Step aside, Carrie Underwood!
Six years after Underwood made her mark as American Idol's season 4 champ, a new country Idol will be crowned when Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery battle for the title Tuesday.
As the two youngest finalists in Idol history prepare for the big showdown at L.A.'s Nokia Theater, McCreery, 17, says his nerves are kicking in.
"I'm just going to tell myself to stay calm. We played to 30,000 back in our hometowns and there's like 8,000 [at the Nokia]. "It's more intimate but it's more intimidating," the finalist told reporters during a press conference Monday. "It's all a new ballgame for us and we just have to try to keep ourselves calm and not get too riled up."
Alaina, 16, is hoping her Idol peers will help ease her nerves — and offer a change of scenery.
"[On finale night we get] reunited with all the other people who've been eliminated and they're like our family. They're really supportive so it's good to have that. It's tough being around Scotty all the time!" she says with a laugh. "Just kidding!"
Idol's last girl standing says win or lose, she's content with her run on the show.
"I dreamed of being the next American Idol since I was six years old standing in my living room and I would scream into the remote control that I was going to win," she told reporters. "If I lost to Scotty I’d still be a winner because he is the bomb!"
Echoes McCreery: "We're friends. It's not a competition. We're just here singing our hearts out."
Tell Us: Who should win American Idol?
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