AMERICAN IDOL: The Final Two: Lauren Alaina (L) and Scotty McCreery (R). CR: Michael Becker / FOX.
The two youngest American Idol contestants will be competing for the title next week on the finale of this 10th season. Both Scotty McCreery (17 years old) and Lauren Alaina (16) were the top two Thursday night after 95-million votes rang into the Idol phone lines.
It’s an amount of votes Randy Jackson is still shaking his head over. And though he’s seen huge numbers for the reality competition show before, the record amount of calls just proves to him that Idol remains a powerhouse.
“This show is just an amazing show,” Jackson begins, “and what we’ve put together here, I don’t think it’ll ever be matched.”
Steven Tyler was a rocker from an early age, too, but he admits that these two finalists have the kind of talent and star power that can only be from birth.
“Of course I wanted someone to see the good in me at 16, but I wasn’t as talented as these kids,” he confesses. “I don’t know where Lauren got it, but it was a gift from God. It’s crazy how this works. They’re so young but they have been blessed.”
Jennifer Lopez is thrilled about the choices of McCreery and Alaina, but she’s not near as surprised as you might think.
“When we went touring around the country there were two people we can back talking about,” she points out adding, “a 15-year-old girl that we saw in Nashville and this Country singer with this deep voice. Those were the two.”
Click onto the three links to hear the judges react to the top two finalists on American Idol.
Randy Jackson
Steven Tyler
Jennifer Lopez
The finale of American Idol begins Tuesday night 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.