Scotty McCreery Wins 'American Idol'

And the next American Idol is … Scotty McCreery. The 17-year-old North Carolina native defeated fellow country singer Lauren Alaina, 16, in the 10th season of Idol. Alaina competed in Tuesday night’s final sing-off despite injuring her vocal cords, and received rave reviews from the judges, but McCreery won more votes from viewers in the end. A record 122 million votes were cast in the final contest.