Gaga and McCreery Pairing Make for an Awkward Moment
What do you get when you pair Lady Gaga with a young, homesick, God-fearing country singer from the south and tell them to work together?
"American Idol" fans found out last night.
Gaga mentored the remaining four contestants for their second song choices of the evening – songs that came from a list of hits from the Leiber & Stoller songbook. The duo wrote songs for performers such as Elvis, Ben E. King and The Searchers.
Scotty McCreery chose “Young Blood” by The Coasters.
As Gaga began to offer racy advice to McCreery, who is 17, he smiled nervously and dropped his gaze to the floor, clearly embarrassed by her remarks.
“Apparently, he’s a bit more conservative than I had imagined,” Gaga says in the camera afterward.
“I just felt like I needed to kiss my cross [necklace],” McCreery said, “and say, ‘Lord, this is not my doing.’”
During the first round of performances, the contestants were supposed to sing a song that inspires them. McCreery picked “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” by Alan Jackson about the September 11 attacks. The chorus of the song includes the words, “But I know Jesus and I talk to God / And I remember this from when I was young / Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us / And the greatest is love.”
Those aren’t just words in a song to McCreery.
McCreery first started singing publicly at First Baptist Church in his hometown of Garner, N.C., and until he entered the American Idol competition, he was still attending there as well as playing baseball for this high school team and working as a bagger at Lowes Foods.
He's been seen wearing an "I am Second" bracelet during his performances to promote the movement that is indented to inspire people to live for God and for others. And on Tuesday, a fan tweeted a message to McCreery telling him everyone in a youth group in Newport, Ark., would be watching and voting for him, prompting this reply from him, “wow, i love that! I miss those youth group days on wed. nights! Thanks for the support and tell erybody (sic) in youth i said Hey!”
Another American Idol contestant will be eliminated Thursday night, leaving just three to compete for the top prize.