Well, the audition process has past and we can no longer anxiously look forward to the fingernails-on-chalkboard sirens of toothless bipolar teenagers with black nails and howling cackles. The Hollywood portion of American Idol is finally underway.

First things first, this year's William Hung moment is definitely Renaldo Lapuz for getting the entire cast of Idol together to sing his self-written ode to Simon "I am your brother." Though a Dylan-quality lyricist, Lapuz's voice was not able to carry him to the Hollywood round. I bet we see him again though come finals time. Thanks to Fox for turning those too terrible to be famous into million hit YouTube stars.

The early stages of the competition may not have given us much insight into characters but we've definitely seen some story lines shaping up. From an MMA ass-kicking hot blond girl to tattooed Irish re-audition, American Idol is continuing to work the cookie-cutter star machine into another great top 12.

Though it is too early to give names of the finalists, it is clear that we will see fat black girls singing the shit out of Whitney Houston, hot white girls singing country with low-cut tops, and the one soft-core wanna-be rocker who will finish in the top 5 but never have a real shot of winning.

To me, the real stand out this year is Josiah Leming, the 18 year old hillbilly with a British accent who was living out of his car at the time of his audition. Though vocally incompetent, he has more personality and originality than any of the other contestants thus far. Can he be the next Taylor Hicks? He certainly could be the next contestant to stay true to himself and be able to compete with the predetermined ranks of demo-grabbing personality types that oft times are passed through by the titanic trio that have become the royalty of reality television.

I must admit that I find Leming to be fake to the degree of authenticity. He should sound nothing like he does when he sings but he buys into it so much that its as though he's the only person who hasn't realized he's from the mountains of Tennessee rather than on stage with Oasis. Being from this same part of the country, I am rooting for Leming but think that he will be a lost dog in tall grass once the harmonizing and dance routines fire up in Hollywood. If he can make it through to the top 24, I believe America will love him and his destiny will be his own. Either way, this Brit-pop knockoff will have a record deal come August, maybe even sooner. Can you say Mario Vasquez?

-C.C. Swiney