by Todd Betzold

 

You ready for your country-themed American Idol finale?

 

The finale for season 10 put the country talents of Scotty McCreery against the country talents of Lauren Alaina. Three rounds consisting of round one having the contestants picking their favorite song from the season, round two having the contestants' idols choosing a song for them and round three being the first single for each contestant should they win.

 

Up first, Scotty takes the stage singing "Gone" by Montgomery Gentry. He starts in the audience and works his way to the stage, like he did his first time singing this song. He seems to start out nervous, but once he hits that stage it is go time for him. He is working the crowd, working it with the band members and has a ton of energy. Great range and a brilliant vocal from Scotty.

 

Lauren gets her first shot of the night as she sings "Flat On The Floor" by Carrie Underwood. A great song for Lauren and it also gets the crowd going with it's high-tempo beat. She shows great range and ends it on a high note.

 

After a very close round and equally great performances by both, I give the slight edge to Scotty.

 

Round two starts out with Scotty's idol, George Strait, choosing "Check Yes Or No" by Strait for Scotty to sing. Scotty brings out the guitar for this song and he shows those calm nerves as he belts out another great performance. He shows off a good range, including some high notes he was able to hit. I feel it was a great song choice for Scotty.

 

Lauren fires back with "Maybe It Was Memphis" by Pam Tillis, chosen by Lauren's idol Carrie Underwood. Lauren showed good range and tone during this song. She was very clear with her vocals and it was another great performance by Lauren and another great song choice for her.

 

Another round down and another set of beautiful performances by the finalists, but I give another slight edge to Scotty.

 

The judges piped in after the two rounds and Randy and Jennifer split the rounds, with round one going to Scotty and round two going to Lauren. Steven said they both did amazing and gave both rounds to Lauren because she is prettier, which Scotty accepted.

 

Time for Scotty to hit the stage for his final performance, where he sang what would be his first single should he win, "I Love You This Big." I felt the song was fitting for him and it showed off his journey through the competition. Scotty showed some great range again in this song. His vocals were amazing and like Lopez stated, you felt like he was telling you a story. Can Lauren top that?

 

Lauren comes to the stage to sing her first possible single, "Like My Mother Does." This song showed viewers why she was in the finals. Lauren showed amazing range during the song. It was soft in parts, but she totally controlled the whole song. Such beautiful vocals to go with such a beautiful song. During the performance, Lauren walks over to her mother and hugs her and sings part of the song to her. Amazing, amazing job.

 

Now after two rounds, I had Scotty winning after each round. After round three and the performance Lauren gave during that last song, it made me forget who Scotty even was. That song was just a wow moment for me and I think many viewers. She owned it, but in the end, I don't choose the winner...America does.

 

 

Who will the winner be? Tune into the finale of American Idol tonight at 8/7c on FOX.

 

(Image courtesy of FOX)

 

 

Follow Todd @tbetzold