‘American Idol’ THE FINAL 3

May 17, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

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Lauren Alaina (Frank MIcelotta/FOX)

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Haley Reinhart (Frank MIcelotta/FOX)

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Scotty McCreery (Frank MIcelotta/FOX)

By Verne Gay | Newsday

With the elimination of James Durbin last week, we’ve reached the final three on “American Idol,” which airs at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. Here’s how the finalists shape up:

Lauren Alaina

Strengths: Country pipes have kept her in the hunt.

Weaknesses: She’s tried, oh how she’s tried, to pry herself out of her comfort zone, which can be defined as anything, musically speaking, south of the Mason-Dixon Line. She’s gotten mixed results, like “Unchained Melody,” which sent her to the bottom two a couple of weeks ago.

Bottom line: Could still be next to go.

Haley Reinhart

Strengths: No one would’ve bet she’d be standing here by mid-May, but there she is. Why? She’s good, and usually connects with the audience and judges.

Weaknesses: She has no obvious voter-fan base, and it’s hard to imagine anyone out there was swooning over her covers of “Call Me” or “Rolling in the Deep,” before dashing off votes. In fact, they didn’t. She landed in the bottom three those nights.

Bottom line: Most likely next to go, unless Lauren evaporates first.

Scotty McCreery

Strengths: Country, and competent country at that. Scotty’s bass vocals roll right out of the heartland, which has kept his fan base locked (and loaded) on his number right from the beginning. That’s a huge benefit for any Idolist, because it means they can count on votes even when they don’t deserve ’em.

Weaknesses: Can you be too country on this show? Apparently not for most of the Southern fans who do most of the voting.

Bottom line: The likely winner, making him the seventh contestant with Southern roots to take the “Idol” crown.