Ten years ago, American Idol season 10 kicked off with new judges and new contestants. Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler joined veteran Randy Jackson on the judges panel, as Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi exited. Also, Interscope records signed on to take over the release of Idol music from RCA, and the label’s chairman, Jimmy Iovine became the show’s permanent mentor.
Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina Celebrate 10 years since their American Idol auditions!
Amid all that change, two country teenagers auditioned for the show and were destined to become the season’s winner and runner-up. Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina survived and have thrived after that season, each notching No 1 singles on the country charts.
Scotty has garnered three No. 1s–“Five More Minutes” (2017), “This is It” (2018) and “In Between” (2019). Lauren, who managed to hold on to her Interscope label deal, hit No. 1 with her 2016 single, “Road Less Travelled.” Additionally, two features also hit No. 1. The single “What Ifs” with Kane Brown smashed it in 2017, while “One Beer” with Hardy rose to the country airplay summit in 2020.
Lauren also found time to compete on Dancing with the Stars in 2019, making it to the finals with with pro Gleb Savchenko.
But back in early 2011, when American Idol was still aired on FOX and was pulling in more the 20 million viewers each episode, Scotty and Lauren were fresh faced 16 year olds on the precipice of big careers.
This week, both singers celebrated the 10 year anniversary of their television debuts.
Scotty McCreery shocked the judges with his deep voice on a Josh Turner classic
Scotty McCreery sang Josh Turner’s “Your Man.” Aka Baby Lock Them Doors! Jennifer couldn’t believe a 16 year old could have such a deep voice. “You make me smile!” she said to the North Carolina native, afterward. Scotty also sang Travis Tritt’s “Put Some Drive in Their Country,” while noting that Randy produced some songs for Tritt. And of course, Steven made history, uttering his expletive laden compliment, “Well hellfire save matches, f*** a duck and see what hatches!” It wasn’t anything Scotty hadn’t already heard in high school.
“Absolutely cannot believe its been a DECADE since my Idol audition aired!” Scotty wrote on Instagram earlier this week, “10 years ago tonight started me on the most insane journey I could ever dream of. Thanks for being there with me every step of the way! Here’s to another 10 years yall.”
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Hey @ScottyMcCreery , thank you for singing the song in the first place! Hard to believe this record came out 15 years ago and hard to believe you sang it on @AmericanIdol 10 years ago! Time flies! https://t.co/kENILjzc5Q
— Josh Turner (@joshturnermusic) January 27, 2021
After Lauren wows the judges, she sings a duet with Steven Tyler!
Lauren Alaina was only 15 in the summer when she auditioned in front of the judges, just two weeks shy of her 16th birthday. In her video package, the young singer tearfully recounted how her cousin survived cancer treatment. Holly came to the Georgia native’s audition, along with Lauren’s parents.
Lauren sang Faith Hill and Tim McGraw’s “Like We Never Loved At All” After she got 3 enthusiastic yeses from the judges, Lauren and Steven traded a few lines on Aerosmith’s classic “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing.”
To commemorate her 10th anniversary, Lauren wrote on twitter, “I can hardly sandal that 10 yrs ago my life completely flip flopped (in more ways than one). I wish I could give this scrunchy-haired, rainbow dressing, waist belting and flip flop wearing 15yo girl the biggest hug. Her braveness on 01.27.11 has given me everything I have now.” Watch her audition below.
