Surprisingly, or maybe it's not all that surprising, depending on how you look at it, there have been only two country winners and two country runner ups in the last 10 years of American Idol.
Scotty McCreery - Winner
Some Stats:
Born October 9, 1993 in Gamar, North Carolina
Competing finalist: Lauren Alaina
Year: Season 10, 2011
The only male country singer winner or runner up on American Idol in 10 years, Scotty McCreery with his distinctive old school, deep classic twang, really caused a sensation. It was also pretty amazing to see not even one, but two country singer finalists vying to become "the next American Idol." In the end, it was Scotty beating out Lauren for the title by about 54% of the vote.
Scotty McCreery's debut album, Clear as Day, turned out to be pretty popular. In early December, 2011, during its first week out, the album pulled in 42,000 sales and he led the group of seven other Idol alumni which also included Lauren Alaina and Carrie Underwood at the time, in ranking on the Billboard charts. Currently, Scotty is pretty much staying in the top 10 on the country charts and within the top 50 on the Billboard chart.
Carrie Underwood - Winner
Some Stats:
Born March 10, 1983 in Checotah, Oklahoma
Competing finalist: Bo Bice
Year: Season 4, 2005
With percentage numbers very similar to Scotty's win, Carrie had the victory over rocker Bo Bice with slightly more than 53% of the vote. My very favorite finals song she did on American Idol was Martina McBride's "Independence Day." Many have tried to sing that, but in my opinion, Carrie gave it something extra speci.
It's no secret that Carrie Underwood became a big country star! As Simon Cowell predicted during Carrie's season of the show, Underwood did even rise above super-successful Kelly Clarkson to become the top American Idol money maker in 2011.
Carrie's got tours planned for 2012-2013 and in addition to her popularity as a singer, she's also branching out into acting parts. Underwood appeared on How I Met Your Mother on CBS as well as in the feature film, Soul Surfer.
Lauren Alaina - Runner Up
Some Stats:
Born November 6, 1994 in Rossville, Georgia
Competing finalist: Scotty McCreery
Year: Season 10, 2011
Sweet-toned country cutie, Lauren Alaina, really rocked the country-pop on Idol. I loved the way she sang Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" and so did Steven Tyler. Yet, Lauren could also belt out a Faith Hill song like nobody's business. She was safe in the top three in her American Idol season when she sang "I Hope You Dance" for a judges' choice round.
Alaina's debut album, Wildflower, released in October, 2011, had 10,000 sales in December of that year when she made the Billboard 200 chart. Lauren Alaina is touring with Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan in 2012.
Crystal Bowersox - Runner Up
Some Stats:
Born August 4, 1985 in Elliston, Ohio
Competing finalist: Lee DeWyse
Year: Season 9, 2010
That arty, country hippie gal, Crystal Bowersox had no problem knocking our socks off on Idol. Her unique knack for combining a wide range of sounds such as rock, blues and gospel into her own style of country music kept the American Idol audience intrigued. Crystal could pull off a Rolling Stones or Janis Joplin number equally as well as a Shania Twain hit.
The very fact that Crystal Bowersox' debut album, Farmer's Daughter, released in December, 2010, did better in the first week than winner Lee DeWyse's to me means she gained some success. Of course, Crystal did sing the title track on The Ellen Degeneres Show, but honestly I can't remember if that was before or after the first week of sales anyway. Crystal's also still touring a few years past her Idol season as she's now got tour dates booked up to 2013.
One of "Mama Sox's" most exciting post-Idol moments as she tells it was performing spontaneously on stage at that iconic country shrine, The Grande Ole Opry, last February. She was hanging around backstage at an Oakridge Boys concert when Vince Gill invited her up to sing. He even let her use his guitar which she played while singing one of her original songs, "Mine All Mine." Crystal said about that experience: "I can't believe where I am!"
