American Idol 2011 Top 2 Perform Tonight

May 24, 2011 Matt Boyer American Idol, Season 10 194

Don’t forget that American Idol 2011 is on a special night tonight with the final performance show today instead of its usual Wednesday broadcast.

Tonight’s performance show will only last 60 minutes (8PM ET/PT) but should be packed to the brim with lots of good stuff. We’ll get six total performances out of Scotty and Lauren as they both take on another three songs like they did last week.

This time around we’ll get one song they want to release after the show is over (we already know what those songs will allegedly be so check out the spoilers), a song selected by Simon Fuller Carrie Underwood and George Straight, and their favorite song from the season. Underwood hinted this was a song she never performed on Idol, but wanted to so its at least six years old.

We’ll be here posting all the song details and phone numbers for voting so be sure to stop by tonight. In the meantime, check out what other Idol fans like you are saying on Facebook for the upcoming American Idol 2011 finale.

Don’t forget that after Idol’s show tonight NBC will be running The Voice at 10PM as well. You can catch previews of tonight’s Battle Round performances to get ready for the show.

FROM THE WEB

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194 Comments

    • I’m not watching cause I have work to do, but hey, maybe they’ll put James to sing with Tyler, just like they said they would do at James finale… but, I’m not sure it will happen since he’s got voted off… I am pretty mad because of it, didn’t want him to win, just wish he would still be there…

  3. James fan go and sleep if you tried. Lol. Its going to be a cool show. I can’t wait till 2am in the morning to watch it here in cape town

  4. I’m totally watching this! There is going to be huge talent there!!

    Because the Top 11 will perform.

    Apparently, Nigel has a surprise for James’ fans, and I imagine that Haley will do some sort of a duet or performance or something, as last year Casey James (who also finished in 3rd) performed with Bret Michaels. So, I’m interested to see what they will do. And by they I mean the other contestants 😉

    • If I remember right, Carrie Underwood performed with Rascal Flatts on her finale night…most years they do bring people on to perform with the idols. Kris Allen performed with Keith Urban.

    • Corey….I can only hope that Nigel’s surprise is that he sings with Steven T.

      • Definitely! I am really hoping that is what the surprise is….now that would be a showcase of talent.

      • Phyllis, I thought Nigel was a dancer? Oh, you mean James! Well, that’s different for sure.

      • @fatboy – to clarify, Nigel tweeted that James’ fans are in for a surprise at the finale.

      • FATBOY….sorry I was talking about James………and stop being a SA…..

    • That will be tomorrow night. Tonight it’s just Lauren & Scotty singing 3 songs each.

  5. Well I cant wait for tonight I would love to see both win but I think I want Scotty to win more but I will wait and see what happens tonight to decide who I think should win. This was a great season but I couldnt help notice as I watched this season it was deffrent from others it just didnt seem the same hopfully next year will seem back to normal hopefully

  6. Should be a real snoozefest. I’ll tune in tomorrow to see who wins if I have absolutely nothing else to do.

  7. I think that the judges alone with the coaching really brought the talent out. I never watched before till this season. It has been great entertainment and they all have been so good. I didn’t like James leaving, but he will do well. Its just been a great show.
    Love the judges, Steve Tyler has been great.

  9. Scotty! Scotty! lauren is pretty good too. Whoever doesn’t win will still have a singing career 🙂 it’s a win win tonight

  10. I´m going to watch after The Voice 🙂
    Good luck Lauren and Scotty, may the best TALENT wins it all.
    I am still rooting for Lauren to win but at the finals I never get it right lol

    • Marta……I really like The Voice too…..so far I really like the format……Matt has a site for The Voice too….Check it out!!!

      • Hey Phyllis 🙂
        I know about the site for the Voice lol I have been posting comments!!! hope to see yours too soon!!

  11. Good luck to Lauren & Scotty, both very talented country singers – refreshing choices – no growling – yelling and they sing in tune!! Both will have huge careers.

  12. Scotty should win, he deserves much more than Lauren. I do not plan to watch tonight, I am no fan of a country finale. Wednesday is more interesting with James and Haley (and Pia) back. I am specially looking for the new Haley’s single. I have bought all her itunes and will buy her new single, even if she sings Happy Birthday :-).
    Good luck Scotty!!!!!

