Writers strike or no, one show that won't be affected is American Idol. The new season is set to begin on Jan. 15 (7 p.m. on Fox) with those "can't look away" audition tapes. If the lack of new programming will help boost Idol's numbers remains to be seen, but I've got to think it can't hurt.

To get excited for the new season, I've assembled a recap of the best and worst of 2007. In the spirit of optimism, let's start with the good stuff.

The men didn't have much of a chance this past year with some powerhouse female vocalists. It was a great treat to watch Lakisha Jones, Jordin Sparks and Melinda Doolittle duke it out down the final stretch.

Here are my top 10 Idol performances of 2007 (in chronological order with YouTube links).

Lakisha Jones "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)"

Lakisha came out of the gates with her guns (or pipes in this case) blazing. Riding the storm of compliments former Idol Jennifer Hudson was racking up at the time for her "Dreamgirls" performance, Lakisha took the showstopping number and announced her arrival. She wasn't going anywhere and we believed her.

Melinda Doolittle "My Funny Valentine"

Unlike many Idols who show up a little rough around the edges and allow us to see them blossom into stars, Melinda Doolittle took the stage already a seasoned professional. As a former background singer for a host of big names, Melinda was only looking for a chance to sing up front and alone. And she did just that -giving a masters class in singing her first time out.

Blake Lewis "Time of the Season"

For me, this song was the first time that Blake Lewis's beatboxing was controlled and fitting. It was a cool modernization of an already cool song. Blake showed great prowess on the stage with this Zombies number.

Jordin Sparks "I Who Have Nothing"

A chilling performance of a song that the majority of the Idol audience had never heard of. That gave Jordin Sparks a great opportunity to make it her own and she did, injecting a wallup of emotion into it and bringing down the house.

Chris Richardson "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying"

Chris Richardson wasn't the strongest male singer ever to grace Idol's stage (and his Mister Rogers clothing choices on British Invasion night are still questionable) but he had a nice moment with an acoustical version of this number.

Melinda Doolittle "I Got Rhythm"

This one just doesn't get old for me. Standards night produced a real gem for Melinda Doolittle with this number. She got an opportunity to show off a great voice and a spunky attitude. It puts a smile on my face every time. If I had that voice, I would never shut up. I still can't believe she didn't win.

Jordin Sparks "A Broken Wing"

A surprising stunner on Country Western night. Jordin built the song up nicely to a wham-bam finish while being ever so conscious of where that camera was and what her face was doing. It was clear, she had designs on winning by this point.

Jordin Sparks "You'll Never Walk Alone"

Yeah, it's an old song but it's also a great opportunity to show off vocal range and that's exactly what Jordin Sparks did with this one.

Blake Lewis "You Give Love A Bad Name"

Blake didn't take the fact that he had the weakest vocal punch of the big players in Idol '07 too seriously. Instead, he used his beatboxing schtick and an ear for remixes to update songs. It made him fun and won him votes. This was a great example of that.

Lakisha Jones "This Ain't A Love Song"

Lakisha earned herself a kiss on the lips from Simon for this one and I have to be honest, I probably would have kissed her, too, had I been there. She wiped any memory of Bon Jovi's version of this song when she dropped to her knees to sing from the bottom of her heart. It was her best performance since "And I Am Telling You."

Highlights of the season: British Invasion Night, any performance by Melinda Doolittle, when Sanjaya got the boot. 

Lowlights of the season: The fauxhawk and any other experimental hairstyle featured by Sanjaya, Sanjaya himself, and Bee Gees night.