We are just hours away from the “American Idol” Top 24 being revealed. I’ve poured over the eight audition shows and carefully watched the Hollywood rounds. Here is the list of the ten singers I think will be garnering your votes this season. I’ve based it on a number of factors from 1 to 10 – likeability, vocal ability, airtime and star quality.

David Archuleta – Considering he won Star Search at age 12, David already has a leg up on the competition. This 17-year-old’s vocal paralysis has not kept him down, he wowed the judges singing “Waiting on the World To Change” in San Diego and then nailed “Heaven” during the Hollywood rounds. His significant amount of airtime will help him sail through to the Top 12 and his young fan base will keep him there. He already has a group of fans that are calling themselves the ‘Arch Angels.’

Likeability – 10
Vocal Ability – 10
Airtime – 9
Star Quality –9
Idol Déja vu – Jon Peter Lewis

*****

Asia’h Epperson – This 18-year-old from Joplin, Missouri (pronounced Asia like the continent) brought me to tears when she sang “How Do I Live” by Lee Ann Rimes as a tribute to her father who passed away two days before the audition in an car accident. This girl oozes star quality. With significant airtime, an interesting breathy voice that earned her three yeses from the judges and a beautiful smile she’s my number one female to watch.

Likeability – 10
Vocal Ability – 8
Airtime – 9
Star Quality – 10
Idol Déja vu – Lisa Tucker

*****

Syesha Mercado – This 20-year-old from Miami, Florida already proved she can make it to the big time appearing as a contestant on ABC’s “The One”(an “Idol” rip off). If she can power through a song like she did in Hollywood with a sore throat she’ll power right through to the Top 12. She’s a triple threat actress, singer and model who has already appeared in a slew of commercials including one where she was behind the wheel of a Ford - something she’ll be doing again soon when we see those cheesy Ford commercials.

Likeability – 8
Vocal Ability – 9
Airtime: 9
Star Quality – 9
Idol Déja vu - Nadia Turner

*****

Brooke White - This 24-year-old nanny from Van Nuys will surely have two very unhappy twin girls when she sails into the Top 12 and out of her job as their caretaker. Her soulful rendition of “Like A Star” by Corrine Bailey Rae earned her three yeses from the judges and her brave piano performance during the Hollywood rounds has upped her already significant airtime and will surely help her win fans.

Likeability – 8
Vocal Ability – 9
Airtime: 10
Star Quality – 8
Idol Déja vu – Carmen Rasmusen

*****

Kady Malloy - There were plenty of cute southern blondes this season but none stood out to fans more than this 18-year-old from Houston, Texas who can do vocal impressions of singers like Britney Spears, Shakira and Gary LeVox (can’t wait to hear that one). As we have learned from Carrie Underwood, country and American Idol go together well which is maybe what made Simon utter “I’ve got a feeling about you” during her audition.

Likeability – 9
Vocal Ability – 9
Airtime: 7
Star Quality – 9
Idol Déja vu – Carrie Underwood

*****

Carly Smithson – Before we even got a glimpse of her audition in San Diego in front of the judges, the “Irish Girl” was causing controversy. Under her married name Carly Hennessy, she signed a multi-million dollar, six-album contract with MCA Records (Vivendi Universal) in 2000. She reportedly got a $100,000 advance and living expenses for two years while MCA spent $2.2 million on recording and promoting her album Ultimate High, that flopped. Idol fans sites began complaining that she was a ringer that the company behind “American Idol” put in the show in hopes of giving her a second shot at success. She got a significant amount of airtime with her husband at their tattoo parlor making her quite memorable and with a great performance at the Hollywood round. Any publicity is good publicity and I think Carly’s will put her through to the Top 12.

Likeability – 7
Vocal Ability – 9
Airtime – 10
Star Quality – 8
Idol Déja vu – Nikki McKibbin

*****

Amanda Overmyer - The “rock & roll” nurse, as Randy Jackson dubbed her, follows in the footsteps of past female rockers Gina Glocksen and Nikki McKibbin. Considering how well they both did I think her motorcycle riding days will have to a backseat for a while as she zooms her way into the Top 12. Likeability – 7
Vocal Ability – 7
Airtime: 10
Star Quality – 6
Idol Déja vu – Gina Glocksen

*****

Danny Noriega – Nigel Lythgoe promised this year we would not see another Sanjaya, yet something about this 17-year-old from Azusa, California makes me think otherwise. He already has the great hair going for him and a flamboyant personality – and the fact that he was the very last audition on the very last show will help up his remembrance factor.

