Alaina's country single bests McCreery's

If "American Idol" viewers voted simply based on the debut singles of Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, we would have had a different outcome.

Though both singles, released Thursday, are mainstream country and truly sappy, Alaina's "Like My Mother Does" is head-and-shoulders above McCreery's "I Love You This Big," mainly because it sounds more believable.

McCreery's opening line is "I know I'm still young, but I know how I feel," yet "This Big" sounds like old-school country that came out long before the North Carolina teenager was born. His country croon fits the chorus well, though it also makes it sound a lot like Garth Brooks' 1990 hit "Unanswered Prayers." There's a thin line between old-school and old-fashioned and "This Big" is the aural equivalent of acid-washed jeans and mullets.

"Idol" conspiracy theorists believe producers saddled McCreery with this song to give Alaina an edge. That's a bit far-fetched, but Alaina certainly got the better end of the deal.

"Like My Mother Does" is another gooey teenage country ballad, but its Reba-style works because it sounds plausible when Alaina sings, "When I'm scared, I bow my head and pray like my mother does." Then again, 16-year-olds don't usually think that way.

Taylor Swift, it ain't. And for either McCreery or Alaina to have a shot at some Swift-sized success, they're going to have to learn how to act their ages and not like pint-size replicas of their parents.