    • hey!! u look like me, I do posted my daughter singing happy birthday on youtube… maybe you wanna buy it too… she’s only four rsrs just messing around…sorry but hey, don’t miss finale, I hope AI will be good with a certain duet… yay… can someone confirm if they will? cause I have to miss work to watch…:(

  13. I’m wondering what they’ll do to amaze me… I can’t think on somenthing they’ll do… my mom said that Scotty should try to put fire on his guitar (she’s more crazy than me, believe, she’s not watching AI since James is gone, she said that there are only boring preformances). Hey! Maybe Lauren can dance a Miley song lol

    • These to kids don’t need props like other did. They have enought natural talent they light up the stage with their very presence.

      • @dack, hey can you answer this for my mommy: Don’t Disney channel form Teens Idols? Then why AI is doing that? They didn’t had adults to watch this season?
        I don’t know, did they?

      • soooo, was it sleepy as I thought? I missed I was at work ;p hope y’all r happy with this excittiing finale

  14. Scotty’s so much in the lead I wouldn’t want to be Lauren Elena it’s like why sing. Good Luck to whoever, may the voice be with you.
    I’m a Haley fan myself. Loved her voice and the whole package. She should have won. Her voice is unique. Scotty and Lauren’s voice come a dime a dozen you’ve heard one country song you heard them all.

    • The reason Lauren and Scotty will not be singing the same song is because it would prove that Lauren has natural talent and it would embarrass Scotty.Scotty voters are easily influenced anyway,I call them the Judges puppets because they cant mentally make their own decisions.watch the judges tonight and we will know who won .

      • I liked Scotty from the first time I heard him in his audition. I can and do think for myself. Just because some fans like Scotty does not mean they do not think for themselves and make their own decisions. Scotty fans do not call other contestant’s fans mindless. It all comes down to different tasts in music. You need to show respect for other people.

      • Jerry….the judges will probably be nice to everyone tonight. Oh…wait, that’s right they were nice tjo these two all season.

    • Haley? Are you kidding? Could she growl anymore?? Scotty? How do you get those eyebrows to go so high?? Very creepy! Go Lauren!!!!!

      • JEALOUSY HOW IMMATURE that u have to call the finalist names So kiddish

      • Another Scotty fan …Go…. Judy…home….watch Scotty win tomorrow…meanwhile back to your playpen

      • I have most of the songs the final 13 recorded while they were in the contest, including all 13 of Haley’s and there is little “growling” on her records but there is a lot of feeling, vocal rifts and a terrific range of genres from Country to Zeppelin.

        I can understand every word she sings just as easily as I can Scotty or anyone else.

        This has been a Season of terrific singers who gave us a wider range of genres than in any other Season.

        The final is what it is and we will watch it, even though our favorites are not in it, because we have watched every one and there have been other years when our favorites didn’t make it.

        I am a huge Country fan and hope that Scotty & Lauren really put it all out there tonight and give us a good competition.

        The major difference I see is that Lauren can sing other genres than Country (even with her cute twang) but Scotty is stuck in that genre.

        He has done 18 out of 21 Country songs so far and the 3 weeks he didn’t were Motown, R&R Hall of Fame and the Leiber/Stoller one.

        Lauren has only done 9 out of 21 so maybe she won’t do all Country and Carrie is a X-Over Country/Rocker so it will be interesting to see what she has in store for her.

    • Yeah you sissy Im sure Scotty will get imbarressed with a voice like hes got Hell be rolling in the money and you wont–

  15. I hope Carrie U picks “Jesus take the wheel” while George Strait picks “Troubadour” not “Amarillo by Morning”.

    • Carrie Underwood teased with information that her pick was one she wanted to do back when she was on Idol but didn’t, so it’s not very likely that will be the song.

    • Based on what Carrie Underwood is alleged to have said, the song will be at least 6 years old since she wanted to sing it on Idol and she won Season 4.

  16. It seems as if alot of you are against “Country ” music. I know that we all have our on choices and opinions, and that is GREAT!!
    It is always good to be flexable and like many different music and styles….
    Both of these YOUNG singers have ALOT of different talent as well!
    Tonight it is all about SCOTTY!!!
    Vote for SCOTTY,SCOTTY, SCOTTY !!!

