L auren Alaina may have lost "American Idol" -- but she still feels like a winner after singing with Carrie Underwood.
"Carrie has been my Idol since she was on this show in Scotty's position," Alaina told reporters in the press room after Wednesday night's show in which Scotty McCreery was crowned the new Idol; a record 122 million votes were cast for the finale. Underwood won season 5 of the Fox hit.
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Performing with Underwood "was a dream come true," continued Alaina. "I love Carrie -- she is amazing, I got to sing with her that makes me feel pretty awesome."
What did Underwood whisper in her ear? "She said, 'Wow, that was incredible. We should take that on the road,'" Alaina said.
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Now that the show is over -- but the tour has not yet begun -- what are Alaina's plans? "I get to sleep and eat unhealthy food," said the country singer, who dropped 20 pounds while competing. On second thought: "Actually, I'm not gonna do that."
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Competing was an eye-opening experience with Alaina. "Every day I learned something new about myself. I learned that I cry a lot. I didn't cry tonight because I was happy," she said. "How could I be unhappy with second place? There's a million people out there that would love to be in my position and I'm blessed."
"Life is a journey and you have to go with each step, stumbles only makes you stronger. I feel like things happen for a reason and God has a pan for me and his plan was to give me second place," she added. (Not hurting the situation either? She'll get a Ford - as the company is a sponsor - as a prize as well. Her choice? "Maybe a GT.")
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She had nothing bad to say about the judges, especially Steven Tyler. "Steven was really nice to me," Alaina told reporters. Alaina also said earlier that night that she was sure McCreery would take the top prize.
"I knew Scotty was gonna win," she said. "I knew in my heart and I accepted it. ... I couldn't pick a more perfect person to get second place to. I know that's cheesy, but he's my best friend."
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