Lots will be made of American Idol holding auditions in Birmingham, Ala., which is home to Ruben Studdard, Bo Bice and Taylor Hicks. But, will it produce another champion?

Early word out of Paula Abdul's mouth was that a curly headed kid was the early favorite to win the whole competition. She was referring to Chris Sligh, of Greenville, S.C., who blew her away with a rendition of Seal's "Kiss From A Rose" and a dry wit.

Noting that his aspiration was to make David Hasselhoff cry, Sligh had the judges laughing until Simon and Paula acknowledged that they had no idea to what he was referring. That sort of shocked me given that I had always presumed they watched the shows back on air.

Hasselhoff supposedly wiped away a tear during Taylor Hicks' performance at the end of last season. However, the Baywatch and Knight Rider star acknowledged, if I remember right, that he had been talking to somebody sitting next to him about a buddy of his dying from brain cancer. In other words, the tear was out of context.

Nevertheless, to me, Sligh's audition was by far the highlight of Birmingham. While I love Seal, I despise "Kiss From A Rose," particularly when compared to "Crazy" and "Prayer For The Dying," but it fit Chris' voice to a 'T,' and even when it cracked a little, there was still something stylistically pleasing about the performance.

Of all the people who have auditioned so far, he's probably the one I'm most likely to latch onto, to root for. Really liked Sundance Head, and for that matter, I liked Sean Michel. Jordin Sparks was great, and I am pretty sure she'll be in the Top 12.

However, Chris Sligh will 100 percent for-sure be in the Top 12. There is no doubt in my mind. None.

If I had one piece of advice for the guy it would be to roll with that whole Meat Loaf thing. Marvin Aday is a terrific singer (and vastly underrated actor) and has a charisma that has won him over with generations of people even though he's not a model nor is he a typical pop star.

He just has a good voice and is captivating on stage.

Do that.

Truth is, we only get to see a minute or two of each of these singers. Bernard Williams, 26, had what sounded to be a pleasant, clean voice, and I love Rod Temperton's classic "Rock With You." However, when matched against Sligh's ability and personality, it's clear to me that the Idol 12 this season will have not only solid musical abilities but also public-ready personalities.

Birmingham had its share of sob stories, including one from a young singer named Nichole from Muskogee, Okla. I spent five years there, and so I'm naturally ready to root from anybody in that part of the country. However, the judges didn't care for her voice, saying she sounded like an old soul.

However, she had a great a**.

So did Jamie Ward, who got to Hollywood on the strength of her singing Christina Aguilera's hit "Reflection" and a tremendous backstory. Her father is paralyzed from the neck down.

Do you want to know why?

He shot himself when he caught his wife with another man. Shot himself in the throat.

Unfortunately for Ward, central casting provided her with a Kellie Pickler accent and not nearly the overall personality.

Our favorite show is headed to Hollywood; however, it's a trip to San Antonio that has the Idol community buzzing. A group of students from the University of Oklahoma, called by producers the Oklahoma 5 has bloggers and critics speculating quite a bit.

You know I'll be ready to talk up some fellow Sooners at any point. However, until then, it's on to Hollywood ...