    • Hey, I’m not against Country at all… I just got wowed all the season and I am really trying to think on something they can do to wow me…C’mon Casey wow me all the way, Pia was AMAZING, Paul had one good moment ant to me, it was memorable. Don’t need to say that I just loved everything James did, from fire on piano to his a capela singing… it’s not that I hate Scotty and Lauren but, I really had other pick… not because of music style, as you can read, I had a issue with this

      • Pia was boring, she sang ballads and it was good but she was not entertaing and she did not perform

      • u think so? I liked her diva… I enjoy diva songs… and performances… all divas need to do is sing and look at the camera so u feel what they feel

    • Nothing against country music, but for a finale? better go to Nashville star :-).
      By the way, IMO the best country song this season was “Blue” by Haley. After that, “The River” by Scotty and “I am the only one” by Lauren were the other ones. Neither of these songs were familiar for me (I am not a country fan), but I like them. My point is that Scotty/Lauren has had very few WOW moments, while James/Haley (and even Pia) has had many AMAZING moments. A finale Scotty/Lauren does not look interesting at all.
      Anyway, Scotty should win, he has made more merits than Lauren to win it.

      • Carrie Underwood, country singer, has made the most money of anyone that has come off IDOL, get real country is here to stay

      • @ Shelley – Carrie Underwood has not made all her money doing Country music so let’s get real.

        She is a Cross Over Country/Rocker and recently has dressed more like a rocker than anything when performing. No-one can convince me that songs like “Undo It” are Country.

        Lauren has the biggest chance of being like Carrie because she can sing a variety of genres whereas Scotty has not proven he can – yet.

        While there are a lot of original Country singers still recording, the top Country stars who sell, are all Country Rock, including Sugarland, Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts, just to name three.

    • Tonight is NOT all about Scotty. Did you remember there are two people performing? You sound like JLo! yuck!

    • Isnt Cecil intellagent…he can say yuck…yes many people know who is going to be on stage tonite..they are entitled to their opinion….I personally will vote for Scotty

  18. I am a big american idol watcher. I feel the best has past in the last few weeks but i will still tune in till the end. Hope lauren wins now, but this should be haley and james tonight for the best talent and an awesome ending!

    • The real AMERICAN idol finale James – Haley is tomorrow, with no winner!!!!
      Tonight is the TEEN Idol finale :-).
      Anyway, feelings apart, I hope Scotty wins.
      (The good news for me, I do not need to vote 2 hrs tonight)

  19. Don’t miss AMERICAN IDOL finale on wed, a family entertainment only DISNEY CHANNEL can provide…now, let’s watch the new single from JB and Selena Gomes…;p

    • We wont miss it Great night on Idol tonight One of the best ever!!!!! GO COUNTRY—–LIVE ON

    • at least JB and Selena are making much money and are cute and talented
      where r u

      • Shelley, of course darling they are making money, and of course I’m not a superstar but hey, I make the difference where I live and do my job well, so I am sucessfull on what I do, I can’t sing but if I did I would too take money from dummy kids like you

  20. Scotty is definitely a Winner.He is a clean cut young man,and dresses with respect to the American that he is. What an honor to witness his talent in bloom !

    • My family has watched every single episode and have to this day voted either Lauren or Scotty. Tonight will be very hard to choose but looking back at our votes Scotty got more but they are both very deserving Idols and both will go places and be cutting Albums no dought so it doesnt really matter They are both great—

      Scotty I beleive is the better though. Just judging by maturity, a bit more voice control and his stage perfornmance was #1 over any of them this season.

  24. God Bless both Scott and Lauren. I hope they both get equal no. of votes tonight. Can’t wait for tomorrow to see them perform.

    • Both are great kids They both have a future ahead of them in singing.Have to say Scotty should win this one because his voice is so different and so WOW!!! and his stage presence is fantastic. He is so comfortable doing what he does.

