Reality TV loves a little drama, so it wasn’t without some raised eyebrows when just about an hour before the big show, word ‘leaked’ that finalist Lauren Alaina may not be able to perform due to a vocal chord injury. Was it a publicity stunt? Could they really be looking for Haley Reinhart to rapel in and take her place? No one at FOX felt compelled to dispel any myths until airtime. It was a drama made for, well, television.
But, miracle of miracles, come showtime, Alaina was on stage assuring America “I’m here, I’m ready to sing and I’m fine, don’t worry about it.”  A doctor was onhand (seconds away from the stage) that Ryan Seacrest could ‘put on the spot’ and bring center to share that Alaina had really been pushing herself during rehearsals, and that with a substantial amount of medicine, she was, in fact ‘going to be great’ tonight. Whew… everything was going to be fine!
She and fellow finalist Scotty McCreery sang their youthful hearts (and vocal chords) out.
In the end, the judges were somewhat cautious not to overly favor one over the other … although Steven Tyler only broke Randy Jackson and Jennifer Lopez’s split decision with a throwaway note, choosing Lauren “Only ’cause she’s prettier.” Ha.
Now, the voting (and waiting!) begins…