• Tweet

It’s a first for ‘American Idol’, two teens from the south battling out to be America’s tenth ‘Idol’ winner, Carolina native Scotty McCreery and Georgia’s best Lauren Alaina.

From the audition phase till the homestretch of the competition, many believe that this season is the best of the talent show yet – fresh, raw and the most versatile group of new talents – to hit the famous stage, all these despite the fans’ and critics’ initial reservations with this season’s new set of judges.

A closer look at these two finalists reveal that fans are afflicted with the country music fever, a theme that has been clearly missing on previous ‘Idol’ finals. McCreery, 17, hails from Garner, NC and has impressed everyone with his fresh take on Kenny Rogers’ or Alan Jackson’s classics, his winning spin on Thompson Square’s “Are you Gonna Kiss Me or Not”, or his well received mimicry of Josh Turner while singing “Your Man”, with which he was actually joined – by surprise – by the country star himself during the finalist’s performance in his home turf. The two shared a duet singing “Your Man” and “Long Black Train”.

Alaina, 16, is the prized gem of Rossville, GA. During the audition, she has wowed the judges with her awesome impromptu duet with new ‘Idol’ judge Steven Tyler, and throughout the competition, she has translated her life’s drama (she has a sister, Holly, who is a brain tumor survivor which she considers her musical inspiration) into great performances, utilizing material from female country greats like Leann Womack, Martina McBride, Faith Hill and The Band Perry. Performing onstage is no unfamiliar territory for this teenage inspiration, as she has been doing karaoke gigs at a local Magoo’s along with singing while spinning pizza dough at a local CiCi’s after school.

Tune in on May 24 and 25, Tuesday and Wednesday, and find out who gets crowned as the new ‘American Idol’, at 8 PM on FOX.