Scotty McCreery's #1 BillBoard sales of 197,000 for "Clear As Day" were just announced and after listening to Lauren Alaina's new album, "Wildflower" (only $7.99 at Amazon.com!), I can easily see who has won American Idol Season 10. No, I am not going to say it was Lauren, and I am not going to say it is Scotty either. The winner is obviously UMG Mercury Nashville records who will most likely end up with two #1 Billboard Country albums from two very malleable and marketable teen country stars. People may have complained about having two teen country idols, but after hearing both albums they each definitely lean in two different directions. Scotty's "Clear As Day" has a very "modern traditional" sound that will appeal to a lot of people who prefer more traditional country music (especially older folks who actually buy physical CD's and do not download illegally from file sharing sites.) Lauren's "Wildflower" leans much more to a pop radio country sound which will appeal to not only to the younger country crowd but also with more crossover interest from the broader pop market. I think her album sounds very good, and I was never a big fan of her during Idol. I think it will most likely outsell Scotty's second week sales (and Martina McBride) to hit #1 on the country charts. My least favorite part of the "Wildflower" CD is the cover art, which I think portrays the album even less now after I have heard it in its entirety. I am guessing next week she will break 100K, and Scotty will be slightly under, but in any case it's a win-win scenario for UMG Nashville. I do not think they really care who is the #1 and who is the #2 country album next week as long as they are both their artists!