Throughout his championship run on the just-completed 10th season of [article id="1664621"]"American Idol," Scotty McCreery[/article] never really wavered from his country roots ... even when he was singing Stevie Wonder.

And while you've certainly got to give him credit for playing to his strengths, McCreery's down-home crooning -- not to mention his rather boyish good looks -- also earned him a rather bizarre nickname: "Country Bieber." And while he can laugh at the comparisons, if he's being honest, McCreery can't really understand why anyone would equate him to the teen-pop prince. But his fellow "Idol" finalist, Lauren Alaina, certainly can.

"Country Bieber ... I mean, Justin Bieber is the epitome of [a] big star, so it was cool for me," McCreery smiled. "I mean, Justin's a whole lot further ahead than I am ... so, I guess it's mainly because of our age. ..."

"Girls love Scotty McCreery like they love Justin Bieber," Alaina interjected. "It's true."

"Thank you, Lauren," McCreery laughed. "I just figure it's because of our age. Me and Justin are pretty much two young guns."

And with the "Idol" title in the bag, McCreery can now focus on expanding on that whole "young guns" thing ... his first official single, the ballad "I Love You This Big," is already the biggest-selling coronation song since season-seven champ David Cook's "The Time of My Life," and he's beginning to contemplate how his debut album will sound. And, not surprisingly, it's going to be a country affair.

"It's gonna be a good ol' country album," McCreery said. "I like to have that old flavor in my music, but with a contemporary feel, so we'll see where that leads me. I think it'll be a good little mix."

And if you just can't get enough of "Love," well, you're in luck ... McCreery said that you'll have plenty of chances to see him perform it in the coming months on the [article id="1662886"]American Idols Live! Tour[/article].

" 'I Love You This Big' is a great song, it's done me really well so far," he said. "And I'll be singing it a couple hundred more times, so I'm sure you'll be hearing it," he joked.

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