CUTE doesn’t hurt.

Antonella Barba, the “American Idol” semi-finalist from Point Pleasant, N.J., has suddenly emerged as the favorite, according to AOL.

Barba, who seems to have captured a lot of attention after trying out for the talent showwith her best friend, Amanda Colucci, is by far the most-searched name on AOL’s Web site, the company is expected to announce later today.

Chris Sligh, a pudgy, curly-haired rocker from South Carolina was No. 2. And Jason “Sundance” Head, the Memphis kid with a whisk-broom goatee and a big voice, is No. 3.

The AOL search count cannot predict how people will vote when the competition resumes tomorrow – but it is a reliable gauge of which singers have caught the eye of the audience that is most likely to vote.

Melinda Doolittle and Lakisha Jones – the two singers most often mentioned in the early going as favorites – may need some more time to wiggle their way into viewers hearts.

They ranked No. 10 and No. 21 respectively out of the 24 semi-finalists.

* Complete rankings posted on our TV blog, “Live,” at nypost.com.