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"If there&amp;#039;s anything that proves how far along country-pop has come, it&amp;#039;s this year&amp;#039;s final American Idol showdown, in which the two contestants\u2014Lauren Alaina, 16, Scotty McCreery, 17\u2014are both competing in the country genre. To boot, they are also the youngest contestants to ever compete in the final, proving that country-pop is here to stay, at least for some time. Read on for a recap of last night&amp;#039;s final three rounds. Round 1 In the first go-around of the night, each contestant performed their favorite song of the season. The first to perform, Scotty burst onto the scene singing &amp;quot;Gone&amp;quot; by Alan Jackson and sent so much energy soaring through the stadium that Lauren, who sang &amp;quot;Flat on the Floor&amp;quot; by Katrina Elam, really had no chance. Round 2 For the first time on AI, the idols&amp;#039; idols picked a round of songs. Scotty sang &amp;quot;Check Yes or No&amp;quot; by George Strait, chosen for him by\u2026 George Strait! In my opinion, the North Carolina-native lacks some personality, so when he&amp;#039;s not zipping around the stage, his performances get a little sleepy. Which made it easy for Lauren to take the round, especially having sung the sweet song that her own hero, Carrie Underwood, choose for her: &amp;quot;Maybe It Was Memphis&amp;quot; by Pam Tillis. Round 3 Confession: I wait for this round all season long\u2014to see what the contestants&amp;#039; first singles are going to be (though none, in my opinion, have been as good as the original\u2014Kelly Clarkson&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;A Moment Like This&amp;quot;). Lauren sang, &amp;quot;Like My Mother Does,&amp;quot; previously recorded by Kristy Lee Cook, and totally won over the judges (not to mention, every mom in the audience). Jennifer Lopez even said, &amp;quot;This is a tight race, but, Lauren, with that song, you may have just won.&amp;quot; Scotty sang the never-before-recorded &amp;quot;Love You This Big&amp;quot;\u2014which was sweet but, unfortunately, boring. I voted for Lauren last night. Everything about her is beautiful\u2014her personality, her youthful mug and her booming voice. That said, I think they both have big careers and fame ahead of them. Good luck, Lauren and Scotty! And thanks for a really fun season. -Brynn Mannino, Assistant Editor "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a43054/american-idolathe-finalists-compete-8393/>