Another Monday morning is upon us, which means in just three-and-a-half days, another American Idol contestant will be sent packing for the talk show circuit. While we don’t yet know who will be the next to be voted off, I don’t think it’s too difficult to narrow down which contestants are in the running to have their microphone silenced.

There are three contestants that I believe are in danger of being the next singer to be sent to that great stage in the sky. In fact, I think all three of the contestants I’m thinking of will be sent home during one of the next three Thursdays. Below I tell you who these three contestants are, why I think they will be the next to go home, and what, if anything might be able to save them.

First up on the list is Stefano Langone. Until last week, Stefano had been turning in very middling performances. While his songs hadn’t been anywhere near the best of the night, they also hadn’t been anywhere near the worst. That all changed last week, however, when he butchered Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.” Many people who saw promise in Stefano during the auditions and Hollywood Week, as well as those who were voting for him solely for his looks, are turning away from him in droves.

Stefano has two main shortcomings with his singing. The first is his overall weak vocals. He is consistently being overpowered by both the band and the backup singers. It’s not that they are too loud, it’s that Stefano is too weak. His second is his lack of ability to connect with the song or the audience. Without that connection, the audience isn’t going to care what he is singing about. And they certainly won’t care to vote for him.

Stefano’s one saving grace likely lies in Paul McDonald, specifically whether the field has been narrowed down enough to counteract the Vote For The Worst block. But even if VFTW does lose out in their bid to keep Paul one more week, Stefano will likely be the next to go.

And that brings us to the next contestant whose time on Idol is nearing an end: the aforementioned Paul McDonald.

Like Stefano, Paul has consistently been vocally weak. Unlike Stefano, who has the ability to sing stronger but doesn’t, Paul doesn’t have the ability to sing any stronger. His voice is weak, plain and simple. To make matters worse, he is frequently off-key during his performances, a problem that persists whether he is jumping around on stage or standing still playing the guitar.

Paul also has an oddity factor about him as well that is hard to explain. Whether singing or talking, Paul smiles nonstop, but it’s not an endearing smile. It’s actually a very off-putting smile. In addition, his style of music comes across as some sort of weird pairing of Andy Gibb and Peter, Paul & Mary. Yet Paul’s style has none of the traits that made them popular.

Frankly, Paul’s chances on American Idol were slim-to-none the moment he landed in the Top 13. The only question was just how long it would take for him to be voted off. Personally, I think he has Vote For The Worst to thank for still being around. I know many of you don’t think VFTW has any sway at all, but early in the competition I think they can provide enough votes to help keep someone around. After all, when 13 people are being voted for, a few thousand people all voting for one person can make a difference.

But that sway is coming to an end. With the field narrowing, fans of contestants who have already been voted out are finding new favorites to vote for. This causes any sway that VFTW has to lessen, which in turn will result in Paul finally going home. The only question, really, is whether this happens this week or next week.

The final contestant who I think will be leaving the show soon is Haley Reinhart. Like Stefano and Paul, Haley is someone who is consistently weaker than the song she is singing. The difference with her, however, is that I think she thinks she is vocally stronger than she really is. She keeps picking songs that are out of her league. Trying to step out of your comfort zone is one thing, but drowning while doing so is another.

To make things worse, Haley has no clue what kind of artist she is. Instead, she mimics the other contestants. And while imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, you have to make sure you can successfully pull off the imitation. Haley hasn’t been able to do that. The last couple of weeks has seen her attempting to imitate Casey Abrams’ growling, something he wasn’t doing well himself.

Haley does have two things going for her. The first is her looks. I suspect that her leggy piano-top performance last week kept her from being sent home in place of Thia. As demonstrated by DJ Slim on the radio show last Wednesday, some people were too busy ogling her to listen to what she was singing. If they had listened to her, they would have realized that she wasn’t anywhere near as sexy sounding as she wanted to be.

The other thing Haley has in her corner is the fact that all four of the contestants who have left so far have been women. This will benefit Haley in two ways. First, some voters will vote only for the women, no matter how bad a performance they might give, in order to keep the testosterone levels in check. Secondly, fans of the women who are now gone are more likely than not to transfer their allegiance to another girl. Together, this should be enough to keep Haley around for at least a couple more weeks.

So those are my thoughts. Do you agree with me about who will likely go home next, or do you think someone else will bite the dust before they do? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.