Lots of talk this week about Antonella Barba raising the ire of former Idol castoff Frenchie Davis, who was ousted in Season 2 because somebody discovered there were nudie pics of the singer online.

Of course, relatively speaking, Barba is a porn queen, although the really graphic photos of her engaged in oral sex are fakes, proven by numerous sites. On the other hand, the pics of her in a see-through top under a water fountain are apparently the real deal.

In this week before the Top 12 is revealed, Davis' fans are pissed that Barba is still around. Rosie O'Donnell called Idol racist and weightist and then admitted she had to be treated for depression after the Columbine shootings.

In the past, I've typically defended Rosie, but methinks the Donald might have been on to something. The notion that a school shooting that, relatively speaking, did not involve you would send you into clinical depression of any sort is self-indulgent at the highest level.

Sept. 11, I could see. The Oklahoma City bombing, I could see. Katrina, I could see.

I guess. This notion that the world revolves around an individual to the extent it does Rosie, well, just turns me off big time. However, I digress.

The point Rosie fails to understand is that in Season 2, American Idol was doing well but was still in kind of a trial phase. They're marketed as a family show, although Wednesday nights "Paula's under the table" comments from Randy demonstrate something to the contrary, and I've always maintained that our favorite show can get away with much more in Season 6 than it could in Season 2.

Given the obvious talent Frenchie has, demonstrated by a long run on Broadway in both RENT and Dreamgirls, I think she would have survived the controversy in Season 6. In fact, many pundits believe the judges will all but hand Lakisha Jones the Idol crown in light of the success Jennifer Hudson had at the Oscars.

However, as for Antonella Barba, I suspect she's a contestant we could have to deal with for a few more weeks. First, she's a looker. Second, she's still better than about half the male singers. Third, there is a significant element of Idol voters who cast their choices based on who they perceive to be the worst singer or most controversial contestant, a way to bring absurdity to the competition.

Take "Chicken Little," Kevin Covais last year. Take John Stevens three years ago. How about Scott Savol?

In the week before the Top 12 debuts, there's always a stunner. Gedeon McKinney, who proved to be one of the more original male singers in Season 5 was ousted this week last year. His female counterpart, Ayla Brown, was the final cut before the Top 12 was set. I refer to her as Gedeon's counterpart because they arguably should have been contenders to stick around until the Top 6 or better.

According to DialIdol.com, a site that is fairly accurate about predicting winners both to my pleasure and annoyance, both Sabrina Sloan and Stephanie Edwards -- both extremely talented singers -- are in danger of not making the cut.

Among the men, Sanjaya Malakar and Sundance Head very well might make the Top 12.

Every year, there are three or four singers who flat-out cannot sing who make the Top 12 for whatever reason. The fact that Antonella Barba is hot and that the tween girls love Sanjaya probably will result in Season 6 being no different.

However, considering the general consensus is that the single-best five singers are all of color, one of whom is a big woman, leads me to no other conclusion than that Rosie is just full of it. Again.

Like with Jennifer Hudson in Season 3, it doesn't mean Lakisha won't get hosed by the American public at some point. However, the show itself has shown the Maryland native nothing but love.

And, that's the difference between Idol in Season 6 and Idol in Season 2. In Season 6, Frenchie could have been a whore and made it because, truly, the show's executives are feeling pretty fearless these days and the woman had and still has extraordinary talent.

Thankfully for us, as proven by the wide success the show has had the past two years among many of its contestants, talent is now the predominant factor by which these aspiring singers are judged.