This may have taken Southern manners to
an extreme:

Twice lately, an “American Idol”
finalist handed a big advantage to a competitor. In 2011, Scotty
McCreery survived the gesture; this year, Kree Harrison didn't.

This is the last of three stories I sent to papers, previewing the "American Idol" season that starts Wednesday and Thursday, Jan.16-17. The previous blogs offer an overview and a box with details. Here's a story looking at "Idol" changes, especially the fresh interest in country music:

By MIKE HUGHES

On the surface, the new “American
Idol” season looks suspiciously like the 11 previous ones.

"American Idol" viewers ofte get way too random, serving up some nasty surprises. Not this time, though.

After Wednesday's show (see two blogs back), I predicted that Hollie Cavanagh and Heejun Han  would be in th bottom two, with Hollie sent home. That would be fair, I said -- but the one who really should be sent is Skyler Laine.

And on Thursday's results show? Heejun and Hollie were, indeed, in  the final two; Heejun, however, was sent home. As a bonus, Skyler was in the bottom three.

This is the ideal ending for "American Idol": The right person wins, a nice-and-cheerful person finishes second,  both have big things ahead. My previous blog is the interview with Scotty McCreery, the winner; here's the story I sent to papers on Lauren Alaina, the runner-up:

By MIKE HUGHES

In her five months on “American
Idol,” Lauren Alaina has grown musically and shrunk physically.

Scotty McCreery fits cozily into his new "American Idol" fame. He's a classic country guy ... albeit with a slight Puerto Rican twist. Here's the story I sent to papers:

 By MIKE HUGHES

Scotty McCreery isn't your typical,
cookie-cutter “American Idol” winner.

He sings deep, he seems casual, he
talks country. And he's one-quarter Puerto Rican.

So there are happy endings, after all. Tonight -- four hours after Oprah Winfrey disappointed us with a so-so farewell -- "American Idol" got it right. Scotty McCreery, who already has the sound and the feel of a country star, was named the winner.

Yes, I worried about it (see previous blog) after Lauren Alaina got all the breaks in Tuesday's performance finale. For two straight years, my favorite -- Adam Lambert and Crystal Bowersox -- had lost.

Going into tonight, I was somewhere between 95 and 107 percent sure that Scotty McCreery would win "American Idol." Now that's shrunk to 43 percent, tops.

What happened? A best-case scenario for Lauren Alaina, with:

1) An emotional tug for her at the beginning, with a small fuss about her voice being blown out during rehearsals.

2) A big tug for her at the end. She got to sing about her mom ... while hugging her actual, weeping mom.

This has been a fascinating "American Idol" season, both for what it delivered (great and diverse voices) and what it lost (most of that diversity, as the voters took over.

I'm fairly happy with this, because I think Scotty McCreery will make a worthy champion. Nashville -- which has had plenty of teen females -- is about to get a 17-ytear-old star, with an old guy's voice.

Still, it's interesting to look at what happened. Here's the story I sent to papers:

 By MIKE HUGHES

Here we are, encased in reality-competition finales.

The block right before this one looks at Sunday's "Celebrity Apprentice" finalists; the ones before that have my ranting about "American Idol." Now let's hear from Haley Reinhart, who was ousted (unfairly) from "Idol" Thursday; here's the story I sent to papers:

 By MIKE HUGHES

Standing on the “American Idol”
stage this week were two kids and (musically speaking) an old soul.

1) OK, I'm really bummed about this: On tonight's "American Idol," I just heard Nicole Scherzinger sing (quite often), "Dance with your body." What, exactly, is the alternative? Dance with your luggage?

2) OK, that's not really what I'm the most bummed about. Lauren Alaina, a likable person with terribly average talent, gets to be this year's "American Idol" runner-up.

3) But really, once you've told people to dance, why would you feel you had to specify "with your body"?  Wouldn't that be assumed?