earsucker

American Idol winner Scotty McCreery arrived for an interview early with radio show host Billy Bush at 9:00AM on Thursday. The interview was scheduled for 9:30AM, so Scotty decided to take a nap in the car for a half hour.

He must be tired from all of the congratulations that he’s received and all of the money he’s counting for winning the singing competition. Oh yes, and of course deflecting rumors of a relationship with Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina.

So, can you caption the above photo of the sleeping Idol? What do you think of his American Idol win? Are you surprised that he took the Idol crown?

If you’re wondering how much a seventeen-year-old kid who wins American Idol will be raking in as a result of walking away a winner, then wonder no more.

Earsucker has learned that Idol season ten winner Scotty McCreery will receive at least $250,000 in advances for winning the Idol crown. Both he and second place winner Lauren Alaina had their contracts approved by an L.A. judge before the winner was announced!

So perhaps that’s how Matt Drudge leaked the information hours before the finale aired???

If you’re curious how much Lauren is set to gain, we’ve learned that she’ll be receiving $87,500. Scotty is likely to earn a ton more from merchandising and endorsement rights, along with royalties for any music that he releases.

Past season’s winners were paid a minimum of $100,000 for merchandise rights, but Scotty will receive $50,000, while Lauren gets $40,000. Fifteen percent of Scotty’s earnings are going to be placed into a trust account, of which cannot be touched until he turns eighteen.

Are you surprised? Did you think it would be more???

Minutes before the performance finale of American Idol aired, the news had hit the internet that finalist Lauren Alaina may not have been able to perform on the show.

The news stated that she may have had to drop out of the show due to some vocal cord damage that she suffered. After not getting through rehearsals, they called in a doctor who told Lauren to rest her voice. Idol officials called up third place contestant, Haley Reinhart, to take her place if needed.

Now, Haley is speaking out on the topic. WATCH:

Haley said, “I had somebody come up to me, to tell me what her condition was. They didn’t know if she could sing or not. They asked me to do it and said to pick out some tunes I already did. It was an honor that they asked me; they never did this for somebody else on the show.”

She continued, “But at the same time, I did not feel right about the whole thing.”

When asked if she had gotten the chance to talk to Lauren prior to the show, she said, “No, but I saw her later. She was like, ‘You were almost about to sing for me there’, and I said, ‘I’m glad the medicine and everything else helped you out and you got through it!’”

All in all, Haley said that she was happy with how things turned out. She added, “I left in a good light. I had a great time going out. I still feel like the future holds something great out there for me. I felt like it was really Scotty and Lauren’s time so no matter what, she should go out and do what she can do.”

Rumor has it that Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery had a little more in common than just being the top two finalists on American Idol!

After snatching up the American Idol victory, Scotty played down reports of any romantic involvement with his former competitor. According to reports, Lauren had deferred to Scotty when asked about their relationship status. After scooping the Idol crown, he talked about the reports.

Scott was asked, “Lauren said to ask you about whether or not you are dating”, to which he replied, “She’s a character, isn’t she? She really is. No, we’re just really close friends. I met her day one of Hollywood week and we’ve grown really tight over the weeks because we’ve gone to school together, but I don’t know about the dating part.”

He went on to say that she was “just being funny” when talking about the relationship speculation.

He also touched on plans for his debut album, saying, “I want to get some good songs. It’s all about the songs after this. American Idol is a platform and helping us out and start our jobs.”

Prior to releasing his debut album, Scotty will appear with the top eleven competitors on the Idols Live Tour.

American Idol has come down to two highly talented singers, Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery! So who’s got what it takes to be your next Idol champion?

We recapped the performance show last night here.

We conducted a poll earlier to assess our readership to find out who the public thinks will win the show tonight. Results from that have concluded that Scotty is going to win it all with 65 percent of the vote. The judges, however, awarded the show to Lauren, so it’s really anyone’s game. (continue reading…)

Now that it’s come down to the top two contestants on American Idol, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, we’ve got to know your thoughts on who’s going to walk away the winner!

Both contestants wow’ed the judges with last night’s performances, but only one can be crowned the winner of the show. Scotty gave good performances, but it was Lauren who stood out with the judges. (Read our full, detailed recap here.)

Before the show, it was said that Lauren may have had to drop out due to damaging one of her vocal cords. She persisted and upon receiving the all-clear from the doctor, she performed. It made us wonder whether or not the story was leaked so that she would possibly gain sympathy votes, since it appeared to us that Scotty was the front-runner in the competition.

We’re not saying that she isn’t a great performer, but it made us curious. It could be that, or the fact that a lot of people didn’t know that they had changed the day that the show was on.

