'American Idol' Finale: Will Lauren or Scotty Win the Crown?

America, your next Idol is a country music-loving teenager who worships a current, popular singing star. And that teenager is... well, it's either 16-year-old Lauren Alaina or 17-year-old Scotty McCreery.

As with previous seasons, the finale of American Idol season 10 will be spread over two nights, kicking off on Tuesday (Fox, 8 p.m. ET) with a one-hour competition show. Lauren and Scotty will square off in this round by singing three songs apiece, one of which will be chosen for each of them by their respective music heroes. For Lauren, that means season 4 Idol winner Carrie Underwood will be picking her tune, while Country Music Hall of Famer George Strait is responsible for giving Scotty his number.

Who's the odds-on favorite to win? It's not easy to predict, as proven by Lee DeWyze's surprise win over season-long favorite Crystal Bowersox last season. That said, judge Randy Jackson told Chelsea Handler that he thinks McCreery has "a very slight edge" going into tonight's final performances. And TV Guide points out that McCreery is less prone to nerves than Alaina.

But beloved as McCreery is, some viewers may find his all-country-all-the-time act to be boring. And now that Haley Reinhart's fans have to choose between these final two teens, will they really pick the steady country crooner over the perky, vocally gifted girl?

Either way, American Idol's finale is always worth watching, not only for the last sing-off, but also for its production values and added star power. The season 10 victor will be crowned at the end of a star-studded two-hour show on Wednesday night (Fox, 8 p.m. ET). Guest performers include U2's Bono and The Edge, who'll be performing with the Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark Broadway cast (the pair wrote several songs for that troubled musical, and now they're helping to promote the revamped show before its official relaunch on June 14), as well as a reunion of this year's top 13 Idol contestants.

But overall, Tuesday and Wednesday night will belong to a couple of teenagers -- whose names most of us had never heard of just months ago. For both Alaina and McCreery, that's already changed, big time.

The season 10 American Idol winner will be crowned on Wednesday night

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/american-idol-finale-will-lauren-or-scotty-win-crown/1-a-352516

Rachel Weisz Radha Mitchell Raquel Alessi