In 2011, then-teenagers Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina endeared themselves to a lot of television viewers during their Season 10 stint on American Idol. And for that, their careers will probably always be intertwined.

In the six years since Scotty was crowned Idol champion and Lauren finished as the runner-up, both stars have had their shares of successes and setbacks. Scotty scored Top 10 hits with “See You Tonight” and “Feelin’ It” in 2014, but he lost his record contract with Mercury in 2016. Lauren underwent vocal cord surgery in 2014, but she stormed back with her first No. 1 single, “Road Less Traveled,” in 2017.

Lauren’s recent No. 1 has been validating to Scotty, a point he mentioned to Nash Country Daily during a sit-down to chat about his new single, “Five More Minutes.”

“After ‘Road Less Traveled’ went number one, I texted Lauren and let her know how proud I was of her,” said Scotty. “We went through something together with Idol that no one will ever truly understand. It was a blast and fun, but they definitely put us through the wringer, so to go through that with her, she’ll always be kind of a sister to me. We don’t talk as much as we used to, but she’s such an awesome person. And, in my opinion, she’s got one of the best dang voices in Nashville. She’s a powerhouse. I’m so proud of her to get that number one. It kind of validates everything we did on Idol, and it’s so cool to see that success for her.”

Check out Scotty’s new single, “Five More Minutes,” below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dPDBU9MC8c