Scotty McCreery Wins American Idol 2011 Crown - Video

We’ve seen some of the best go home.

We’ve met two new judges this season.

We’ve learned we don’t miss Simon after all.

And now we know the winner of American Idol 2011 season 10.

17-Year-old country crooner Scotty McCreery took home the gold tonight and is the new American Idol 2011 winner.

Even after last night’s last minute scare, 30 minutes before going live, that Lauren Alaina had lost her voice and Haley Reinhart would be his new competitor.

Scotty made his hometown of Garner North Carolina proud by winning the tenth season’s top prize after a record breaking 122 million votes put him over the top. 

“Scotty had what it took to go the distance and everybody in Garner is very proud of him. The entire town went into shock when we heard that Scotty had won.”

Scotty beat out 17-year-old country singer Lauren Alaina, and emerged as a frontrunner after the eliminations of Jacob Lusk, Haley Reinhart, James Durbin, Stefano Langone, Casey Abrams, Paul McDonald, and Pia Toscano.



So what prize does the winner of American Idol get?

The winner receives a record deal with a major recording label for up to six albums. All previous winners have reportedly earned at least $1 million in their first year after being named winner. Several have gone on to become superstars.

In addition, the top ten finalists go on the road with the “American Idol Summer Tour” kicking off this June and making each contestant a nice six-figure income.

This season of American Idol was a vast improvement over prior seasons. The ousting of bad guy Simon Cowell and the addition of Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez ignited a fresh fire under the show.

Not that this season was without problems and drama.

Related: Was Idol’s James Durbin Arrested?

Things got a bit rocky when Pia Toscano was voted off before smooth operator Stefano Langone. Fans revolted and started a grass roots effort to have her reinstated - but ultimately failed in their attempt.

Fans were ecstatic when Pia announced she had signed a record deal only two days after being voted off the show.

Related: The Pia Toscano and Stefano Langone Drama

And fans cheered when alt-rock sensation Casey Abrams was welcomed back after the judges used their one “save” of the season.

However, some viewers felt that the addition of famous record producer Jimmy Iovine may have led some Idols astray by giving bad advice or pushing them towards a particular song.

Jacob Lusk for example, criticized Iovine for giving him bad advice that Jacob felt ultimately cost him his chance at winning. 

Related: AI’s Jacob Lusk Arrested in L.A. – Mug Shot

And Chris Medina lashed out at producers when he was not invited to the finale live show. He felt that the show really played up his sad story about his fiancée, who suffered a debilitating brain injury, and then dumped him after he was eliminated.

Related: Chris Medina not invited to Idol Finale?

But all-in-all it was a great season. We really believe the changing of the guard propelled American Idol back to what it was in the early days.
And we congratulate Scotty for going the distance and bringing home the win.

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Steven Tyler’s New Book, “I Blew $20 Million on Cocaine and Heroin”

Steven Tyler has lived a hard life.

He is the front man for the band Aerosmith, and has a new job as judge on American Idol.

But dig deep into his past and you will see some of the shocking events that got him to where he is today.

In his new book, “Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?” Tyler talks about his youth and how he was just a normal kid spending most of his days outside,

“I was a mountain boy, barefoot and wild. I’d come back after an afternoon of killing with my slingshot and Red Ryder BB gun with a string of blue jays tied to my belt.”

During his teen years he met fellow band mates Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton and after attending Woodstock decided they should start a band – and the rest is history.

The one constant in the book is Tyler’s outrageous drug use, rehab, drug use, rehab pattern. At age 63 he says drugs are still a struggle and looks back at the years of use and the money spent saying,

“I kept drugs in the drum kits on stage so they would always be near me. I’ve blown $20 million on cocaine, heroin, and prescription drugs. I snorted my plane, I snorted my house. I just couldn’t stop.”

Tyler says he has been in and out of a dozen different rehabs but it always ended the same way – doing more drugs.

He writes that in Aerosmith’s heyday he was buying pounds of coke for $20,000 and snorting massive quantities off the top of bass amps in the studio and on stage. Once the cocaine didn’t satisfy his urges he started buying heroin and injecting it directly into his butt.

After finally getting away from the cocaine and heroin, he says he became addicted to prescription medication which was just as bad, if not worse, then using illegal drugs.

“Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?” is a great read for anybody who likes Aerosmith and the 1970-1980’s rock band lifestyle. But for those American Idol fans new to Steven Tyler you may be a little disappointed since he only talks briefly about the show.

But what a walk down memory lane it is for me. As a teenager I attended an Aerosmith concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis on July 4th, 1980. To this day I remember it. I was still in high school and Aerosmith was at their pinnacle of success.

