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Entertainment Weekly) --
Ah, winter: snowstorms, chapped lips and the loss of a social life because of nonstop airings of "American Idol" (Fox).
Last year's lackluster competition -- really, Diana DeGarmo in the final two? -- prompted producers to change the rules, resulting in older wannabes and an intriguing boys-versus-girls showdown that's making season 4 a must-see.
A number of contestants have proven immediately polarizing: big-voiced Anthony Fedorov (AKA Clay 2.0), howling rock dude Constantine Maroulis and the judges' punching bag, Janay Castine (even Paula can't find anything nice to say about her!) have already earned as many detractors as they have fans.
And the show continues to court controversy: Promising vocalists Aloha Mischeaux and Judd Harris got booted within the first two weeks, and a Feb. 23 bait-and-switch results show was widely panned by fans for being too cruel to the singers.
Still, as psychotic (or is it psychic?) "Idol" addicts, Entertainment Weekly's editors have already chosen the early front-runners. Read on for our six top picks -- and the odds that they'll win.
