It's very early on American Idol, but Andrew Garcia has already made quite an impression on the judges.

How impressed were they by his Hollywood rendition of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up?" Kara DioGuardi compared Andrew to Adam Lambert.

That's high, misguided praise (we'd have gone with Kris Allen, if forced to choose a season eight contestant), but it also shows Garcia's potential. Watch his buzzed-about performance below and sound off:

Is he the season nine favorite?

[video url="http://www.tvfanatic.com/videos/straight-up-performance/" title="Straight Up Performance"] [/video]

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.