Lauren Alaina

Lauren Alaina once told an interviewer that she wanted to perform at the Grand Ole Opry by the time she was 16. "You've got high hopes," she was told. As it turns out, she hadn't begun to envision all that was in store for her before entering her junior year in high school. She was the runner-up on Season 10 of American Idol, where her strong vocal performances earned comparisons to the genre's premier vocalists, Carrie Underwood and Martina McBride. A record-breaking 122.4 million votes were cast for Lauren and Idol winner Scotty McCreery. Soon after, she made her much-anticipated Opry debut to sing her debut hit, "Like My Mother Does." Her debut album Wildflower was released in October of 2011 and landed at No. 2 on the Billboard's Top Country Album chart and an impressive No. 5 on the Billboard Top 200. She became the youngest female artist to debut this high on the Billboard charts since LeAnn Rimes' debut 15 years ago and is the best-selling country female debut since 1996.