American Idol

Throughout his time on 'American Idol' (Wed., 8PM ET on FOX) this season, Casey Abrams was always memorable and always a little ... unique. With his quirky sense of humor and no-holds-barred attitude on stage, there was really only one performer that could match him in personality and stage presence.

A lot of people don't realize that Jack Black first came into the public eye as one half of musical duo Tenacious D. The pair tackled Queen's 'Fat Bottomed Girls,' and it was as silly and fun as you'd expect.

We don't know if Abrams has any acting ability, but if he can bring the same kind of charisma and charm he brought to the stage every week, we could see him making fun spot appearances in comedy films. The performance also made us wish we could get a new Tenacious D project before too long.

James Durbin didn't get to rock out with the resident rocker on the 'American Idol' (Wed., 8PM ET on FOX) finale, but he still got to take to the stage with a legendary band. It was a beautiful vocal harmony between Durbin and Judas Priest's Rob Halford as they tackled a medley of two of Priest's biggest hits.

As we know you were anticipating, there was plenty of fire and explosions to help make sure we knew this was a James Durbin performance. All in all, he looked completely comfortable with the band and it was a great preview of the type of career he might have.

In a package on the most shocking elimination of the season, Durbin equated his own elimination to that of Chris Daughtry -- both wound up in fourth place.

After a record-breaking 122 million votes, we have a winner in what has been one of the most hotly debated seasons in 'American Idol''s 10-year history.

With the addition of Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez to the judges' panel, and record industry mogul Jimmy Iovine mentoring the Top 13 every step of the way, some fans agreed with executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe, who labeled this season's contestants the most talented ever.

Still others have bemoaned the light-handed judging of Lopez, Tyler and last-standing original judge Randy Jackson. No matter how you see it, it's hard to deny 750 million votes, the total cast during this 10th outing and the most of any season of 'American Idol' ever.

With just a few hours to go before the 'American Idol' season 10 winner is announced, we asked a number of 'Idol' experts and die-hard fans who they think will take the crown in this season's all-teen, all-country showdown.

While Scotty has been consistent throughout the race, never hitting the bottom three, Lauren has faltered at times under the intense pressure 'American Idol' is known for placing on its contestants. However, after last night's strong finish, Lauren may have pulled a coup. Or is it simply a case of too little, too late?

Find out who the experts think will come out on top in tonight's two-hour finale extravaganza.

The Nokia Theater was crazy yesterday. As an 'Idol' returning to the finale show, it is always so much fun to see past contestants, friends, and producers we have all had the pleasure to know and work with. I love the AI family vibe when there's a finale.

My day started at 9am doing the radio remotes with all the major pop radio stations in the nation. Good times!!! When I arrived at the Nokia Theater, I got in the elevator with Gordon Ramsay. He is exactly the same as he is a on TV - haha. Very into what he is doing.

After the radio remotes, I had a performance with a couple other past Idols for an AT&T pre-show event outside, followed by a television interview and finally to the finale performance show.

Lauren Alaina gave it all she had in her 'American Idol' finale performance last night, but it left her unable to speak afterward.

Alaina is reportedly suffering from laryngitis, and producers were so concerned about the state of her voice yesterday that recently booted contestant Haley Reinhart was brought in as a last-minute substitute in case she couldn't perform.

Luckily, she didn't have to withdraw, but the show's on-site physician reported that she "blew out one of her vocal chords" during rehearsal, and that he "gave her a lot of medicine" to help her perform.

According to Access Hollywood, the strain placed on her voice meant that Alaina had to resort to communicating via pen and paper at the post-show press conference last night. Her rival, Scotty McCreery, gallantly lent a hand, reading her notes aloud to the assembled reporters.

It was a packed hour as 'American Idol' (Tue., 8PM ET on FOX) kicked off its finale week, one night early. Assuming everybody remembered to tune in, they were treated to three songs each by the finalists, and even a special performance by a former 'Idol' winner.

The final round of singing featured new songs that would become the respective singles of Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, should they win the competition. But we have a sneaking suspicion both songs will get released, anyway.

McCreery was given 'Love You This Big,' which was a little kitschy in the title and premise, but allowed him to showcase both the low end and the higher end of his register; a fact that was appreciated by judge Randy Jackson.

The 'American Idol' Season 10 finale airs Wednesday, 8PM ET on FOX.

All season long, we've heard David Cook's remake of Simple Minds' 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' as the farewell song for eliminated contestants. Since this marks the final week of 'American Idol' (Tue., 8PM ET on FOX), we won't get the chance to hear it again as the winner will be crowned.