  25. Here I am once again this year wondering why I spent time pulling for Haley when I know that teen
    mega votes decided the results. Last year I thought
    Siobhan had an amazing voice! I realize that it’s not singing talent but just a popularity contest. Scotty nor Lauren have matched the brilliance of
    Haley’s “House of the Rising Sun”, “I Who Have Nothing”, “Bennie and the Jets”, and the Zeppelin
    song. Won’t be watching the “bore fest” tonight.
    Best of luck to both.

      • really Bye Why do thes idota get on to tell us they arent gona watch OH Its a kids thing And they are calling the 2 finals boring Ha thats to funny

      • qtip, since when Haley is rocker??? just to know does a rock singer sings “BLUE”??? oh, give me a break

    • Siobhan was amazing…let me just say Crystal Bowersox, Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, Elliott Yamin, Daughtry. The past few years teens have been driving the vote….we didn’t get too many idols who were excellent. To be fair though, the obvious “adult” choices such as Ruben Studdard, fantasia Barino, and Taylor Hicks have not lived up to potential either. Sure, they are on Broadway..but idol status…no! Only Kelly and Carrie have truly lived up to the hype. Maybe the country idols will do better. Me… I’m missing Haley. I hope she gets some support from her record company. I’m too invested to skip the finale and I pray it is not a snorefest. Good luck to them both…but I will pull for Lauren. scotty’s ride to Idoldom has been way too easy. IMO.

  27. Wow, you country folk haven’t had this much excitement since Tammy left George.
    It looks like the cows have finally come home for you all. Gee- haw!

    • That’s cuz we know REAL music fatboy!!!! And if it weren’t for cows….you’d probably starve

      • Snuck, Good come back! Our different tastes & pleasures we each get from the music spectrum are what makes the world go round.
        And actually, if it weren’t for bees we would all soon starve to death. But I am a BIG FAN of cows, utterly.

      • Actually, Piper, I didn’t. The clock read 8:03 & I just find a reason or motivation. From what I’ve read so far in comments, I saved electricity.
        And, of course I won’t vote. Let those with a vested interest (& speed dialing) make that decision.

        But over all it was a great season… just wish the final had ended on a high note for me.

        Now tomarrow night is a whole nother matter. As many of you, it will be great to see the whole gang that has given me & so many others such pleasure this year.

      • Piper, Said my first reply to you didn’t go thru. But if it did, no, I didn’t but I won’t miss tomarrow’s show!

    • fatboy you are an idiot
      Country is big business
      big money
      big talent
      you are an idiot

    • Fatboy…. not a country fan huh? AND yet you know George Jones and Tammy Wynette and the face they married and divorce…… LOL LOL

      • Shelly, A little sensitive are we? Bad time of the month? Haven’t got laid for quite some time?
        I haven’t been called an idiot (twice!) on one post before. Thanks.
        Guess you don’t appreciate my humor or have much awareness of country sayings such as, “We’ll have a country winner on AI when the cows come home”. Now do you get it?

      • Dot, Up until about the early 70’s I knew a great deal about country, from Hank Williams thru that period. My house was totally country. There are very few country artists that I was not exposed to… even the dreaded Slim Whitman.
        As I have expressed, it’s the new commercial, cookie cutter country that I do not enjoy. No story, no variety & no soul or life to me.
        But early country, wow… those people were singing about something that mattered & you could really relate to.
        What were your roots like?

    • Country industry is hoping that this will give them a boost with the youth, since Miley’ fans are getting older. Country is down 13% in sales this year with Hip Hop and Rap dropping even more. Only Pop, Pop-R&B, Jazz and old rock(60-70)albums are up in sales.

  28. At this stage of the season, I have been thinking about which of the performances I want to see over and over. Right now I’ve been going to youtube and watching Haley. (I’m not trying to stir up all the who’s better comments that have been rocking the blogs recently over again. I’m just saying that this is a way for me to decide, after the fact, who I really want to hear more of and who may have a more lasting effect on the fans.) This doesn’t apply so much to Scotty and Lauren because I’m going to hear them tonight. We could probably poll a number of people and get many varied answers, but early in the competition I would not have picked Haley to want to hear more of at the end. How about you–knowing what you know now– would you have voted differently in the beginning? It wasn’t that way for me in Season 6. The person I chose from the beginning always was and continues to be my favorite from that season. I picked Season 6 because for some reason that season and this season seem to be compared a lot. I believe that talent went deeper this season. Enjoy tonight if you decide to watch and tomorrow, too. It was a pleasure to read many of your comments. Bye, Coonie.

