Idol Chatter & Voice Views

More than 10,000 turned out Saturday to greet Lauren Alaina at Coolidge Park on her return to Rossville, Ga.

She received a key to the city from Mayor Johnny Baker, who proclaimed “she’s not the pride of Rossville anymore; she’s the pride of America,” according to Chattanoogan.com.

Lauren being Lauren, she proclaimed that she was thrilled to be home and “never enjoyed my hair frizzing out so much,” a reference to the humid weather in Chattanooga.

Lauren, 16, sang “Anyway” and “Flat on the Floor” for the crowd. She dedicated the former to the tornado victims in the south, having  toured some of the devastation earlier in the day.

Her day also included a visit to Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School, where she’s a sophomore, and the honor of throwing out the first pitch at a minor league baseball game, where she also sang “God Bless America.”

She got her text message from the judges at an AT&T store. Her judges’ pick song for Wednesday: Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance.”