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If the judges and sentimentality have their way, Lauren Alaina should become the next American Idol.
On Tuesday's final sing-off, (leading up to Wednesday's big reveal), Lauren Alaina earned the decided edge over Scotty McCreery when, after her third number, Randy gave her the only standing ovation of the night, J. Lo commented "with that song you may have just won" and Steven Tyler's declared: "you are It in my eyes."
It didn't hurt that all three responded to a brand new song that milks the show's family values to a historic degree. Alaina delivered "Like My Mother Does," a gushy ode to genes and maternal caring that, predictably, reduced the singer's own mom to a puddle.
It will also work to Lauren's advantage that the demographics of this year's voting body has ticked north, favoring older viewers, who are more likely to be moms themselves.
If that's not enough, Lauren earned instant underdog status Tuesday by revealing at the top of the show that she blew out a vocal chord in rehearsals that afternoon. Which true heartland American would fail to fall for a comeback-from-adversity story like that?
Then again, the last few years have seen the disfavored singer pull from behind to win, including Lee DeWyze over Crystal Bowersox (who then outsold him on CD) and Kris Allen over Adam Lambert (who did the same, four fold).
In truth, the performances of both Lauren and Scotty probably went over big with their true believers. Like last week, they made their case in three rounds. The first featured their favorite song from the season. The second had them croon pieces chosen for them by their own idols, while the third saw them perform the song that will serve as their first single should they win.

‘American Idol‘ is getting close to wrapping up Season 10, with the finale performance show airing tonight. After finalists Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina faced off in a singing battle for the gold, former ‘Idol’ winner David Cook performed his cover of Simple Minds’ 1985 hit, ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me).’
Cook, who was crowned the ‘American Idol’ back in 2008, covered the Simple Minds classic song as the official “vote off” song for the television show. The ‘Idol’ alum’s rendition of ‘The Breakfast Club’ theme song is the perfect fit to accompany ‘Idol’ runner-ups offstage, since the lyrics are sad and hopeful all at the same time.
As Cook sang in a dapper black-and-white suit with a matching guitar, a montage of ‘American Idol’ clips played onscreen behind him and his band. It was sort of sad seeing past contestants like James Durbin and Jacob Lusk in the video, but there were also funny moments, like when Casey Abrams smooched Jennifer Lopez.