Likeability – 8
Vocal Ability – 7
Airtime – 8
Star Quality - 7
Idol Déja vu – Sanjaya Malakar

*****

David Hernandez - It’s rare for someone who is only shown during the Hollywood rounds to make such an impression that they can win enough fans to get through to the Top 12. David is that exception. His stellar performance of “Love The One You’re With” proved he can command a stage and even Simon was impressed. He also has something in common with season six winner Jordin Sparks, they both competed in Arizona Idol.

Likeability – 9
Vocal Ability – 9
Airtime: 6
Star Quality – 8
Idol Déja vu – Phil Stacey

*****

David Cook - America made a mistake when they sent home Chris Daughtry in favor of Taylor Hicks and Katherine McPhee. Can this rocker right that wrong? Like Brooke Smith he has gotten some additional airtime during the Hollywood round promos for playing an instrument upping his recognizability factor big time.

Likeability – 7
Vocal Ability – 8
Airtime: 8
Star Quality – 7
Idol Déja vu – Chris Daughtry

Welcome to the Captain , 8:30-9 p.m., CBS

By Barry Garron

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A classic comedy if ever there was one, “Welcome to the Captain,” with its dinner-theater characters and traditional boy-meets-girl romance, has a wide, multigenerational appeal. It’s not clear whether it has something blue, but this single-camera sitcom from John Hamburg definitely has something old, new and borrowed.

Inserted in the midst of the CBS Monday night comedy block, the show brings a light heart and a deft comedic touch to bear on the foibles and stereotypes of Hollywood. Considering the present state of the industry, the timing couldn’t be better.

Something new is Fran Kranz, who plays Josh Flug, a young writer whose short film won an Oscar five years ago but who has accomplished little since then. His girlfriend broke up with him, and he’s ready to return to New York. However, his former college roommate, Marty (Chris Klein), a womanizing business manager, urges him to try once more, starting with new digs at the fabled and fabulous El Capitan.

There, he meets the warmest and wackiest group of residents since “Hot L Baltimore.” Among them are terrific characters played by veterans Jeffrey Tambor (Uncle Saul, the building yenta who lives off writing residuals from “Three’s Company”) and Raquel Welch (as local femme fatale Charlene), who can still make hearts skip beats.

Competing with them to steal each scene is Al Madrigal, who plays doorman/desk clerk Jesus (pronounced the English, not Spanish, way).

What’s borrowed is the locale. Standing in for the hulking El Capitan (called “The Captain” by residents) is the El Royale Apartments, a showbiz legend on Rossmore Avenue that, at one time or another, housed Clark Gable, Loretta Young and Judy Holliday as well as Ben Stiller, Nicolas Cage and Cameron Diaz.

In the opener, Josh meets aspiring acupuncturist Hope, played by Joanna Garcia, whose skills as a comedic actress have progressed nicely since her stint as Cheyenne, the daughter on “Reba.” Hope has a boyfriend and plans to move back to New York, but we know better. The Josh-Hope romance becomes the center of this mildly absurd but sweetly conventional comedy

http://www.reuters.com/article/reviewsNews/idUSN0346329820080203

You can see how Vh1’s Celebrity Rehab sounded like a great idea. It’s simple: combine America’s celebrity obsession with the current trend of self-redemption-themed reality TV shows, get yourself some B-level stars with substance abuse problems (no shortage of those), and put them through the recovery ringer with Dr. Drew Pinsky. It practically produces itself.

Genius, right? Only not really.

There are a number of flaws in Celebrity Rehab’s design, not the least of which is the fact that Dr. Drew might be the biggest celeb on the show. The rest of the cast includes Brigitte Nielsen, pro wrestling’s Chyna, the singer from Crazy Town, Kenicke from Grease, a porn star, a girl who was briefly on Family Matters, and the least famous of the Baldwin brothers.

Oh, and MMA fighter Ricco Rodriguez is also coming to the party late, hopefully with an explanation of why he tried to auction off his UFC heavyweight championship belt on Ebay (my money’s on cocaine).

In other words, when talking about this show with your friends you would likely put air quotes around the word “celebrity” the same way you do when talking about your cousin who is working as a “dancer” to put herself through “college”.

It begs the question: where does entertainment end and exploitation begin? Watching Celebrity Rehab is strangely compelling – the way watching people struggle with addiction often is – but it has little to do with the fact that these people are (according to a very broad definition of the word) famous. It’s more like a watered-down version of A&E’s Intervention.

