It should, in no way, be taken as an indicator of how votes are going, but the earliest bit of post-“American Idol” finale buzz is favoring Lauren Alaina.
As of 10:54PM, Lauren Alaina ranks as the number one search online, according to Google News, with McCreery clocking in at number two. Obviously, with both at the top of the heap, the real news story is further confirmation that America still pays attention when the top two contestants take the stage for the final showdown.
Going into Tuesday’s final performance show, the demographics appeared to favor McCreery. Though Lauren was a perceived frontrunner from the beginning, fitting the cute, blonde female mold many believe “Idol” desperately began wanting as a winner ever since Taylor Swift broke out as the top-selling act in music, male teenager McCreery caught fire by appealing strongly to the country market and to the young female audience that wants a heartthrob as its winner.
But the finale did all it could to even the race. Scotty kicked things off with an aggressive, improved update to his already-impressive cover of “Gone,” but Alaina closed the show with a mom-pandering, emotional version of her debut single “Like My Mother Does.” The performance was viewed as the highlight of the night, bringing back memories of Carrie Underwood’s poignant “Angels Brought Me Here” from the season four finale. Randy Jackson gave the performance a standing ovation, which exceeds his reaction for Scotty’s single “I Love You this Big.”
In that sense, Lauren “won” the finale from a performance standpoint, but that fact, alone, has not sealed the deal in recent years. The critical belief was that David Archuleta “won” the finale against David Cook in season seven, but the momentum for Cook was too strong to be ignored, and he ended up winning. Last season, most felt Crystal Bowersox dominated Lee DeWyze, and yet Lee claimed the “Idol” crown when all was said and done.
Working in Lauren’s favor for votes Tuesday were the endorsements from the judges, the powerful, family-friendly closing number, her emotional investment in the songs (including tears) and “Idol”‘s note that she was performing with a blown vocal cord. Some of that, however, could backfire if it is perceived as “pandering” or “favoritism,” and there could be enough ammunition to keep Scotty’s fans active. And though Scotty did not “win” from a performance standpoint, he still had a strong night by his own standards.