    • Haley’s youtube videos are the most viewed (and more addictive!!!). I have to watch them everyday :-).

      • Ditto. I was not a Haley fan at all at first… I was actually super mad she made the top 13! But, she really turned things around the week she did Bennie and the jets…. then Rolling in the Deep (which I thought was way more awesome than the judges gave her credit)… House of the Rising Sun… etc. etc. These are the ones I watch over and over on You Tube. Oh, and her duet with Casey.. Moanin’ That was awesome!!! It’s just not poppy enough to get AI fans. They both do jazz/blues like they’ve been doing it their whole lives…. though there were many others with talented singing voices who could really hit the notes…. those two have the most depth, and are therefore my favorites in the end.

      • That sounds kind of creepy if you ask me. Are you sure your not addicted? lol

      • I listen to her music and watch her performance video’s also.

    • So many Haley Rinehardt fans… where were they when it was time to vote? Unless… her fans DID vote! And the numbers were right when polls showed James with an average of 1-2 points behind leader Scotty McCreery. And, if those statistics are even close to accurate, could it be that they where also correct when they showed Lauren in the bottom for the last three consecutive weeks? Haley, for the last two weeks, was showing a 2.1 lead over Lauren when all polls were averaged. Hmmm, maybe… just maybe, we are seeing that the network has determined that votes are NOT as important as ratings. I’ll have to think about it… have the networks ever manipulated facts to increase ratings before? Oh well, fix some popcorn… sit back and enjoy the “Show” tonight.

    • I never considered myself a blues or jazz fan, but I too find Haley’s performances addictive. I listen to her song over and over. I am so looking forward to seeing her perform tomorrow night. That girl has talent. I want more.

  29. i’ll watch tonight and tomorrow to see who wins. but most of all to see ADAM LAMBERT

      • I too would want Scotty to WIN!!! He’s sooooo cute looking and love his voice!!

    • We must all call tonight if we want Scotty to win. It was reported that Lauren has a group who uses machines that automatically dial in for her, and they are the reason she is in the top two. They apparently dial constantly – which I think is not right. There should be a limit on calls.

  32. Please help people! I’m in los Angeles! Wat time and channel can I watch? I’m Australian and usually watch in Sydney! So excited I can watch here

  34. Hoping Scotty wins. Lauren had a great audition, but that was it. She was consistently “breathy” when she sang and sometimes missed the key change… but the judges never commented on that. I think they’ve been pimping her the whole time. Scotty is the more deserving of the two, and the one most ready for fame.

    • The judges are soooo ‘bias’ with their comments. They will only give out extra good comments to the ones that they favor!! Anyway, I’ll be praying for Scotty to win!! He deserves to get the title American Idol!!

  35. Great I was done with the season and now they have to go and put James back on stage to hook me again…ugh.

    But yes tonight can either be very sleep or Scotty and Lauren can bring it big to the stage. We have seen both types of performances from them this year and I am hoping for the latter of the two. I dont want a night of just ballads, they better bring it big and strong to make me think about using my time to vote. In my mind right now James should have won. But I will say with the top 4 we had this is not a bad Final 2.

  36. New TOPIC:
    who were your favorite singers and why
    1 male 1 female.
    And oh, please don’t answer: because she looks good or his voice is great…
    C’mon, I want real reasons, and if you want you can put the best performance you saw this season on AI.
    Thank you…

    • I like Haley (Bennie and the Jets)
      And James (Will You still Love me tomorrow)
      James was a fantastic entertainer and knew how to get the audience wound up. I loved his vocals on that particular song.
      I liked a majority of Haley’s performances and they way she handles a melody.

    • Haley for Bennie and the Jets
      James for Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
      James is the ultimate entertainer and Haley …I just love her vocals

    • For show -Haley and James
      Live vocals -Haley and Scotty, James at times
      Record vocals-Haley and James, Scotty not good in studio
      I like Lauren live she has great tones but at the cost in color due using to much air to get those great tones, bad for recording or moving around live.

