American Idol Contestants: A Favorite Emerges

Written by Jake Thompson
Monday, 18 April 2011 18:11

A new American Idol contestant has emerged as the favorite to win it all.

We’ve been tracking the American Idol odds at many online sportsbooks since the 2011 season began and the favorites to win have always been Scott McCreery or Lauren Alaina.  That is, up until today when James Durbin surpassed both talented youngsters to lay claim as the betting favorite to emerge from the 2011 American Idol contestants and win the top prize in the singing competition.

The 22-year-old Santa Cruz, California product was considered a bit of an afterthought and feel-good story at the start of the competition when it was revealed that he was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome and Asperger syndrome around the age of 10.  After putting together a string of impressive performances while creating a niche’ as the heavy metal rocker this season, Durbin is now considered to be the best that American Idol has to offer this year.

Last week’s American Idol theme was “Songs from the Movies” and Durbin was again impressive and memorable, successfully belting out the lyrics to Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal” in what proved to be the show stealer of the night.  Durbin has previously been successful with The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”, Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City”, and Bon Jovi’s “I’ll Be There for You”.

American Idol betting odds tend to fluctuate quite a bit depending on the weekly performance, but as of this writing Durbin leads the way and is followed by (in order of most likely to least likely to win) Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Casey Abrams, Haley Reinhart, Jacob Lusk, and Stefano Langone.  The 2011 season of American Idol has been so strong that I could make a case for any of these talented performers to take home the crown, but right now it’s Durbin and his unique brand of rock that is getting the admiration of the online sportsbooks.