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LOS ANGELES — Great Scott! America has a new “Idol!”
Twangy teen heartthrob Scotty McCreery, a former grocery-store bagger from Garner, NC, bested girl-next-door Lauren Alaina in “American Idol’s” all-country finale last night.
When host Ryan Seacrest announced McCreery’s victory, the young sensation bent over in exhaustion.
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The 17-year-old promised he’d remain pals with Alaina, the 16-year-old runner-up and fellow country singer.
“It has been a year since me and Lauren Alaina tried out. Me and her have been together since Day 1, we’re going to stay together,” he said.
“I never in my wildest dreams . . . I have to thank the Lord first. He got me here.”
The graceful runner-up then hugged McCreery before “Idol” judge Jennifer Lopez and the rest of the contestants swarmed him.
McCreery was so overcome by emotion, he barely belted out any notes of the song “I Love You This Big” as he hugged loved ones in the audience.
During Tuesday night’s performance finale, judges Lopez, Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler had seemed to favor the 16-year-old Georgia peach Alaina, who was fighting to overcome laryngitis.
But by yesterday morning, a show-record 122 million votes were cast and vote-tracking Web site DialIdol.com, which measures phone ballots by busy signals, had already said McCreery was the hands-down winner.
Last night’s two-hour live finale — featuring the youngest pair of finalists in show history — included live performances by Beyoncé, Tim McGraw, Bono, The Edge and Lady Gaga.
McCreery, an 11th-grade honors student, “up until two or three months ago was just your average kid,” said Garner Magnet HS Principal Drew Cook. “I think that is part of his appeal.”
McCreery’ has been communicating with teachers via Skype and e-mail since January, Cook told The Post.
With David K. Li in New York