Those "American Idol" auditions that have been airing this month were shot well in advance, and contestants more recently have been going through an elimination process.

That hasn't stopped various "spoiler" websites from reporting who they say are the final 36, and the consensus is that Eden Prairie's Casey Carlson is still in the running.

The contestants and their families are under threat of dire consequences from the Fox television show should they say anything publicly about their fate.

As for when the show officially reveals its final three dozen, the "AI" schedule lists Feb. 11 for that announcement.

The Kansas City audition for Carlson, 20, a University of Minnesota student, aired two weeks ago. She sang a portion of Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles," which went over well with hard-to-please Simon Cowell and the other three judges.

Carlson, who graduated from Eden Prairie High School in 2006, participated in drama and choir at the school.

Her TV appearance, combined with a recent bikini calendar project, still has blogs and celebrity websites sizzling. She posed for several photographs used in a 2009 Campus Girls USA calendar to raise money for breast cancer research.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482