My ideal would be a combination of Josh Gracin's macho manliness, Clay Aiken's voice and Bo Bice's performance skills.
LOL. That is quite a feat for someone to have all those traits. I agree with everything you said. As an adult it amazes me that I am so "into" American Idol. It is just a great show. It is nice for "normal" people to perform and "regular" people to vote for who they want to keep or not.
The other thing about Idol which isn't the norm in modern entertainment is that it is clean, fun family fare. The whole family can get together, watch it, pick their favorites and vote. Everybody from first graders to grandparents can get into it. That's a very rare quality in a TV show (or movie) these days.