This year, we're betting that 'American Idol' stars Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina are mostly thankful that turkey day is firmly behind them. The Season 10 winner and runner-up both had pretty bad experiences yesterday.

An estimated 50 million viewers were watching as country crooner McCreery was revealed to be lip-syncing at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.

Meanwhile, Alaina can now join the pantheon of singers -- yes, we mean you Christina Aguilera, Cyndia Lauper and ... um ... Scotty McCreery -- who've flubbed the national anthem on live TV.

Jennifer Lopez recently told the BBC that she's "on the fence" about returning to 'American Idol' next season. Although many insiders have dismissed it as just a ploy to get a pay hike, 'Idol' execs are already discussing possible replacements should they not be able to entice J.Lo to return.

"Right now the star of 'American Idol' is Steven Tyler," an insider source tells Popeater. "Everyone thought after Simon announced he was leaving that [Lopez] would fill the void. How wrong were they? It's all about Steven, who's already signed on for Season 11."

When Bono comes a-knockin', ratings come a-flockin', and not even an original song from 'Idol' fan favorite Haley Reinhart is safe.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Haley Reinhart was supposed to debut an original song during the 'American Idol' season 10 finale, but those plans were squashed to make room for Bono and the cast of 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.'

"That was going to happen," Reinhart said when asked about performing an original song. "And then Bono came in and it was taken away."

So, did Lee DeWyze refuse to participate in the 'American Idol' finale or was he never asked?

According to Zap2It, 'American Idol' executive producer Nigel Lythgoe said DeWyze, winner of season 9, refused to participate in the finale.

But, DeWyze hit back on Twitter saying he was not asked to be involved ... until the last second. Producers asked him to present 'American Idol' season 10 winner Scotty McCreery with the trophy.

"I was not asked to be involved in the Finale. It wasn't until about 2 minutes before they announced that Nigel had approached me and asked if he could 'borrow' me for a second," DeWyze said on Twitter.

"I didn't feel a last second jump on stage was appropriate. It was Scotty's moment."

In other TV news ...

• Jon Hamm will direct the 'Mad Men' season 5 premiere ... whenever it will air. "The wheels have officially been set in motion to make that happen. It's a very exciting challenge that I'm looking forward to with a mixture of utter fear and excitement." [TVLine]

• Roseanne Barr is in talks to return to sitcoms. The TV veteran is being courted by Chelsea Handler to appear in ABC's 'Are You There, Vodka? It's Me Chelsea?' Handler wants the 'Roseanne' star to play aunt to Laura Prepon's Chelsea character. [THR]

• 'True Blood' in 3D? Not quite yet, but Alan Ball says it could happen soon. The 'True Blood' executive producer said HBO is interested and they even shot a scene in 3D, but he doubts it'll make it to air this year. [LA Times]

'American Idol' runner-up Lauren Alaina stopped by 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' (Weeknights, 11:35PM ET on NBC) and revealed some shocking news about her previous attempts to enter a TV singing contest.

Host Jay Leno and fellow guest Piers Morgan began by asking Lauren about her relationship with 'Idol' champ Scotty McCreery. After insisting that they're just friends, Lauren summed-up the situation: "Everyone wants us to like each other but we just can't seem to do it!"

Then, discussing this week's 'American Idol' finale, Morgan spoke from experience as a veteran competition show judge and told Lauren: "I thought you were the better singer."

And that's when she landed the zinger. "I tried out for your show and didn't get it. Twice!" As Morgan reeled in surprise, she repeated that yes, she auditioned for 'America's Got Talent' -- not just once, but twice -- and "I didn't make it past the first round."

'American Idol' season 10 runner-up, Lauren Alaina hopped on the phone this afternoon to talk to the press about her experience as one of the youngest finalists in 'Idol' history. The sixteen-year-old put in three solid performances on Tuesday night, despite facing Laryngitis. Though it didn't win her the competition, Lauren's tenacity is the mark of a true professional.

"The show must go on, always," said the Georgia native. "The doctor came in and he took really good care of me and he got my voice as good as he could so I just had to go out there and do the best that I could," said Lauren.

Your 'American Idol' season 10 winner, Scotty McCreery took some time out of the post-finale whirlwind of appearances and interviews, this afternoon, to talk to the press in the usual morning-after conference call.

"This is pretty wild, I gotta say. I mean it's a whole lot more than I bargained for coming into it. I never would have expected it but I'm handling it well. It's what I asked for and this is my new life. It's a really crazy ride, so far," said Scotty at outset of the call.

