Poor Lauren Alaina. With an injured vocal chord, she was absent from much of the performances during the 'American Idol' (Wed., 8PM ET on FOX) finale. Probably she was saving her voice for her big duet with her own idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood.

The pair tackled Underwood's hit 'Before He Cheats,' but even in this performance, Alaina had to give more of the song to Underwood than was probably originally intended. Still, she was given her moments to shine, and it proved to be a very solid performance.

We couldn't help but think, while watching this finale, that the results almost don't matter. Both Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery have huge careers just waiting for them in country music. Alaina, however, has a better shot at the same crossover success Underwood has found in pop music.