris Sligh is Top 12 material? Could Chris Sligh be the next American Idol?
Now in the top 24 of the Season 6 of American Idol, Chris Sligh is very cool. Check this out.