      • thank you guys, it means a lot to me talk something instead ust aguing no reason, to me the male was James-will you still love me and female Pia-I’ll stand by you…James gave what fans wanted, he was fun and he knew what to do to get serious and let you feel exactly like he did, and Pia, well, I belive none of the girls sang better than she did and she was very deeply in that song…

  37. Hey, I thought “The Biggest Loser” was on NBC? Why is Fox showing “The Biggest Loser” on their channel too?

    • Bahloo, Hey, as we all now know, I’m an idiot but I think I get it.
      Bit I’m not sure Shelly will… could one of you intelligent country guys help?

  38. I love A.I and watching each contestant blossom into an entertainer ! This is a unique season with both of the finalist being so young and inexperienced . IMO, I want Scotty to win, simply because he is such a gentleman, always smiling and appreciative even when he was in the bottom 3 and eager to please and take directions and never doubting himself or his abilities. Lauren looked like she was going to pass out when she was in the bottom 3 and you could tell if she had lost, she would have been totally out of control onstage ! She is still very immature. They are both winners–but, GO,Scotty,GO !!

  40. I don’t have a TV so I’ll have to catch the youtube replays. They both are very down-to-earth sweet souls, and each of them sing nicely in their own way, but I hope Scotty wins – he’s the more mature one of the two & I think he’ll do well. Lauren will do just fine in 2nd place; I think she needs a couple more years to mature so she can handle the pressures that will surely follow them along with success.

    Vote Scotty!

    To the youtube uploaders: do your best to get the whole show up so I can watch it. 😉 I’ll subscribe to your channel if you do!

  41. producer of AI Nigel says and i quote” if scotty win AI he could be the biggest AI music seller of all time””

    i agree…

    • He said something like that about Scotty before the season start during the tryout filming.
      Scotty has been Nigel’s favorite since before day one and he seems to like Haley some now too. Jimmy seem to feel that Lauren was a bit demanding, he felt like an employee at times instead of company owner.

  42. Someone mentioned earlier that they will tune in to see Adam Lambert, is he performing?

  43. First off all Pia was voted off weeks ago, she is talented but a bad performer. Let’s move on. James is an incredible performer but, he got voted off as well. Yes there are lots of his fans but again…. Let’s move on.. I am a huge Haley fan and I do not need to defend my choice but unfortunately seis gone as well. Tonight is all about the 2 performers America has chosen and good for them. I will never understand how some of the contestants were vote off but they were. They will all have their shot at fame thanks to idol and no matter who wins tomorrow, the real winner is the one who sells records, entertains, and makes hit albums. Just because your favorite is nit in the finals (mine is not) that does not mean that we should attack these two talented teenagers!

  44. Admin’s Note: Never believe a thing you hear/read from that particular “celebrity gossip news” organization. They’re full of * and make up things like that to get traffic and raise in the ranks. This is another exaggerated-to-sound-bigger-than-reality story.

    I have no clue if this is true or not, but I just spotted this story that broke an hour ago:

    Lauren Alaina May Drop Out of ‘American Idol’ Finale

    Lauren Alaina may not get her shot to be the next “American Idol” because she has lost her voice …spies on the set tell TMZ … and it could be the break of a lifetime for Haley Reinhart.

    We’re told during the rehearsal this afternoon, Lauren — who has been losing her voice — was supposed to sing three songs. She got through the first, struggled through the second and was unable to perform the third.

    Our spies say a doctor on the set has ordered Lauren not to sing or speak, but there is a “real possibility” she will not be able to perform on tonight’s show.

    We’re told if Lauren is unable to perform, producers will reinstate the third place finisher — Haley Reinhart who will then compete against Scotty McCreery for the title.

    Producers are trying to find Haley right no

    • Oops! “right now.”

      And the article also included these last 2 lines:

      As for fellow finalist Scotty McCreery — we’re told he’s gonna sing a song called “Love You This Big.”

      Both Lauren and Scotty’s performances will hit the iTunes store right after the show.

      • this is not true. just a ploy to raise viewership and get lauren sympathy votes.

      • Somebody always comes up with these wise crack remarks about sympathy.
        Lauren blew out a vocal chord. Fact, not fiction. When asked how she was she said it was nothing she was fine. She most definitely was not looking for a sympathy vote. It was Seacrest who called the Doctor up to explain what happened.

