The season 10 American Idol finale on May 25, 2010 wasn’t exactly packed with surprises: most people called a Scotty win, the performers were those who had albums or movies to promote, and Idol attempted several not-so-funny spoofs on the judges and past performances. However, the wide range of performances and intense emotion present on stage made the predictable finale fun to watch.
The show opened with a Top 13 rendition of “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga, which, in all honesty, was not very good. Lady Gaga made an appearance later in the show, singing “The Edge of Glory” while dancing with a half-naked man before throwing herself off of a makeshift cliff. Other performances included a Beyonce medley featuring Beyonce herself, and a Tom Jones medley performed by the Top 13 boys.
Scotty McCreery from Garner and Lauren Alaina, the two finalists, were definitely the stars of the evening and despite great performances with their idols — Scotty with Tim McGraw and Lauren with Carrie Underwood — both were visibly anxious to get to the results. Though Carrie Underwood’s strong vocals outshone Lauren in Underwood’s hit, “Before He Cheats,” Scotty held his own in his duet with McGraw, singing “Live Like You Were Dying,” which turned out to be one of my favorite performances of the evening.
Others from the show who had been eliminated early on also shone, including Haley Reinhart, who finished in third place and rocker James Durbin who has been compared to successful Season 8 finalist Adam Lambert. However, it was Pia Toscano who claimed the title of “Most Shocking Elimination” during the Wednesday night finale — she ended her run with a ninth-place finish, despite being touted as a fan favorite for most of the season.
When Scotty McCreery was finally announced as the new American Idol, he broke down into tears and hugged his family and other finalists as he attempted to get through his new single, “I Love You This Big.” Several kisses between him and second-place finisher, Lauren, prompted buzz that the pair were dating, but they quickly denied the rumors.
Although the Season 10 finale was reminiscent of almost every other season, it included some impressive performances and an emotional finish that made it worth watching, if not revisiting again on your DVR.
