Posted Thu Jan 27, 2011 7:21pm PST by Lyndsey Parker in
Reality Rocks 
Nashville is the music capital of America, with undiscovered talent spilling out of every honky-tonk and busking on every street corner. But Thursday's "American Idol" auditions got off to a surprisingly shaky start at Music City's legendary Ryman Auditorium--with plenty of the usual delusionals we've come to expect from this crazy show. However, by the episode's end, the judges had found a few real Nashville stars...including one, Lauren Alaina, who just may win this whole darn thing.
THE GOOD:
Lauren Alaina - When this incredibly talented 15-year-old powerhouse started belting, I instantly thought, "Wow, they've found this year's Allison Iraheta." The judges took that thought one step further and basically declared her this year's WINNER. "I think we found The One today. We found her!" proclaimed Steven Tyler. And he may be right; I have to say, this girl impressed me, and if she's not at least in the top 10, I'll eat Steven's little hat. And I give her bonus props for having the nerve to challenge the four-times-her-age Aerosmith icon to an "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" sing-off and then totally holding her own. My one gripe about Lauren? Her heartstring-tugging backstory about her cancer-stricken cousin. After Chris Medina's tearjerker from the night before, it sort of fell flat...and really, this girl didn't need a sob story to get ahead. She's just that good.