Either way, one of the top two will be eliminated tonight. So we have to ask…Who do you think is going to win it all tonight??? TAKE OUR POLL!

We’ll have up-to-the-minute reports on what’s happening with the grand finale tonight, so stay tuned!

American Idol finalist Lauren Alaina gave everyone a scare tonight, when the news was revealed that she may not be able to perform on tonight’s performance finale. It was reported that Lauren blew out one of her vocal cords during her rehearsals earlier today.

The doctor who treated Lauren said that they gave her medicine and that she was all clear to go ahead with the performance tonight. Earlier today, she was only able to get through one song without any issue. On the second, she struggled and the third was a no-go completely. (continue reading…)

UPDATE: WE’RE RECAPPING THE AMERICAN IDOL RESULTS SHOW HERE LIVE!

American Idol is down to the top two in what’s likely to be the country music showdown of the year! The top two contenders, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina will battle it out for your votes! So who will emerge victorious???

Scotty is said to be the fan favorite on the show, but does have what it takes to walk away the winner of the show? Lauren is also offering some stiff competition, but does she have the chops to be your next American Idol? Stay tuned!

We’re recapping the performance show live tonight, so stick with us as we update this post with up-to-the-minute news on what’s happening with your Idol favorites! (continue reading…)

We’ve just learned that American Idol finalist Lauren Alaina may have to drop out of tonight’s show!

It all went down during rehearsals earlier today when she tried to perform her set of three songs. We’ve learned that she performed the first without issue, yet she struggled through the second and was unable to sing the third.

The producers of the show have located Haley Reinhart as a stand-in for Lauren, in case she’s unable to perform. The doctor on the set of the show has ordered Lauren not to talk or sing, so there is still hope that she’s able to sing for tonight’s finale performances.

Haley is waiting in the wings, in full makeup, hoping for a chance to square off against Idol hopeful Scotty McCreery for title of your next American Idol!

If Haley does perform, she’ll be singing House Of The Rising Sun, I Who Have Nothing and Bennie And The Jets. Are you surprised that they’d try to bring her back? Are you happy that she still has a chance to win it all? Sound off in the comments!

American Idol judge Randy Jackson talked with Chelsea Handler on her late night talk show, Chelsea Lately, about the new judges and the contestants!

Chelsea asked him what the difference is between working with Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul over working with Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez. He said, “It had a different dynamic than, ya know, Simon did his thing, I did my thing, Paula did her thing. Now with Steven and Jennifer, you have two artists who are still currently on the charts, I mean, Tyler’s a legend. So that’s a whole different dynamic. They’re a little bit warmer, a little bit sweeter.”

Chelsea said, “‘Cause now people are saying you’re mean”, to which he replied, “I’m the mean dude.” (continue reading…)

In some not so shocking news, the top third finalist on American Idol, Haley Reinhart, was eliminated from the show last night.

And then there were two!

On Wednesday’s show, she seemed to impress the judges, but when we polled fans of the show to see which contestant would be sent packing, Haley’s name rose over Scotty or Lauren’s. Actually, for quite a while, Haley and Lauren were neck-in-neck, leaving Scotty with the least amount of votes.

Check out her exit from the show, which didn’t appear to shock her whatsoever: (continue reading…)

It’s getting down to the wire on American Idol!

We’re down to the top three finalists on the singing competition: Haley Reinhart, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina. Last night, the contestants sang three songs, one of their choosing, one of Jimmy Iovine’s choice and the last being the judge’s choice. Read our full recap here!

We took a poll of our readership and 47 percent of our readers polled said that the felt Haley would be making her exit tonight. Ryan revealed that they’ve received 95 million votes last night for Idol’s top three.

The three top finalists, along with James Durbin, visited the Bad Robot Productions studio, where they were treated to a screening of the movie, Super 8. Afterward, they were given cameras to videotape their hometown visits.

Tonight is the show’s Hometown Heroes show, showing each of the top three contestants visiting their respective hometown cities. Haley went to Wheeling, IL, where she was greeted by a ton of fans! She cried as she captured some moments on her Super 8 camera. She said it had been three months since she’s seen her family, but it felt like forever.

Stay with us as we cover the show LIVE! (continue reading…)

It’s that time again, where we’re asking your opinion on who will be eliminated on tonight’s elimination episode of American Idol! We’ve given our official recap of the show and you can also view the performance videos yourself!

Last night, the contestants sang a song of their own choice, along with one picked out by Jimmy Iovine and another of the judge’s choice.