    • I know it has never happened before but you would think they would anticipate something like this and have the 3rd place finnisher prepared for such a thing.

      • Well, it would be heartbreaking for Lauren. And the win for anyone, given this, is going to feel “not quite right,” at minimum. Glad for Haley, personally, but . . .

  46. Lauren Alaina’s finale song:

    Nicolas Cage has a surprising connection to a song on the “American Idol” finale tonight — because TMZ has learned, the actor’s brand new daughter-in-law wrote the tune three years ago.

    *SPOILER ALERT*

    The name of the song is “Like My Mother Does” co-written by Nikki Williams — who married Cage’s son Weston last month in Tennessee.

    The song first debuted in 2008 … but “Idol” finalist Lauren Alaina will sing it tonight.

    Interestingly, former “A.I.” Season 7 finalist Kristy Lee Cook released a version of the song on her 2008 album, “Why Wait.”

  48. It is confirmed People, Lauren Alaina will be performing. No Need to worry Lauren fans!

  49. 13 minutes ago on TMZ:

    Lauren Alaina Silent in Makeup — Haley Is Ready

    13 minutes ago by TMZ Staff

    Lauren Alaina is sitting in the makeup chair silently because an “American Idol” doctor has frozen her throat in a last ditch effort to save her voice … spies on the “Idol” set tell TMZ.

    TMZ broke the story … Lauren lost her voice and could not finish rehearsing for tonight’s finale.

    Producers have brought Haley Reinhart to the set and she is currently in wardrobe. If Lauren can’t compete, Haley will square off against Scotty McCreery for the title.

    We’re told Haley just finished rehearsing, and if she does compete tonight she’ll sing 3 songs — “House of the Rising Sun,” “I Who Have Nothing” and “Bennie and the Jets.”

    • again not true . idol wants a girl to win, they are just trying to get more people to vote for lauren. its disgraceful. please scotty fans do not fall for this.

  51. For all who say that young teens can’t sing or handle the pressure.

    The trio Il Vivo who sang last Thursday won a singing contest in Italy with that song “O Sole Mio” when the oldest (the one with the glasses) was 15 and the other two were 14.

    That was 2 years ago so they are now 17, 16 and 16 and already have a multi-platinum album.

    BTW – Jimmy Iovine signed them to his Geffen label.

  52. Well, Lauren sounded great, I must say.

    I liked Scotty’s first song (Gone, his favorite prior performance)–and he really controlled all the goofy eye movements for once, but I didn’t really like the George Strait song (although the lyrics were definitely cute)–mostly because I thought Scotty didn’t enunciate well. Sounded really mumbley to me.

    • I’m not voting. The power voters make that all nonsense.

      Have to say, Lauren beat Scotty hands down. But I think it was poor form for the judges to be that direct about it.

      It almost seemed like Scotty’s heart wasn’t in this tonight. And the song Jimmy Iovine chose for Scotty was TERRIBLE. It was too slow and very boring.

      Lauren’s song was a perfect “apple pie and mom” song. It was the perfect ending for her finale. And her voice sounded as if she never had a real problem at all.

      • scottys performances were very good. i think he realized idol wants lauren to win.

  55. Wow,most boring finale ever. All I could think of when Scotty sang his corny ‘love you this big’ song was Randy telling Haley that her rendition of “Blue” was a little sleepy. Really Randy? Blue was a little sleepy but this was wonderful and perfect and so on? What the hell happened to Idol this year? I feel like I’m in the twilight zone or something. Give me Haley or James anytime over those two.

    • I’m with you James. What kind of AI season was this? In the previous seasons, 1-9, the contestants were given advise and critiqued. If they did badly they were told. If it was good was given praise. I guess that was mostly by Simon Cowell. Is this due to the new judges? I think Lauren talked through most of her first song. It looked like J-Lo gave her a standing “O” for that song. I do not get it.

  56. Hi Pup
    I think Lauren beat Scotty hands down as well. I think the judges just got excited and carried away but I do agree they should control themselves a little better. Although, they have got more than excited a few times throughout this season and blurted things out.

