Scotty McCreery Is America’s Next Idol.
It is official. Scotty McCreery is the winner of American Idol‘s 10th Season. The live finale show aired Wednesday, May 25th from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, and was quite the spectacle. Per tradition, the show paired the two finalists, Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery, with all-star performers. This year as country music dominated, Lauren was paired with Carrie Underwood singing “Before He Cheats“ and Scotty sang along with Tim McGraw on “Live Like You Were Dying“. I guess since Josh Turner already sang a duet with Scotty, he was out of the running. Also, it would just be unnecessary for the show’s producers to yet again bring attention to the fact that Scotty is a seventeen year old just trying to sound like Josh Turner.
It absolutely amazes me that Scotty could win over Lauren. The two finale performances prove once again that Lauren is clearly not only the more talented of the two, but actually has depth and an amazing stage presence. It’s true that the start to Lauren’s performance is just a little bit rocky. However, I want to point out that Lauren began her duet with Carrie walking out on stage after she had already sung the intro. Tim sang for a solid 30-seconds before Scotty even arrived on the stage. In essence, Tim was a distraction from Scotty’s shallow talent while Carrie was a supplement to Lauren’s abundant talent.
Also, there is the whole issue of stage presence. America is familiar enough with the concept of show-biz at this point to know it takes more than good vocal chords to make a star. At the end of the day, Lauren was born with what it takes, and I hope for Scotty’s sake that at same point he gets a clue. During Lauren’s performance she interacts with Carrie and really gets into the song making it truly fun to watch. Her nerves are obvious at the beginning, but she powers through and really draws in the audience. On the other hand, Scotty is painfully awkward on stage. The most we get out of him is a dramatic closing of his eyes when he hits a long note or the occasional kneeling mid-song to (I am assuming, it’s honestly hard to tell) flirt with the girls near the stage. The most frustrating quirk is that through the entire performance Scotty looks like he’s holding his stomach like he might be about to throw up. Sure, he should be nervous, its a big moment. Yet, he should work through that and put a little more effort into the performance for his fans’ sake.
Despite Scotty’s win, I remain skeptical. I think what little energy is evident in his performance is fueled by his ego, which is no doubt swelling thanks to America’s votes. There is, perhaps, potential in Scotty, that Idol will no doubt take great pains to nurture seeing as he is now bound to them by a rock solid contract.
I am not trying to be a sore loser. I have complete faith in Lauren’s talent, and I am sure she will get a lucrative contract and career (which she deserves) out of her stint on Idol. Added bonus, she is free to sign with who she wishes versus being shackled to Idol‘s whims and wishes. I have no doubt Scotty’s fans and voters have good reasons for loving him. I am simply not prone to blindly (or deafly) follow the majority vote without dissent.
Watch Lauren’s performance with Carrie Underwood.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZyUY7TjPTc]
Watch Scotty’s performance with Tim McGraw.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xozJm_s4PuY]
Let us know what you think when you watch the videos back to back!!