Brace yourselves, it's going to be a bumpy competition!

Every once in a while (and of course, this means, very rarely) I completely screw up. I did that in making my wild card predictions, and forgot that Ayanda would be up for a wild card if she didn't go through as predicted. I'm very glad to say that my screw ups don't matter in the long run, and Ayanda did indeed make it, along with Bonolo, Veronique and Jamie-Lee. I thought Bonolo did well in her group show, so I have no problem with that decision at all - all in all, I think we have the absolute perfect Top 12 line up now. Everyone I voted for is there, and a few that I was sitting on the fence about. So well done, Voters and Judges.

There is so much talent in this Top 12 that it is going to be a fierce competition, and I predict that making choices each week will be pretty tough. I try to approach this without any real established favorites, and take everything at face value in each round of competition. A good thing, too, because I am at a loss as to who I think the Top 3 will be. And with promises of even more surprises around the bend, I think the next few weeks are going to be a lot of fun indeed. For all their pickiness and perfectionism, one thing is for certain - this year's Idol is going to be the best one yet.