    Scotty really didn’t seem into his performance tonight. I thought that also.
    The song choice for Scotty was indeed TERRIBLE. Not the kind of song you come to a major competition with and it was as you said, too slow and boring.

    Lauren’s song was dynamite. She just blew me away. She has indeed stepped up to the plate.

    I loved the fact that she didn’t want any sympathy votes when asked what happened to her voice. It was the Doctor who said she blew out a vocal chord. What a class act she is.

    • The judges were saying ridiculous things this evening, as usual. They all sounded so fake to me. I have no use for any of them. What puppets they are!

    • OH please…lauren was just trying to make out like she was cool by saying dont worry about it. Probably never had a oroblem at all. And the judges were jyst darn right cruek ti scitty. It was mean spirited of them, and embarrassed him

  57. Lauren was terrific this evening. Seems she has more than overcome her shyness and to sing with that much “umph” having blown a vocal chord earlier on is evidence she is a real trooper.

    Scotty’s song was a sleeper. Not well chosen for him I would say. He did not look his usual full of confidence self this evening I thought. He just didn’t seem into it.

    I hope all the voters vote for who really shone tonight.

    • How would feel(if you were Scotty)and the judges said Lauren, I think you just might have won the title with that song. Would you feel like performing? The judges did the same thing to Scotty tonight, as they did to Haley last week. They practically gave Lauren the title. Without anyone voting!

      • They didn’t say that until the end and after the LAST song of the night so what else was he planning to perform?????

  58. Go Scotty !!!!
    You ARE the next American Idol !!!!

    Vote for Scotty, Scotty Scotty
    Texas loves you !!!

  59. Scotty’s heart IS in it to Win it and ALWAYS HAS BEEN!!
    Everyone vote for SCOTTY !!!
    All performances were out of this world !
    Scotty, Scotty Scotty !!!

  62. Scotty deserves to win, he has done the best this season over Lauren, i think it was unfair to write the song for her about her mom and then show all the emotion. The song that was written for Scotty was not written to show his best talent. Go Alabama!

  65. Lauren won hands down tonight and if she doesn’t win then American Idol will be the loser. The last songs they sung are supposed to be the ones they will record if they win.

    Their first songs were ones we had heard them do before and I thought they both did ok with them but nothing special.

    The second songs, Lauren was much better than Scotty who hit one “high” note at the end and you think he’d won the World Series the way the “judges” carried on.

    But the real highlight to me was those last songs.

    Scotty was dreary and made no effort to sell his, whereas Lauren blew it away and sold hers in platinum style.

    Lauren won it for all of us watching here tonight and some had been Scotty fans before tonight.

    Get rid of the power voting and get it right American Idol – for your sake and that of a gutsy young woman.

  66. It all worked out for me. Thanks to the snooze fest on American Idol I was able to watch the Dancing with the Stars finale. My son tried to watch American Idol and made it through one song before tuning out. I am sure both those kids are nice but they are really not very exciting singers. I just read an article from a Seattle paper complaining about the same thing. They said they were sure a lot fewer people were watching this finale. I will be watching tomorrow when the interesting performers return. I am looking forward to it.

  68. Im puzzled how they choose who is to be eliminated. When it comes to votes, Lauren always has the lowest votes. Yet, she is still there. I dont care now who wins.
    For me, JAMES DURBIN is the true AMERICAN IDOL.

  69. While Lauren is a lovely young lady and sings beautifully she will just blend in with the rest of the recording artists out there. But Scotty has such a unique voice for someone so young and I believe he should be the next American Idol. Well done both of you but Scotty is my choice and I am sure that he will get a contract either way through Cheryl Crowe she I think was very impressed with him. Good luck Scotty and well done Lauren. Judges should choose their words more tackfully on such a stressful night for 2 very young people who should be really proud of how far they have come. Come on judges you should know better than that, after all it is not your final choice but you may influence the voters.

  70. Well Scotty won in spite of all the negative comments.Couldn’t be more pleased. He not only can sing but he is humble at the same time. When asked how he felt about the win, he commented he and Lauren would move forward together. That is a true country boy!!!!! Who else would be true to their rival? Although I don’t think they were rivals. They each wanted the best for the other one. Oh, go by an album and support the cause.

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