'American Idol' Channels '90s Country
Lauren Alaina, Scotty McCreery
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Last night's "American Idol" final showdown between Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, ahead of tonight's revelation of the series' 10th-season champion, featured covers of two '90s country smashes.
George Strait selected his own 1996 Country Songs No. 1 "Check Yes or No" for McCreery. The original version of the song became the 28th of Strait's format-record 44 chart leaders.
For Alaina, 2005 "Idol" winner Carrie Underwood dipped back to Pam Tillis' "Maybe It Was Memphis," which rose to No. 3 on Country Songs in 1992. The swaying track marked the third of Tillis' 13 Country Songs top 10s between 1991 and 1997. (She scored her sole No. 1 with "Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)" in 1995).
Relive McCreery and Alaina's interpretations of the songs in Billboard.com's recap of last night's episode.
(How young are this year's top-two contestants? Neither McCreery (Oct. 9, 1993) nor Alaina (Nov. 8, 1994) were born when Tillis' "Memphis" was charting).
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