American Idol XV is the final season of the competition
Singer Nick Fradiani (C) is named the winner by host Ryan Seacrest (2nd L) surrounded by fellow contestants during the American Idol XIV 2015 Finale at Dolby theatre in Hollywood, California May 13, 2015. Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

“American Idol” Season 15 aka AI 2016 returns live on Wednesday to ask viewers to vote for the first time in this season. Among the Idol hopefuls who are likely to make it to the Top 10 after the voting round are Dalton Rapattoni and MacKenzie Bourg.

The Top 14 hopefuls were handpicked by judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. The avid fans were hoping to participate in selecting their “American Idol” 2016 Top 14 through the usual voting, but producers decided to change things up for the show's final season.

Here are two of the early favourites in “American Idol” Season 15:

Dalton Rapattoni. His AI audition already has nearly 600 thousand views on the show's YouTube channel. With his stage presence and limelight-ready personality, Dalton is always sure of himself when he's performing, which results in a strong connection with the live audience every time. Being paired with Chris Daughtry during the Top 14 duets also worked well for this young man from Dallas.

 

Give it up for #IdolTop14 contestant: @daltonrapattoni!

A photo posted by American Idol (@americanidol) on

Mackenzie Bourg. He quickly won the judges on audition day when he sang a medley of their songs. JLo, Urban and Connick expressed their appreciation of the cover medley. Bourg's audition clip already has over 700 thousand views on YouTube, on AI's account alone. (Watch the video below.) For his solo round in Hollywood, Bourg performed an original song (“Roses”). Urban could hardly believe the “very nice” song was Bourg's original. Bourg's AI Top 24 duet with Idol alum Lauren Alaina is also a hit among the audience, with Alaina openly expressing her admiration for the young man's musicality and appeal. Bourg's passion for music and natural charisma are expected to take him far into the final AI season.

WATCH: MacKenzie Bourg in “American Idol” 2016 auditions clip

Both Rapattoni and Bourg have around a hundred thousand followers on Twitter, while most of the contestants have only five to ten thousand followers as of this writing. While this is not an indicator of the final results, it could be said that their fans are active online and could possibly vote more frequently than others.

The other contestants in the AI 2016 Top 14 are Avalon Young, Gianna Isabella, Jeneve Rose Mitchell, Jenn Blosil, La'Porsha Renae, Lee Jean, Thomas Stringfellow, Manny Torres, Trent Harmon, Olivia Rox, Sonika Vaid and Tristan McIntosh.

WATCH: Dalton Rapattoni, Chris Daughtry on Top 24 duets with Idol alum

“American Idol” Season 15 airs Wednesdays and Thursdays on Fox. The show's first ever champ, Kelly Clarkson, will perform live on the Feb. 25 episode, the first voting results night in the final season.

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