But if anyone can handle the life changing transformation that winning 'American Idol' brings, it's McCreery. The cool as a cucumber seventeen-year-old exuded confidence this season on the 'Idol' stage. Asked if he ever doubted his standing with America, however, Scotty was humble, as expected from the budding southern gentleman, heaping praise on his toughest competition, Lauren Alaina.

Lauren Alaina's final performance on 'American Idol' last night, a duet with her 'Idol' idol Carrie Underwood, wasn't short on emotions. The pair sang the country vixen's "Before He Cheats," showing that runner-up Alaina can hold her own with the biggest of stars.

Over the past few weeks, 16-year-old Chattanooga, Tenn. native has made a name for herself as quite the Southern chanteuse, pulling influence from Carrie Underwood to Faith Hill. The singer's stage presence and vocal prowess has been undeniable, as the teen can hit the highest notes with grace and precision. When she sang her country single 'Like My Mother Does,' she inspired judge Steven Tyler to say "The first time I saw you I thought you were my 'American Idol,' and now I think America will find it to be true." Take a listen to 'Like My Mother Does' below, premiering exclusively at AOL Music.

Over the past weeks, newly crowned 'American Idol' Scotty McCreery has made a name for himself as quite the showman, pulling influence from arena star Garth Brooks. The 17-year-old Garner, N.C. native first picked up a guitar at the age of 10 and often impersonated Elvis Presley.

His performance of 'Gone' by Montgomery Gentry showed off the Carolinian's vocal range from Southern baritone to country-fried tenor. McCreery also hit all the right notes on his first single 'I Love You This Big,' a classic-sounding country tune, prompting Idol judge Jennifer Lopez to say McCreery was a "beautiful storyteller" and he facilitates the song with his heartfelt emotion.

Now McCreery is offering fans an exclusive first listen of his new single, 'I Love You This Big,' exclusively through AOL Music.

After being crowned 'American Idol' Season 10 champ last night, teenage country singer Scotty McCreery headed backstage to talk to reporters about his momentous victory. How does it feel to be crowned 'American Idol'?

McCreery told 'Entertainment Weekly' that, "[It] feels absolutely amazing. I mean, I'm on top of the world right now. It's just a moment I'll never forget."

The 17-year old said that while he had allowed himself to dream of winning the title, he'd managed to push those thoughts to one side and concentrate instead on the competition.

"You've got to control that. You've got to focus on what's ahead and focus on the song you're singing that week. Luckily, it's gotten me here."

We may not have been psyched about tonight's finale but a number of great performances and self-parodying clips had us clapping along and laughing out loud at this season 10 finale show. With no real drama surrounding the Scotty/Lauren race, the final hours of season 10 put the focus on a parade of fantastic guest appearances and performances. What other show can give you Tom Jones, Kirk Franklin, Judas Priest and Lady Gaga, all in the same night?!

Find out what myself, Rickey Yaneza (Rickey.org) and MJ Santilli (MJs Big Blog) have to say as we put season 10 to bed and look ahead at what's next for 'American Idol,' as well Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, in this post-finale edition of AOL TV's 'American Idol' talk show 'Something Pitchy!'

It's been a crazy ride this season on 'American Idol' (Wed., 8PM ET on FOX), but it came down to two country singers who aren't even old enough to vote yet. Scotty McCreery slowly expanded his vocal range as we moved along, while Alaina nearly didn't make the finale at all thanks to a blown vocal chord.

They both gave it all they had, bringing us two new songs at the end of the performance night that we could both see as hits in country music radio. In fact, as far as their career potential goes, this result almost doesn't matter.

The night was so packed with special guests and performances from all the Top 13 Idols from Season 10 that by the time Ryan said to dim the lights, we couldn't believe it was already time to find out who'd won.

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.

As expected, Laday Gaga kept it weird on the 'American Idol' (Wed., 8PM ET on FOX) season finale. She performed her new single, 'The Edge of Glory,' from atop a makeshift cliff, starting off with a bizarre headpiece that made her head look like it was the same shape as Stewie's from 'Family Guy.'

She stayed up there throughout the entire performance, though she still managed to strike some very shocking poses for a family show. Halfway through the performance, one of her dancers made his way up there with her, and it was none other than former 'So You Think You Can Dance' contestant Mark Kanemura.

He was always such a strange and unique performer on the show, we couldn't have picked a better place for his career to take him. Gaga and he got very intimate as the song came to a close, climaxing with a dramatic fall from the cliff.

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.