Superstars swing through the hallways of "American Idol" on a weekly basis, but on Wednesday (April 27), Lauren Alaina was greeted by one of her very own idols. Miley Cyrus surprised the finalist with an impromptu visit during her mentoring session.
With the assistance of Babyface and Jimmy Iovine, Alaina's weekly training session was running smoothly as she rehearsed her cover of Carole King's "Where You Lead."
"About halfway through my meeting with Jimmy, he had a big surprise for me," Alaina gushed to viewers in a pre-taped segment on the show. "Miley Cyrus walks in. I was like [jaw drops open] ... she was so nice and she gave me such great advice."
With her long curly locks and dressed in an all-black ensemble, Cyrus offered a hug to the aspiring songstress and shared a few friendly words of advice.
"I listen to your music all the time. You're awesome," the "Hannah Montana" star told the 16-year-old. "The most important thing you can do is just do it for yourself because you will always have mean comments. People will always talk about you and that's never going to change."
Alaina's impromptu visit from Miley seemed to have boosted her confidence for Wednesday night's performance. From those high-hitting notes to her inviting a male audience member onstage, the contestant playfully strutted, ending her performance with a chuckle.
News of Cyrus' surprise appearance on "Idol" hit the Internet early Wednesday morning when E! Online reported that Iovine asked the superstar to be a mentor as a result of a remark he'd made earlier in the competition. A few weeks back, Alaina chose to sing Cyrus' hit song "The Climb," which led Iovine to tell the contestant she was "a much stronger singer than Miley Cyrus."