The fact that this show features celebrities really only encourages us to revel in their pain and feel better about seeing their broken lives on display. To a degree, that’s understandable. Celebrities in our society make a deal with the devil. They receive money, undue adulation, a false sense of accomplishment, but in exchange they give up certain things, like their privacy.

The drug and alcohol-addicted celebrities on this show, however, are really just messed up people who may or may not be using their “recovery” as a way of revitalizing their careers. It’s like everyone is using everyone else in this sordid game. Maybe that’s why I feel a little dirty after watching it

The pen may be mightier than awards.

After taking the luster off the Golden Globes, striking writers now have their sights set on the Grammys.

On Tuesday afternoon, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences announced it had asked for a pass from the Writers Guild of America to stage the music biz’s biggest night.

The WGA confirmed that it has received a request from show producer John Cossette and the Recording Academy for an interim arrangement and that it will refer the matter to the WGA West Board of Directors.

But earlier, the WGA indicated it did not plan on granting a waiver for CBS’ Feb. 10 telecast. WGA spokesman Gregg Mitchell said the guild hadn’t yet received word from the Recording Academy, but that any request is ”unlikely to be granted.”

Still, ‘the Recording Academy is remains hopeful that there will be a quick and positive response,” said the organization’s president and CEO, Neil Portnow.

Without a waiver, not only would the Recording Academy be unable to hire union scribes to write scripted packages paying tribute to Grammy’s 50th anniversary, writers could set up a picket line in front of Los Angeles’ Staples Center.

In turn, Screen Actors Guild members would be loath to break ranks with their WGA brethren, thus diminishing the Grammy star power. Last year’s Grammys featured Chris Rock, Nicolas Cage,Luke Wilson and Samuel L. Jackson in attendance. A similar number of stars was expected at the 2008 edition.

Further complicating matters is that many Grammy-loved musicians moonlight as SAG members, including Justin Timberlake, 50 Cent, Jack White, Beyoncé Knowles, Fantasia Barrino, Jon Bon Jovi, and Queen Latifah, and the WGA is pressuring them to boycott the bash.

Then, of course, there are blue-collar rockers like Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Joni Mitchell and Steve Earle—all of whom are nominated this year and, as strong union supporters throughout their careers, they have traditionally refused to cross picket lines.

The Recording Academy typically unveils its list of performers and presenters three weeks before the actual ceremony.

“Let me reiterate our desire to bring this matter to a positive resolution working with the WGA,” Portnow said.

“And to slightly alter a famous saying in our world, ‘The Show will go on.’ We will take whatever action is necessary to ensure that a program so vital to our industry, artists, charitable beneficiaries, and the great city of Los Angeles is held as planned. Accordingly, all preparations by th Academy for our milestone 50th Annual Grammy Awards remain in full-swing.”

While the Grammys seem to be striking the wrong chord with the WGA, the NAACP Image Awards are getting a flyer.

The WGA announced Tuesday it had granted a waiver to organizers of the 39th annual awardscast, which honors people of color in film, TV, music and literature. The WGA has granted similar waivers to the the SAG Awards and Independent Spirit Awards.

That’s good news for such nominees as Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin, Will Smith, America Ferrera, Taye Diggs and Jordin Sparks, all of whom are free to attend the Feb. 14 ceremony without the fear of union backlash.

Meanwhile, as the strike goes on and scribes’ beards grow ever bushier in their battle for a greater share of the new media pie, several studios are taking action.

Disney-owned ABC Studios, 20th Century Fox Television, CBS Paramount Network Television, NBC Universal and Warner Bros. Television have confirmed plans to terminate development and production pacts with a multitude of writers.

January traditionally marks the occasion when writers who have deals with studios get to work hatching new comedy and drama series for the upcoming television season.

The WGA said in a statement that such moves were “alienating the very creative force that has made entertainment one of the most successful businesses in the country.”

Finally, the guild has signed additional interim agreements with two more major film production companies, following recent news that the guild had reached separate independent accords with the Weinstein Company, United Artists and David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants.

The deal with Spyglass Entertainment and Media Rights Capital allows them to hire screenwriters until an industry-wide agreement takes its place.

The WGA hopes the current side deals—which are estimated to give writers a 2.5 percent stake in a distributor’s gross for TV properties presented on the Web and 2 percent of the gross for airing movies online—puts more pressure on the big five studios to return to the bargaining table.