First off, how cute is this picture?!  I found it and just knew this had to be the header for all my American Idol posts this year.  Before I get to the rest of this blog I just want to let you all know that this is my 300th post!  That's just slightly under a post per day.  After doing 300 of these things I love it even more than the day I started.  Thanks for following along over this past year.  Now, on to American Idol Season 11.

This season has been a bit boring, and it's beginning to feel very repetitive will all the fake-outs and contrived drama, but it's still American Idol.  This week saw the Top 25 contestants competing for the coveted spots in the Top 13.  13 guys performed Tuesday night, 12 girls performed Wednesday, and last night the Top 5 of each gender automatically advanced with the judges choosing 6 people to sing one last time and from which the judges would each pick one contestant to round out the Top 13.  If you follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook I accurately predicted 9 of the 13 so I think I did a pretty darn good job.  For the most part I think the Top 13 is who it should be (with the exception of 4 people which I'll get to in a minute), but I don't necessarily think it's one of the strongest groups the show has ever seen.  A lot of them I could care less about and they won't be successful after Idol.  This'll be an interesting year.

Top 13

Phillip Phillips
In every sense of the word, this is the perfect American Idol.  He's a good-looking white male who can play a guitar.  This is exactly what the last four winners of the show have been.  If Phillip doesn't win then maybe America will have finally gotten some sense, but that's not to say I don't like him.  He was one of my early favorites and I can't wait to see what he'll do in the coming weeks.  But, sadly, he won't be a megastar just like Kris Allen and Lee Dewyze haven't become huge stars.  He's great already, but he's not going to grow.
Jessica Sanchez
In the past I would have said "if this girl doesn't win then I should stop watching Idol."  She is THE best contestant right now and put everyone else to shame on Wednesday night when she sang, but it's the fact that she's so incredible that will guarantee she won't win.  How many times in the past have we seen the best contestants lose?  Every year except seasons 1, 4, 7, and 10.  In my opinion, only Kelly, Carrie, David Cook and Scotty have deserved to win, but since the handsome guitar-playing white male is destined to win Jessica doesn't stand a chance.  It's sad because she's an incredible singer, but I also thought that about This Megia last year and unfortunately Jessica is in the same spot: she peaked too early.  She brought out the gauntlet in the semi-finals, but she most likely won't be able to live up to the bar she set for herself.  I really like her so I hope she makes it into the later stages of the competition.
Hollie Cavanagh
I love this girl!!  I think she'll be the one to watch this year.  She's got the cutest accent because she's from Liverpool but lives in Texas so it's quite something.  She also seems very quiet and humble so she's basically hidden in the shadows this whole competition and I think she'll surprise us all.  Her performance on Wednesday was one of my favorites, and she's also got a unique style so I think she'll fare well as long as America gets to know her more.
Joshua Ledet
I hope this doesn't sound racist or anything, but do we have to have the stereotypical black gospel male singer that over sings every note he ever lets out?  It's really getting tiring and frustrating.  We really reminds me of Marcus Canty on this past year's The X Factor USA, and I'm sure he's going to have the same result.  He's going to oversing every note, make it into the Top 6-ish and then America will finally see the light and kick him off.  Can't we just do it now?  Please??
Heejun Han
HEEJUN!!!!!  Can we officially call this "the season of Heejun?"  Ever since group rounds during Hollywood Week I have been hooked on this guy.  He is hilarious, but it's dry humor which I don't usually like but Heejun works it effortlessly.  Who is ever going to forget Ryan: "What are you sweating?" Heejun: "Water mostly"?  He's really not a bad singer, but he does need to work on his pronunciation if he's going to make it far and be taken seriously in this competition.  I have a feeling he's going to be the Sanjaya of this season, but with a much better voice.
Shannon Magrane
