"I felt like I was going to pass out," 16-year-old Alaina said. "I was crossing my fingers and praying (host Ryan Seacrest) was going to call out my name. I feel so blessed to be here, I cannot believe it."
Scotty, 17, thought of his whole Idol experience.
"I had so many emotions going through my head. There have been so many thoughts coming through my head this whole competition. It's just been a crazy ride," he said. "All those memories of the first audition and thinking I was getting cut in Hollywood Week, all those memories were just flying through my head. It was a wild moment."
The two young country singers said they were far from certain that they would make the finale.
"Today, I was kind of telling people, 'Thanks for everything you've done for me,' just in case, because the top three was rock solid," Lauren said. "And I messed up (Wednesday) on my performance and I was unsure what was going to happen. I didn't thing I was going to make the top two. But I'm so glad that I did."
Scotty thought otherwise. "Lauren, she's been my pick for a while now."
As for his chances, he said, "You never know what to think. This competition has been a surprise. Pia (Toscano) going home and James (Durbin) going home. There have been so many surprises this season, so you never know what to think on any given night.
"Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever dreamed I would have made it this far," he said. "I told my dad in Milwaukee, in the arena (at auditions). I looked at him and said, 'Dad, what am I doing here? I'm in over my head. All these people can sing so much better than me.'"
In Tuesday's final performance show, Scotty will sing first and Lauren second. Scotty had the opportunity to pick the order after a post-show coin flip fell in his favor, but he gave Lauren the choice and she decided to take the latter position, considered by many to be the more favorable slot.
The two make for an intriguing pairing as country singers who are the youngest finale duo in Idol history (Lauren would be the youngest winner).
"It's been a wild ride for me and her both and for everybody on this show," Scotty said. "We're both glad to be here and humbled to be still in the running and humbled that America keeps us around. It's two youngsters in it this year. It's a minor country finale."
This youthful pairing wouldn't have been possible if Idol hadn't dropped its minimum age a year, because Lauren was only 15 when she auditioned. "It's like things just fell into place one by one and now there's two young'uns in the top two," she said. "It's just like unbelievable."
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