Here’s the quick run-down of the contestants and their songs:

Haley Reinhart:

Her choice: What Is And What Should Never Be by Led Zeppelin
Jimmy Iovine’s choice: Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac
Judge’s choice: You Oughtta Know by Alanis Morissette

Scotty McCreery:

His choice: Amazed by Lonestar
Jimmy Iovine’s choice: Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not by Thompson Square
Judge’s choice: She Believes In Me by Kenny Rogers

Lauren Alania:

Her choice: Wild One by Faith Hill
Jimmy Iovine’s choice: If I Die Young by The Band Perry
Judge’s choice: I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack

So who do you think is going home on tonight’s show??? VOTE IN OUR POLL!

If you’ve missed last night’s performance episode of American Idol, then jump over to our recap!

On last night’s show, it got down to the wire as the top three performed their picks, Jimmy Iovine’s song choices, along with the judges’ choices. Here is the breakdown:

Beyonce mentored the contestants for the show last night and also premiered her new video for Run The World (Girls). Contestant Haley Reinhart also fell during her performance of Led Zeppelin’s song, What Is And What Should Never Be. On a good note for her, she got right back up and went on with the song, barely missing a beat.

Check out all of the performance videos from last night’s show, after the jump! (continue reading…)

Tonight on American Idol, we’re down to the top three! Viewers will have to decide between Scotty McCreery, Haley Reinhart and Lauren Alania. Idol favorite James Durbin was ousted on last week’s show in a shocking elimination. Read our full recap here.

Beyonce is premiering her new video, Run The World (Girls) video on the show tonight and she is also mentoring the contestants during tonight’s show.

Round One

Scotty is singing his favorite song first, which is Lonestar’s Amazed. Beyonce called him a “cutie pie” and said, “That’s m,y boy!” He is doing a great job and we’re sure someone is going to tell him that he’s “in it to win it”. Randy? J-Lo? He is definitely going to be the one to beat this season.

Steven said that Scotty got angry and kicked the song into next week and took the song up a notch. Jennifer said he has grown since the beginning of the season. She said it was a great way to start the show. Randy said it was a great song choice and it’s an amazing song. He said there were a couple of pitchy spots and commented “That’s money.” (continue reading…)

Tears ran down the face of James Durbin as he made his American Idol exit performance of Paul McCartney’s song, Maybe I’m Amazed. Ryan Seacrest announced that Lauren Alania was safe first last night, leaving all of the viewers thinking that Haley Reinhart to be eliminated.

We were under the impression that James would be safe, considering that he has a whole lot of talent. Most of our audience polled came to the conclusion that Haley should’ve left last night due to her attitude. So when she was announced as the second person safe, all bets were off.

Then, as the night progressed, we had to ponder who exactly could be sent home out of the guys. Both James and Scotty McCreery gave pretty excellent performances last night, so we had to think that the rumors of “no one” being eliminated were true.

We covered the show live last night, check out our FULL RECAP here.

Check out the elimination video, below:

When it was announced that Scotty McCreery was going to be part of the top three in the singing competition, a collective shock swept across the nation. He performed well and cried during his final song.

What did you think of the results??? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

American Idol is heating up! We’re down to the top four in the singing competition — and it’s anyone’s guess who’s going to sent home tonight! In case you missed last night’s performances, check out our recap right here!

The competition has been narrowed down to Haley Reinhart, James Durbin, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alania. James really wow’ed the judges last night, with them laying most of the night’s criticism on Haley.

Next week, the Idol hopefuls will be taking camera crews to their hometowns for their Hometown Heroes segment. Will we be left with three contestants? According to our poll, most of our votes say that Haley will be sent home.

Enrique Iglesias and Jordin Sparks are there, along with a performance by Lady Gaga!

James and Scotty are performing Brad Paisley’s song, Start A Band, on the show now. They’re doing a pretty good job, for a country song.

Stay tuned for the latest updates as we recap the show live! (continue reading…)

It’s down to the final four on American Idol, and while we admit that we haven’t been watching up until now, it’s getting down to the wire!

For the first round, the contestants are covering songs that are inspirational. For their second songs, the contestants are covering songs from the Lieber & Stoller Songbook. Tonight’s mentor is Lady Gaga!

James Durbin started off tonight’s competition with his version of Journey’s famous song, Don’t Stop Believin’. In my honest opinion, he should not have chosen this song, it was truly awful. Steve Perry you are NOT!

Steven Tyler said it was “nice goin’”. Jennifer Lopez said it was “amazing” and a really great job. Randy Jackson commented that he paid homage to his friends, who are the greatest rock bands ever.

Stay tuned as we cover the show, live! Watch this space for updates! (continue reading…)