Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina Share Details of Year-Long Journey to ‘American Idol’

Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina are returning to the venues that birthed their respective singing careers  during the American Idols Live! tour. For Alaina, that was the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., where she auditioned for 'American Idol.' The runner-up says she had tried to get a guaranteed spot in front of judges by winning 'Chatanooga Idol' six weeks earlier, but she finished sixth.

"The guy who won, I watched him walk up to the table and not make it," Alaina told reporters before her July 30 show in Nashville. She panicked. "Mom, let's go. Let's just leave. He beat me by five places. Let's just get out of here." As we all know, the Rossville, Ga. teenager ended up wowing judges with a version of Faith Hill's 'Like We Never Loved at All.'

This week, McCreery will also return to the city he auditioned in. His memorable version of Josh Turner's 'Your Man' made him an instant judge favorite after his tryout in Milwaukee. Throughout the competition, the high school senior stuck to his country roots whenever possible. "I could have gone out there and sang country one week and sang Frank Sinatra one week to change it up and show I could do something different, but that's not what I wanted to do," he told reporters. The Idols Live! tour stops in Milwaukee on Thursday, August 4.

The future looks bright for Alaina and McCreery, now both country stars, as they have new music expected to be available this fall. McCreery recently said his album will be out before Thanksgiving, and all but one or two of the songs are recorded, while Alaina shared details of a song she co-wrote called 'The Funny Thing About Love.'

Watch Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina Perform 'When You Say Nothing At All'