It was classic, unlike anything bands do today. “Walk this way”, “Sweet Emotion”, “Walk the Dog”, “Toys in the Attic”. And that funny smell in the arena was so thick that we all felt the love.

No Steven - the noise in your head does not bother me. In fact as I write this post, a little voice in my head is singing the words to “Sweet Emotion”.

Man, I feel old now…

Watch Aerosmith Perform ‘Sweet Emotion’ Live


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Lady Gaga To Mentor American Idols Final Four Contestants This Week - Steven Tyler to Perform

Is Jimmy Iovine getting the week off?

Is it time to bring in some new blood to the mentoring mix?

Big news this week for Lady Gaga and American Idol fans as Miss Gaga herself is scheduled to mentor the remaining four Idols during this week’s May 11th show.

James Durbin, Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina and Haley Reinhart are the sole remaining 4 contestants after Jacob Lusk was voted off last week.

And when I heard Haley sing Gaga’s unreleased single “You and I” last week I suspected it was not a coincidence. And I think some folks are getting tired of listening to Jimmy Iovine week after week.

Lusk is tired of him – and even blamed Jimmy for his poor performance last week that ultimately sent him packing.

Related: Idol Jacob Lusk Arrested in L.A. – Mug Shot

Gaga is riding high with her just released music video “Judas”, but is coming under fire from some fans that her hit “Born this way” is a knock-off of Madonna’s “Express Yourself”. We have to admit, they do sound almost identical.

Related: Lady Gaga Releases “Judas” Music Video – Watch
Related: Gaga under fire for Madonna rip-off - Video

But we don’t really want to see Scotty McCreery emerge from some type of country style giant egg contraption, or watch James Durbin rock out wearing a tuxedo made of meat.

So we hope Gaga is gentle with our last four contestants as the stakes this year could not be greater.

But you can tell that an hour show is way more than necessary for simply revealing the voting results, and producers are having to fill the time with other performances.

Last week each contestant sang TWO songs and Jennifer Lopez graced us with a performance.

This Thursday, Steven Tyler will belt out his new single “It Feels So Good” and word has leaked out that Aerosmith will be performing during finale week.

Related: Steven Tyler releases new book and talks Idol

The theme this week is songs by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who wrote most of Elvis Presley’s hit songs.

Really? Lady Gaga and Elvis?

Please Miss Gaga, no meat dresses, giant eggs, crown of thorns, nun outfits, or lesbian kisses – let’s keep things civil. After all, this is family hour. At least they didn’t go with Justin Bieber as mentor.

Related: Lady Gaga takes big fall on stage during concert – Video

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Steven Tyler Releases New Book - Talks about Idol, and Doing Drugs with Joe Perry in Rolling Stone Cover

Remember back in 2008 when Aerosmith announced they were working on a new album?

Remember when they said the project had been scrapped, and so had the tour, and that the band was breaking up?

Now we are getting a little more insight on what was happening to the band during those years in Tyler’s new book “Does the noise in my head bother you?”

The Aerosmith front man and American Idol judge will be on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine next month and said the book was,

"the unbridled truth, the in-your-face, up-close and prodigious tale of Steven Tyler straight from the horse's lips ... All the unexpurgated, brain-jangling tales of debauchery, sex & drugs, transcendence & chemical dependence you will ever want to hear."

Tyler, 63, also says that he did drugs with guitarist Joe Perry in 2008 after many years of both of them being sober.

“Joe Perry was so impaired by snorting prescription pills, he couldn't even play his instrument. But I was no better - I couldn't sing.”

Tyler says he is sober now and enjoying his time as the newest American Idol judge, and would like to get the guys of Aerosmith back together for another run at making an album.

Tyler last appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone's Magazine in the August 1976 issue.

Watch Steven Tyler Sing Medley of Beatles Songs for Paul McCartney

First American Idol Results Show Dominates Ratings

Everybody was holding their breath.

Everybody wondered about the new judges.

Everybody wondered if American Idol could survive without Simon Cowell.

Well, the results are in, and last Thursday’s live results show, the first results show of the season, rang in with a whopping 26.1 million viewers. That may or may not sound like a lot, but in the world of television it is huge.

To put things in perspective, the closest competition was CBS with 9 million viewers for “The Big Bang Theory”. All the other networks struggled to barley hit 4 million viewers.

Host Ryan Seacrest told the audience that there had been 40 million votes for the contestants.

Critics were skeptical.

Steven Tyler was thought to be the weak link going into the season but has since emerged as the new king. Jennifer Lopez has also stepped up to the plate, but after an entire season I wonder if I will be able to stand hearing that voice…. that voice.

And the talent has been better this year and less time has been spent laughing at the losers that never should have made it through the judging door in the first place.

We’re glad to see AI break out of its mold and try to blaze a new trail. And apparently the viewing audience also approves.