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Scotty McCreery will never forget the moment he won season 10 of "American Idol". After the finale on Wednesday night, May 25, the 17-year-old singer from Garner, North Carolina opened up to Entertainment Weekly how it feels like to win the title. "This feels absolutely amazing. I mean, I'm on top of the world right now. It's just a moment I'll never forget," he gushed.

Met backstage at the Nokia Theater, the country crooner further admitted to have had thought about winning. "Yeah, you know, those thoughts, they cross your mind, and the farther along you get in the process, the more they come through," he said. "But you've got to control that. You've got to focus on what's ahead and focus on the song you're singing that week. Luckily, it's gotten me here."

Asked about his friendship with runner-up Lauren Alaina, Scotty replied, "I met her the first day of Hollywood week, so we've been really close. She's been my schoolmate for the last couple of months. We've had a lot of fun together. We're really close friends. We still are." He went on to praise her as saying, "She's a wonderful young lady."

After he was announced to be the new American Idol at the Wednesday finale, Scotty was showered with kisses by Lauren. Speaking of it, he said with a smile on his face, "Yeah, you know, she told me she was going to do that before the show, if it happened [that I won]. And she stays true to her word, doesn't she?"

Clearly ecstatic about his win, the teen singer also told reporters gathering backstage that he will be smiling for a while. "Carrie Underwood asked us when we met her, 'Your cheeks hurt yet?' " he recalled before adding, "I'll be smiling for a good while now, I promise that."

During the chat, Scotty also reminded reporters that despite his "Idol" win, he is still a high school student who has an AP exam on Thursday, May 26. "I'm still a kid," he said. "I'm still 17. I'm a junior. We'll see. Hopefully I pass it!"