Again, we have the stereotypical attractive white girl with an okay voice.  She's America's sweetheart, and, even though I can't stand her and find her to be a bland and boring singer, she's going to stick around for a looooong time.  Too long for my taste.  There were at least two other girls who could sing circles around Shannon that deserved it so much more, but of course we get the least talented of the options.
Skylar Laine
Skylar's one of my favorite girls.  She's a little ole country gal and reminds me a lot of last year's Lauren Alaina, but what she has is spunk.  She's got a great fun and bubbly personality, and she knows how to rock the stage.  This is what's going to keep her in the competition for a long time.  It also doesn't hurt that she reminds everyone of a little Reba McEntire.  If she plays her cards right I have a feeling she could make it to the Top 5.
Elise Testone
Elise is hands down my favorite girl this year, and I really want her to win.  This is kind of weird because she's not my typical style.  I don't normally like the whole raspy voice thing, but she really makes it work.  As weird as this may sound, I see her as a rock version of Ke$ha.  She's got great stage presence, and she is the only one over the two nights to sing Adele and make it sound good.  She's also one of the most unique contestants of the year.  I'll be rooting for Elise this year, and I hope she can break the winning streak.
Colton Dixon
My two favorites just happen to be next to each other!  Colton and Elise are who I want in the finale, but I doubt Colton's going to last that long.  Colton has been my favorite contestant this year since he made it through to Hollywood last year.  On the show last year I was utterly shocked that he didn't make it into the Top 13 because he was much better than some of the people who did make it.  I've been rooting for him every step of the way this season, and I hope he can win over America.  I feel like he might only crack the Top 5 because he's not everyone's cup of tea and he'll be a polarizing, contestant, but hey, if Adam did it then Colton can do it.
Jermaine Jones
BIGGEST.  MISTAKE.  OF.  THE.  SEASON.  When we found out last week that one of four guys was a wildcard and would perform on Tuesday this week everyone thought it would be either Johnny Keyser (who I was rooting for) or David Leathers Jr.  Boy were we wrong.  Jermaine has been one of my least favorite contestants this year, and he'll either be voted off next week or the week after.  He's pure cannon fodder, and one of the other more deserving guys could have taken his place.
Erika Van Pelt
Erika was one of the contestants who was chosen to sing for one of the wildcard slots, and boy did she slay her performance!  She gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "sing for your life" as she fought for her place in the Top 13.  She didn't have a bad night on Wednesday, but it also wasn't anything spectacular.  She reminds me of a rockier Kelly Clarkson, and I think she'll do pretty well in this competition.
Jeremy Rosado
We all know why Jeremy made it into the Top 13 as a wildcard so I'm just going to be blunt: Jennifer thinks he's a cutie pie.  America obviously didn't like him enough to vote for him so he simply was not meant to be here.  Again, we have a case where more deserving guys should have taken his spot, but Jennifer let her emotions get the best of her and wasted a heavily coveted spot.  If he makes it into the Top 10 he'll be the Stephano Langone of this season: voted for only because he's "cute."
Deandre Brackensick
Deandre grabbed my attention last year with his beautiful voice, but he just wasn't ready and up to par with the other contestants.  Thankfully he came back this year and is one of the most deserving contestants to be picked for a wildcard.  His performance on Tuesday night really upset me because it was the wrong song choice and really set him up for failure.  I knew he was so much better than that so I was really hoping the judges would give him a spot.  Thankfully, they actually used their "judging" skills and picked someone who deserved it.  Hopefully he'll only grow and get better throughout this process.
I've never done this officially before, but I thought I'd finally give it a shot.  Last year I accurately predicted the finale early on so let's see if I can recreate my luck.  I'm going to say what I think should happen and what I think will happen.  If you guys want to come up with your own rankings I'd love to see them!  Just post them in the comments section below!

What I Want to Happen:

1. Elise Testone
2. Colton Dixon
3. Phillip Phillips
4. Hollie Cavanagh
5. Jessica Sanchez
6. Heejun Han
7. Erika Van Pelt
8. Deandre Brackensick
9. Skylar Laine
10. Jeremy Rosado
11. Shannon Magrane
12. Joshua Ledet
13. Jermaine Jones