Tag Archives: American Idol

Scotty McCreery Wins American Idol

Scotty McCreery winning American Idol is as surprising as someone finding out China has the world’s biggest population. Yes, it was that predictable.

And even though I voted thirteen times for Lauren Alaina all the way from Lebanon (yes, I outsmarted the American Idol geographical limitation system), it obviously wasn’t enough when you have more than 122 million votes cast for American Idol’s biggest finale, voting-wise, ever!

Both Scotty and Lauren sang with their idols on the finale, Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood, respectively. The finale also featured performances by Steven Tyler, U2, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Tony Bennett (who sang with top 3 Haley Reinhart), Judas Priest (who sang with top 4 James Durbin).

I had said before that Lauren needed to win more than Scotty but it doesn’t matter now. Apparently, they’re in a relationship since they went all kissy-kissy after Scotty won, which means Scotty should help Lauren when she tries to crack the country music scene. Win-win situation apparently.

Lauren Alaina, who was sure Scotty will win, said Carrie Underwood told her, prior to their Before He Cheats performance that “no matter what Lauren, you’re a winner and you’re going to be amazing in the country field.”

Scotty McCreery was loyal to the country genre since day one. He captivated audiences with his audition (my twitter timeline, filled with Country music loyalists was raving about him) and week by week, even when challenged with other genres, he made those songs his own, adding a country twist to them. Is it my cup of tea? sometimes yes, sometimes no. But the majority of those millions that voted like him, apparently.

After winning, and the need to constantly smile for camera snapshots coming in from everywhere, Scotty was asked by Carrie Underwood if his cheeks had started hurting yet. But apparently, he won’t be smiling for long. Why? the poor thing has an exam tomorrow. Talk about something raining on your parade.

Either way, I, for one, was happy with an all country finale since that’s my favorite genre. And whoever won would have been a good addition to the genre. They’re both very young with lots to give. Let’s wish them prosperous careers. Whose career am I more excited for, though? Lauren Alaina.

American Idol 10 – Lauren Alaina & Scotty McCreery

I haven’t followed American Idol closely this season so I decided to sit out becoming a supporter of a candidate as long as possible. However, the finale is getting nearer and I’ve finally chosen the person I choose to support: Lauren Alaina.

With an all country music finale, I honestly couldn’t be happier. Scotty McCreery is a great performer and he has a brilliant twang to his voice. I can see him get far. But Scotty doesn’t need to win to be able to crack the country music scene.

Country music is known to be a mostly male-dominated business. People get too excited when they see two songs by females artists together in the top 10, let alone when a female artist gets a series of number one singles, something which is very natural when a male artist is involved. So Scotty, if he chooses the proper songs, will definitely be successful in the business. He’s already getting radio stations to talk about him. They’re going crazy for McCreery.

Lauren Alaina, however, needs to win if she wants to make it in that business. Sure, you have the exceptions (Kelly Pickler, anyone? though it’s not like she’s smashing records left and right) but with the hype from being the second female country artist to win American Idol, it should be enough to get her first single to do well on radio, giving her enough momentum to launch. If she becomes simply an American Idol runner up, she’d be at a serious disadvantage.

I see both of them having great careers. But in the country music scene, Scotty, at least to me, is a rehash of already present country artists. How many Josh Turners, Kenny Chesneys, Tim McGraws and Jason Aldeans do you want?

Lauren Alaina, however, is different. She has the potential to add something to the genre: another successful female to shuffle the competition. And the fact that no female has won American Idol since its seventh season is a rather daunting fact.

It’s interesting to note, however, that both of them are still very young and have plenty of room to grow. Lauren and Scotty are only 16 years old. Are they ready to enter such a brutal genre at this time? I’m not too sure about that. Let’s just wait and see.

Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with my favorite Lauren Alaina performances:

And she actually took on a Carrie Underwood song, so extra credit for her!

Scotty and Lauren have also had many great duets together, the best one being this:

At the end of the day, both of them are great and they both deserve to win. It’s simply a matter of preference and I prefer Lauren.

Miranda Lambert: Country’s New Queen? Nope.

I was intrigued by an article I saw posted on Twitter about how Miranda Lambert might be the current queen of Country Music. I wouldn’t normally feel the need to reply to such articles but the writer specifically took a jab at Carrie Underwood by saying the following:

She’s not taking a Louisville Slugger to anyone’s car, à la Carrie Underwood.

There is nothing personally I don’t like about some healthy competition in Country Music, especially among the female artists. After all, queen or no queen, they are all underdogs in this overwhelmingly patriarchal industry.

However, I felt that I need to point out somethings to the writer of the article, concerning Carrie Underwood. I will make point them out succinctly.

– Both Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert have started from reality TV-shows. The difference between them is that Lambert’s show is especially designed for country artists: it takes less to be noticed. Carrie’s show is broader, granted, but it makes it especially difficult for a female singer to be noticed. Carrie won her show, Lambert did not.

– The alluded Carrie Underwood track, “Before He Cheats,” is not her only hit. It might be her biggest hit overall, but she has 13 other hits under her belt, 12 of which have gone to #1. Lambert has 2 #1s.

– Unlike Lambert who followed up her biggest hit “The House That Built Me” with a song that was even referenced in the article as one pertaining to Lambert’s beauty, “Only Prettier”, which barely made the top 10, Carrie Underwood followed up “Before He Cheats” with a song that spent 3 weeks at #1: “Wasted.”

– The writer made a big deal of how Miranda Lambert’s debut album spawned a hit and was certified Platinum. Need I mention what Carrie Underwood’s debut album managed? 7x Platinum and 4 #1 singles, is it?

– Carrie won Best New Artist at the Grammys, Lambert did not.

– Carrie has brought legions of new fans to the country music genre, I don’t believe Lambert has had that effect – or at least as broadly.

– Carrie has won Entertain Of The Year twice. No other female has ever done that. And Lambert doesn’t look close to doing so. The writer boasts about her selling out an arena for her tour. Well, Carrie sold out hundreds of those arenas for her Play On tour. Millions of fans attended. I don’t need to cite sources for this, right?

– Revolution might have been the more critically acclaimed album but does the certification of “queen” involve a bunch of critics or the fans? Play On (2x platinum) has outsold Revolution (1x platinum).

– Miranda Lambert has won the CMA and ACM Female Vocalist Of The Year this past year. But let’s not forget who won those awards three times so far.

– The writer mentions how Lambert shows “no signs of stopping.” Does Underwood show any signs of stopping? She is busy writing her fourth album right now.

It’s nice when country artists start to get recognized, especially after struggling. And I personally have nothing against Miranda Lambert. I really appreciate her music. But no one came out and declared Carrie Underwood the new country queen when she won her first CMA Female Vocalist or when her album was having record breaking sales or when she won her first Entertainer Of The Year. She was always viewed as the country girl from Oklahoma who got lucky on that outsider show called American Idol. But what really makes a true country queen is the love fans have for her. And we, the fans, have shown our dedication for Carrie over and over again. I’ve taken time to write this, haven’t I?

The awards might have stopped pouring in. But they will come. Just wait… I have faith that Carrie will deliver a breath-taking fourth album. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Carrie Underwood is vastly taken for granted in the Country Music scene. And she just doesn’t seem to care. She seems unfazed, continues to smile and give out her best. And for that, she is a true queen.