Tom Jones, Tim McGraw, the Kiss and More Highlights from the Idol Finale

It was an American Idol finale for the record books: Steven Tyler sang "Dream On," Jennifer Lopezand husband Marc Anthony shared a dance and a kiss on stage, country legends Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood wowed, James Durbin got his happy metal ending with Judas Priest, Tom Jones showed the men of the top 13 how it's done and Haley Reinhart even sang a snazzy version of "Steppin' Out with My Baby" with Tony Bennett.



But the night belonged to Scotty McCreery, who took home the Idol crown.



"It was just a moment I will never forget," said McCreery, 17, of his win. "This was all about me being able to accomplish my dreams. I'm an American Idol. That was a huge dream. It's time for me to start my career. The real work begins."



Runner-up Lauren Alaina, who says she knew McCreery was going to win, had nothing but kind words for her fellow finalist. "It was God's plan for Scotty to get first," said Alaina, 16. "No matter what, that was the way it is supposed to be."



Though her voice was giving her trouble on the night of her final performances, the singer says it didn't affect the votes. "My voice had nothing to do with it. Things happen for a reason."



And what was the reason behind the smooch the two shared on stage?



"She stays true to her word," McCreery said with a chuckle. "She told me she was going to do that. It's all fun and games."

Scotty McCreery - Amazed - American Idol 2011 Top 3 (HQ)

Three more days and the old-school broadcast network season is “over.” That means the season conclusions for several shows, including NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” Fox’s “Glee” and ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” on Tuesday and Fox’s “American Idol” on Wednesday.




ABC’s “The Bachelorette” Monday and Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” Thursday start their summer runs this week, too.




And bid farewell forever to Fox’s “The Chicago Code” Monday, NBC’s “Law & Order: Los Angeles” Thursday and CBS”s “Criminal Minds: Suspicious Behavior” Wednesday as well.

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‘Idol’ finals: Scotty McCreery vs. Lauren Alaina

 

LOS ANGELES — "American Idol" finalist Haley Reinhart won’t be growling on this season’s final showdown.

The bluesy 20-year-old vocalist from Wheeling, Ill., best known for her signature singing snarl, was revealed Thursday to have received the fewest viewer votes on the Fox talent contest, leaving deep-voiced 17-year-old singer Scotty McCreery of Garner, N.C., and soaring 16-year-old songbird Lauren Alaina of Rossville, Ga., to compete on next week’s finale.

"I rocked it out, and I had a blast," Reinhart said after her elimination.

Reinhart had always seemed doomed on "Idol." Unlike her remaining rivals, cherubic country crooners McCreery and Alaina, the wavy-haired Reinhart had been less definable and garnered fewer votes, landing at the bottom as one of the show’s low vote-getters four times after weak performances of such songs as LeAnn Rimes’ "Blue" and Blondie’s "Call Me."

This season’s femme fatale found recent success by boldly tackling classic rock tunes. She earned a standing ovation from the judges two weeks ago for a rousing rendition of The Animals’ version of "The House of the Rising Sun," and she was lauded again Wednesday for her performances of Fleetwood Mac’s "Rhiannon" and Led Zeppelin’s "What Is and What Should Never Be."

 

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‘Idol’ Finale: Lauren Alaina Knocks Scotty McCreery ‘Flat on the Floor’

'American Idol' finalists Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery. (AP/FOX)

Scotty McCreery had all the momentum going into Tuesday night’s “American Idol” finale, but the show ultimately belonged to Lauren Alaina, despite the fact that she sprained a vocal cord in rehearsals.



Scotty started off strong in round one, in which each contestant was asked to reprise their favorite performance of the season. He chose “Gone” by Montgomery Gentry, making all the usual Scotty faces (cue the huge eyeballs) and doing the usual Scotty thing.

Lauren followed with Carrie Underwood’s “Flat on the Floor,” immediately beating Scotty in the song choice contest and giving a much more entertaining performance as far as our eyes and ears were concerned (though she did sound a little bit hoarse).



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/