Scotty McCreery Wins 'American Idol'

Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Bono perform on star-studded season 10 finale. Either way, a teenage country singer was going to take home the season 10 "American Idol" crown Wednesday night (May 25), it was just a matter of whether it was Scotty McCreery or Lauren Alaina. After Tuesday night's final performance episode, Fox announced that more than 122 million votes poured in, marking a new record in "Idol" history, bringing the season total to more than 730 million votes. And while Scotty looked like the unbeatable favorite, there was some doubt going into the finale, thanks to Lauren's gutsy performance just 24 hours before and her knockout delivery of what could have been her "Idol" coronation tune, "Like My Mother Does."

Two hours into the final show, Seacrest finally got the golden envelope, and McCreery and Alaina gave each other a playful, youthful shove in anticipation of the news. To almost no one's surprise, the name inside was Scotty's, and the Garner, North Carolina, baseball star and church choir member burst into tears, bending over with his hands on his knees as the giant screen behind him flashed "Scotty Wins!" A smiling Alaina gave him a warm kiss, and the two pals embraced as judge Jennifer Lopez walked over to present a microphone-shaped trophy to the 17-year-old country crooner who never wavered from his signature, deep-voiced delivery throughout the competition. The rest of the season's finalists engulfed Scotty in a group hug as Seacrest brought him center stage and raised his hand like a boxing champ after a 12-round brawl to end it all. "It's been a year since me and Lauren Alaina tried out, and me and her have been together since day one and we're gonna stay together. ... Never in my wildest dreams," said a shell-shocked McCreery. "I gotta thank the Lord first, he got me here." Handing the platinum microphone off to James Durbin, McCreery moseyed out to the audience to hug his folks and his family (but not disappointed actor Jack Black), as he sang his coronation tune, "I Love You This Big," stopping along the way to hug each finalist and tell them he loved them while sparks and confetti rained down on his big moment. As the song ended, he crumpled into a heap center stage for a good cry and then a few more embraces for the rest of the cast. The performance-packed two-hour finale opened with the season's top 13 -- dressed in white and silver lamé -- taking a peppy, Broadway jukebox musical-style run at Lady Gaga's "Born This Way." Speaking of Gaga, Mother Monster returned to the "Idol" stage for a surprisingly sedate performance of "The Edge of Glory." Standing at the top of a rocky crag while wearing an elaborate diamond-shaped headdress and black cape that she tossed aside to reveal a metal-studded leather bikini, Gaga mostly stood in place until a male dancer approached to engage her in a hip-to-hip ballet interlude that ended with a lover's leap. He wanted to bring metal back, and fourth-place finisher James Durbin got his chance. Slipping into some studded metal duds to rock the stage with hard-rock legends Judas Priest on their classics "Living After Midnight" and "Breaking the Law," Durbin traded snarling vocals with singer Rob Halford and unleashed some of his signature rebel howls to the likely confusion of many in the audience and at home. Jacob Lusk hooked up with gospel great Kirk Franklin and R&B legend Gladys Knight for Franklin's sanctified "I Smile"; bearded lover-man Casey Abrams threw down with "Kung Fu Panda 2" star Black on a greasy, scat-tastic romp through Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls"; and the ladies of "Idol" (minus Lauren) did a sassy medley of Beyoncé songs, including "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," "Irreplaceable," "Get Me Bodied" and "If I Were a Boy." Things were seeming a bit long until B herself showed up to show the girls how it's done, with a fierce, heel-stomping "Crazy in Love." Queen B got another chance a bit later, debuting her emotional new ballad "1+1," from her upcoming album 4. With composers Bono and The Edge in tow, Reeve Carney, star of the troubled Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark," sang the meditative beat-rock ballad "Rise Above," capably trading vocals with the Irish rock icon in a pleading voice that was eerily reminiscent of Bono's own plaintive wail. The top 13 guys also got a chance, singing Prince's "Kiss," which allowed Stefano Langone to break out his squeaky falsetto and Paul McDonald to do his scarecrow dance once more for Tom Jones' "She's a Lady," before Sir Jones himself came out to bring it home with "It's Not Unusual." Haley Reinhart got to show off her jazz roots during a duet with musical icon Tony Bennett on a finger-snappin' "Steppin' Out," which included a bit of soft-shoe and fancy dance moves from the duo. One of the night's biggest surprises was the reunion of the two remaining members of 1990s girl group TLC with rapper Lil Jon and the top 13 girls for "Scrubs" and "Waterfalls." Finally, it was time for McCreery to get the spotlight, sharing a microphone and holding his own with Tim McGraw on "Live Like You Were Dying." Also getting a chance to shine after mentoring the "Idol" contestants behind-the-scenes all season was Latin star Marc Anthony, who brought some salsa fire with "Aguanile," during which he was joined by wife Lopez, who showed off her dancing assets during a Sheila E. timbale breakdown. In keeping with the judges' sharp use of the biggest platform in TV to plug themselves, Steven Tyler took the spotlight to sing an abbreviated version of Aerosmith's "Dream On," though, curiously, not his new debut solo single. Alaina also got her time to shine, singing a grinding version of Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats," with a California-beach-babe-looking Underwood sauntering out to trade sassy verses, with the two Southern gals making beautiful music together. And so season 10 ended with the coronation of the first country "Idol" winner since season four's Underwood, who just happens to be the biggest star in the show's history. So Scotty's got that going for him. Don't miss a special edition of "Idol Party Live" Thursday at noon on MTV.com for analysis, finale red-carpet coverage and the last "Idol in 60 Seconds" of season 10. Get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty! In the meantime, get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