So Season 7 winner David Cook appeared with his band to close out the show by giving us a live performance of the single. On a night of country music, it was almost startling to hear his smooth rock vocals, but we quickly recovered and remembered how great he was on 'Idol.'

Behind Cook, we got a montage of memories from this 10th season of 'American Idol,' and it was bittersweet seeing some of our favorite moments passing by -- please come back next season, Jacee Badeaux!

The 'American Idol' season finale airs tomorrow night at 8PM ET on FOX.

Tonight, it was finally time for the battle of the country teen titans, with Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina taking to the stage to sing it out for the 'American Idol' title. Or was it? With Lauren suffering from laryngitis, there was talk of third place finisher Haley Reinhart waiting in the wings with 'House of the Rising Sun,' 'I Who Have Nothing' and 'Bennie and the Jets' locked and loaded to hit the stage, if need be.

Of course, we all knew there was nothing that could keep Lauren (or her mom) out of the 'American Idol' finale, and we were right. Ryan Seacrest addressed the situation at the top of the show, asking Lauren how she felt. "I'm here and I'm ready to sing and I'm fine," she said. Seacrest then called the resident 'Idol' doctor to the stage for a statement on Lauren's condition. "Lauren blew out one of her vocal chords (during rehearsal) so her vocal chords were really rough and sprained ... we gave her a lot of medicines and got her an emergency crew, she's gonna do great," said the doc.

With that said, let's get down to it, ya'll!

It was a night of wall-to-wall music on a special Tuesday installment of 'American Idol' (Tue., 8PM ET on FOX). With but a single hour to pack in three rounds of competition between Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, there was hardly time to even get judges' comments in, much less create emotional moments.

For the third round, though, Alaina managed to do just that with a perfectly suited song: 'Like My Mother Does.' In-house mentor Jimmy Iovine chose the song, which we're told will become her single if she wins the season. We have a feeling it might just get released even if she comes in second, though.

Ironically, 'Like My Mother Does' was first released first on Season 7 finalist Kristy Lee Cook's album.

The 'American Idol' Season 10 finale airs Wednesday, 8PM ET on FOX.

As we prepare to bid farewell to another season of 'American Idol,' let us look back and celebrate all that it gave us; the heart wrenching audition stories, the emotional performances, the shocking eliminations and of course, the flaming pianos and reggae-rap breakdowns.

Sure, we could run down the season's top performances but it's really Casey Abrams burying his head in Ryan Seacrest's crotch and Jacob Lusk having a diva meltdown outside the audition room that we'll look back on with warm hearts when we reminisce over 'Idol's tenth outing.

Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery will take to the stage tonight for the all-country 'American Idol' finale. And it's been announced that a previous 'Idol' winner and a Country Music Hall of Famer will both have a hand in it.

Plus, veteran Irish rockers Bono and the Edge will take time out of their North American tour to perform on the results show Wednesday night with cast members from the Broadway musical, 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.'

According to 'USA Today,' Lauren and Scotty will each perform one song chosen for them by their personal musical hero. Specific details haven't been released yet, but we do know that Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood chose one for Lauren, and that the legendary George Strait picked out Scotty's.

It's safe to say we all know a few things are guaranteed to go down at this season's all-country finale. No matter who wins, J.Lo will cry, Lauren will cry, Lauren's mom will cry (and change hairdos at least twice in the two-hour show), James Durbin will set something on fire and Casey Abrams and/or Haley Reinhart will get their growl on.

As for the rest of the show, we've got some info on what the producers and the 'Idols' have in store for the season 10 send-off, including a performance from one of the biggest rock bands of all time and some hints on what we'll be hearing from two of this season's Top 3 on Wednesday night.

Haley Reinhart, en route to 'Idol' finale rehearsal, hopped on the phone for her exit interview with the press, this afternoon to discuss her often rocky run on the show and what's ahead.

The Top 3 finalist may have won viewers over after four trips to the bottom three, but the judges still gave Haley a hard time, which many fans and apparently some of her fellow contestants, took issue with. Asked about their unnecessary roughness, Haley said she took it all in stride.

"I believe their intentions for it, throughout this whole process was simply to push me along further because it was apparent that they liked to get me to where I could be at the top of my game, get me a little fired up inside so I'd come with something they really, really didn't expect or what not. It could go both ways, it's up to America. As far as if it hindered me anything, I mean, I got to Top 3, so that's quite alright."