Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Season 10 American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina showed up at Sovereign Bank Stadium Saturday morning with a healthy dose of country charm.

Oh, she sorta dodged some of the more serious questions, like the next single she’ll release from her debut album, “Wildflower.”

But she chatted amicably with WGTY operations manager Scott Donato for a while, answered a few questions from fans then spent the rest of an hour signing autographs and posing for photos with folks who turned out for the York Revolution’s Fan Fest.

Lauren says she still considers herself a “regular gal,” partly because she didn’t start singing seriously until a short while before she auditioned for Idol and has trouble believing all that’s happened since.

She said she still gets to go back home to Georgia every couple weeks to see her friends, but admits she misses some parts of teen life. She missed her prom, for instance.

“But I crashed a prom in Kentucky a couple weeks ago,” she said with a big grin. “Everybody went crazy.”

Saturday’s duties at Sovereign Bank Stadium included throwing out the first pitch at a pre-season game between the Revolution and the York County All-Stars.

Lauren Alaina frowned at the prospect.

“It was a little embarrassing the last time,” she said. “I threw the ball into the stands.”

Among the other things fan learned about Lauren on Saturday.

* Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert are among the country singers she admires, but Lauren says she isn’t as crazy as Miranda and doesn’t cuss as much. “I don’t cuss,” Lauren says, reminding Scott of the lyrics in one of her songs.

* She was “mad” when Colton Dixon was eliminated from Idol Thursday night because he was one of her favorites. For who she thinks will win now, go here.

* She thanked her mother for “putting her life on hold” to travel along with her on tours and appearances because, after all, she is still just a teenager.

* She wrote her first song at age 9, after a relative was in a car crash, and it took her only a couple of hours. “But I used someone else’s song,” she admitted. “I just wrote new words.” Some songs comes quickly, she said. Others she might work on for months.

Lauren didn’t sing for the crowd in York; she’s scheduled to perform Saturday night in York at Bob’s Birthday Bash, hosted by radio station BOB 94.9 of Harrisburg.

But that didn’t keep her from breaking into song whenever there was a lull in the activity, including singing along to Rihanna’s “S&M” back at the WGTY tent between autographs.

The country charm was still intact as she coaxed a middle-aged man to pose for a photo even though he said he only wanted an autograph. “You’re going to hurt my feelings,” she said with a smile.

And when a fan asked her to autograph a ticket for Bob’s Birthday Bash, hosted by a competing country radio station, she hesitated, turned to WGTY’s Donato and said: “I don’t want to cheat on you.”

He told her it was OK to autograph it anyway.

Once everyone had their autographs, it was off to the pitcher’s mound, decked out in a pink Revolution jersey.

That first pitch?

Yep, it sailed way over the catcher’s head.

Lauren Alaina raised her arms in triumph just the same.

Editor’s Note: Go here for more photos of Lauren Alaina in York.