Beyonce
After an American Idol season that was at times shockingly unpredictable and at other times maddeningly obvious, the (more than 122 million) votes are in: We have a new champion. But the overstuffed finale, of course, offered up a number of musical distractions before the first bit of confetti rained down inside the Nokia Theatre.
Beyonce! Gaga! Spider-Man! Jack Black? Rather than break down the whole night, we humbly offer our favorite moments...
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Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery
[WARNING: The following story reveals the winner of American Idol's 10th season. Read at your own risk.]
Following a record-shattering number of votes, American Idol's Season 10 champion has been crowned.
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More than 122 million votes — the most in the show's history — were cast for Idol finalists Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, according to Fox.
While many considered country crooner Scotty the odds-on favorite (52 percent of the more than 4,600 TVGuide.com users who voted in our poll predicted he would win), Lauren gained momentum and perhaps more than few sympathy votes after her finale performance. She sang well despite reportedly having strained her vocal chords and won high praise from the judges, who suggested she might have a slight edge over Scotty...
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Lauren Alaina
The rumors started flying at about 4 pm Pacific time, roughly an hour before American Idol went live to the east coast: Lauren Alaina, one of the last two competitors standing, had no voice, and it would take every last minute up until show time for producers to decide whether or not she could perform...
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Lauren Alaina
The time has come. Tonight's Nashville Star American Idol finale pits confident crooner Scotty McCreery against bashful belter Lauren Alaina for the Season 10 crown. But it wouldn't be finale night without a bit of drama, and reports of Lauren's last-minute vocal problems had us sitting on the edge of our couch all night (or at least the first 10 minutes). Add to that a confusing lack of judges' commentary for the first half of the show and an absolutely terrible tune written by America, and you've got this season's penultimate episode. So, who will take a confetti shower tomorrow night?
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Lauren Alaina
American Idol finalist Lauren Alaina said she had faith she would make it to the stage despite her vocal problems hours before Tuesday's final performance show.
"I knew somehow God would get me through it," the 16-year-old told reporters backstage via a notepad following the show.
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Alaina blew out a vocal chord and received medical attention Tuesday. She was almost replaced by...
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Lauren Alaina, Scotty McCreery
Seventeen-year-old Scotty McCreery and 16-year-old Lauren Alaina both love country and are still under the legal voting age, but that's where the similarities end for American Idol's Season 10 finalists. Scotty has had the confidence (and the camera mugging skills) of a seasoned performer from the start, while Lauren's nerves have gotten the best of her on multiple occasions. Scotty has never hit the bottom two, but Lauren saw her fate flash before her eyes the night Jacob Lusk got the boot. The big question is how will these two measure up when America finally picks a winner? Going into Tuesday's performance round, we looked at three of the most important Idol components: song choice, stage presence and vocals, to see just how Lauren and Scotty stack up...
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Hayley Reinhart
The stunned look on her face said it all: Like so many others, Haley Reinhart had begun to believe that The Big Mo (momentum) was finally going her way and that she was headed for the American Idol finale.
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Haley Reinhart
Every season, right after the results show that determines American Idol's finalists, the last two contestants standing toss a coin with their faces pasted on each side. The winner gets to choose whether he or she wants to sing first or second for their last night of competition. According to Idol associate musical director Michael Orland, the order is not only strategically important, it can be decisive to winning the whole enchilada.
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Lauren Alaina
As much as we hate to quote Randy Jackson (because most of his stuff is repetitive b.s.), America really does have its work cut out after last night's Idol.
In the Musical Mediocrity Olympics this season has deteriorated into, the choice between Scotty, Lauren and Haley got even trickier, since they were all un-awful...
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Ryan Seacrest
A record-setting 72 million votes were cast to determine which three American Idol singers would be become hometown heroes and which singer would, in the immortal words of Ryan Seacrest, "just be going home." But that poor, non-heroic person was a bit of a shock. So, who is headed home as the shame of his or her hometown? (Seriously, producers, let's not pretend that all of these kids aren't famous, OK? ) Let's find out...
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