2 'Idols' leap out of their comfort zones

It was an interesting week on "American Idol" as the headlines were stolen by the risk takers and the sick.

Casey Abrams and Jacob Lusk were the singers who went outside of their comfort zones when picking songs from their birth year. Abrams went with Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and proved what’s obvious — he’s not a grunge singer. I give him credit for trying something new, but it was screamy and pitchy, and in general not his best work. Not that he has to worry about being voted off, but he probably shouldn’t plan on moving to Seattle to get that band back together.

Lusk chose to cover Heart’s “Alone,” a popular choice ever since Carrie Underwood knocked it out of the park on the way to winning season four. Like with Abrams, Lusk’s effort was notable mainly because of its newness and because of his willingness to experiment, but don’t look for that to become his new comfort zone or anything.

Both men should be safe this week without much of a sweat. Obviously, not everyone can say the same.

In trouble

Again, it was mostly the women who put themselves in danger, starting with Haley Reinhart. Reinhart is the classic “Idol” contestant who doesn’t find her comfort zone right away and flails around trying to figure out who she is as an artist. As judge Steven Tyler pointed out after she performed “I’m Your Baby Tonight,” she’d gone from Alicia Keys to LeAnn Rimes to Whitney Houston in successive weeks, which doesn’t help a singer trying to establish her own brand.

Naima Adedapo went from being a wild-card entry into the finals to the hit of the show last week, but played it a little too safe when she opened the show with Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” She has the stage presence and the confidence of a star, but was not close to having those kind of vocals this week.

Karen Rodriguez told mentor Jimmy Iovine she didn’t want to be typecast as the girl who sang in both English and Spanish, but he seemingly convinced her to do it again on Taylor Dayne’s “Love Will Lead You Back.” The Spanish didn’t work so well there and seemed like a parlor trick instead of an artistic wrinkle, but it beat what she managed a week ago.

Among the men, Paul McDonald was clearly under the weather as he sang Elton John’s “I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues.” He had the rueful smile of someone who knew he wasn’t getting it done but couldn’t figure out how to stop it. The swagger was there, but the effect was more Vegas lounge act than anything else.

Story: Who has what it takes to win it all on 'Idol'? Lauren Alaina was also sick, but did a lot better and recaptured some of the mojo she lost a week ago. Her personality’s a big asset for her as well, as she made fun of her contagiousness by bringing host Ryan Seacrest a mask to wear during their pre-performance interview.

Whatever works

Iovine seems determined to get Scotty McCreery to try something different, as if he has a side bet going with the judges. That’s not happening. McCreery stuck to country with Travis Tritt’s “Can I Trust You With My Heart,” and anyone who likes country music was a fan of that. And those who aren’t ... well, McCreery is hoping there are too few of you to make a difference.

James Durbin stepped perhaps a tiny bit outside his comfort zone, but only as far as Bon Jovi’s “I’ll Be There For You.” Pia Toscano also tried something a little fresher when she went up-tempo with Whitney Houston’s “Where Do Broken Hearts Go.” On this night, both performances were good enough to make them sound like stars.

And Stefano Langone earned raves for his Simply Red impression, a performance that Randy Jackson likened to the Olympics. That was appropriate, since a lot of Langone’s appeal was similar to that of a skater who takes the ice after the first five athletes crashed on their triple axels. He did well by not doing poorly on “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.” What Simon would say?

The new “Idol” judges are doing fine, apart from a reluctance to be negative. J.Lo and Tyler are definitely adding a new energy to the proceedings, and a sense of humor that was lacking in previous years. But it’s hard not to hear some of the finalists sing and predict the feedback Simon would have offered. Thia Megia, for example, would have driven him up the wall. She’s a 16-year-old who sings ballads and tries to sound like she’s 10 years older. That was always a pet peeve of the acerbic Brit, and she should be grateful he’s working on his new show instead of sticking around to compare her with Alaina. Alaina acts her age, which adds to her likability in a way that Megia hasn’t been able to match.