‘American Idol XIII’ finale rankings: Will Caleb Johnson, Jena Irene be the winner?

On Tuesday night, Caleb Johnson and Jena Irene are each going to take the stage with the opportunity to become the next “American Idol,” but before we get to the inevitable big notes and frequent camera-pans on Jennifer Lopez dancing, who do we feel is the favorite going into this?

We are ultimately looking at what may be one of the most competitive final twos that we’ve seen in a while; even though Jena has been in the bottom before and Caleb has not, there has also been so much that has changed since that time that it makes you start to wonder how much the followings have shifted. We’re ranking these personally on everything: Performance quality, fan base size, history of that sort of singer on “American Idol,” and even some of the headlines away from the show.

2. Caleb Johnson – Caleb has a huge following, and he also has a great voice. The problem he runs into is that while Jena may have some people who may or may not vote for her based on what she does on the show this week, Caleb has people who will absolutely not vote for him after the r-word controversy and the sort-of apology after the fact. If you love him, you love him; however, if you don’t love him then there is almost nothing that you can do to be swayed at this point. Some of the frequent and at times excessive praising at the hands of the judges keeps him from coming into this in the likable underdog position.

1. Jena Irene – It may seem counter-intuitive to put someone who has been in danger before at the top, but that was a world ago when it comes to time. Jena has emerged as not only a big star with a great voice, but someone not afraid to take risks. The x factor (not to bring up that show) for Jena here is going to most likely be the votes of Alex Preston fans. When you look at his creativity and his sensibility on stage, we feel like it is far more likely that they will support her than rush over to Caleb. This, coupled with good performances, may be enough to put her over the top.

Who do you think is the most likely to win “American Idol” this season? Share some of your thoughts with a comment, and click here to take a listen to both of these stars’ winners singles now.

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Photo: Fox