John Rich Says Nashville’s ‘Arms Will Be Wide Open’ for This Year’s ‘American Idol’ Winner
Days before he won on the 'Celebrity Apprentice' finale, John Rich was in New York, so he stopped by Fox and Friends. When the interview turned to 'American Idol,' Rich was quick to give his opinion on the show, where two contestants are left standing: Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina.
As for the fact that both 'Idol' finalists are country, Rich said, "Yeah, that's testament I think to country music -- how big the country music fan base is now." He went on to say, "Both of those artists are incredible gifted artists and I promise you when they come to Nashville, everybody's arms will be wide open."
The outspoken country star seems to echo what millions of Americans feel -- we just can't get enough of McCreery and Alaina. 90 million votes were cast last week, and the results marked a first for the singing competition: two country singers battle for the top spot tonight, and no matter what happens, country music will reign as the Season 10 winner of 'Idol' is named.
Even though Rich came up the "hard way," so-to-speak (not winning a contest), he predicts, "They're still gonna have a hard route because country music fans are very discerning."
"They [country fans] know what they're listening to," Rich continues. "But these artists are great and now they're gonna have to come to Nashville and make great records, original songs and songs that really say who they are, and not cover songs."
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