Scotty McCreery wins 'American Idol'
Teens and twang – was this the future of country music on display Wednesday in the nationally televised “American Idol” finale?
But neither winner Scotty McCreery nor runner-up Lauren Alaina looks ready to shake up Nashville. The first all-teenage and all-country finale in the singing competition’s 10-year history was more of an endurance test than a talent contest.
Yes, the 17-year-old McCreery topped the 16-year-old Alaina after a record-setting 122 million votes were cast, but it all felt somewhat anticlimactic. Both singers didn’t so much seize the competition as hang around long enough during a generally uninspired season, rarely daring to do more than just stay a step ahead of more audacious but also more risk-prone singers.
The two-hour finale was more about music-industry stars flogging new songs and old brands: Lady Gaga and Beyonce performed their latest singles. U2's Bono and The Edge participated in an elaborate show piece for the troubled Broadway musical, "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," for which they wrote the score. And two of three "Idol" judges ate up some screen time, including Jennifer Lopez, who attempted an "interpretative" dance largely involving her posterior while her husband, Marc Anthony, sang.