I'm watching (online) this show for the first time. I think it's pretty awesome. From what I've seen so far, there seems to be lots of great talent (I hear it's better this season than the others), particularly among the males.

The Top 24 has just been chosen. - 15 guys and 9 girls - and my initial favorites are all guys. Heh. This is the list of the Top 24:

* Lindsay Barr, 26, Halifax
* Lisa Bell, 27, Winnipeg
* Marie-Pierre Bellerose, 25, Quebec City
* Adam Castelli, 26, Hamilton
* Paul Clifford, 26, Port Moody, B.C.
* Jesse Cottam, 23, Calgary
* Mark Day, 20, Portugal Cove, Nfld.
* Katelyn Dawn, 19, Winnipeg
* Shaun Francisco, 25, Vancouver
* Martin Kerr, 25, Edmonton
* Omar Lunan, 29, Toronto
* Mitch MacDonald, 22, Port Hope, N.S.
* Mookie Morris, 18, Toronto
* Gary Morissette, 21, Fruitvale, B.C.
* Tetiana Ostapowych, 25, Toronto
* Oliver Pigott, 27, Toronto
* Sebastian Pigott, 25, Toronto
* Lindsay Robins, 21, Montreal
* Katherine St-Laurent, 17, Otterburn Park, Que.
* Jessica Sheppard, 22, Toronto
* Earl Stevenson, 22, Lloydminster, Alta.
* Theo Tams, 22, Lethbridge, Alta.
* Amberly Thiessen, 19, Seven Persons, Alta.
* Drew Wright, 28, Collingwood, Ont.

You may check out the show clips here:

IGRECMAN's DailyMotion videos

MJ is also recapping the shows at her blog. (That's where I copied the Top 24 list from. :) )

I'm watching too yamignonette. Early favourites for me are Drew Wright(think he has a very distinctive and recognizable voice) and Amberly Thiessen.

Do you think the judging is more constructive than on AI?

This is my second year watching CI. I live in a border town so I can catch the whole show. I had high hopes for this season, and have been a bit surprised by the uneven performances.

Still, I'm rooting at this point, for the top to be Mookie, Earl, Tams and possibly Sebastien and/or Amberly, who both turned in pretty forgettable performances tonight.

Just found Earl's MySpace page (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=395340914) with 4 of his original songs, and I'm totally digging them. The man has a great tone and stlye. I can't wait to hear more from him.