American Idol (8pm, Fox) - In the first part of a two-part season finale, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina battle it out, singing three songs each. The winner will be announced in a two-hour finale airing tomorrow night at 8 p.m. There's an 'Idol' viewing party tonight at the Garner High School gym, and tomorrow night, the viewing party for the finale moves to the RBC Center in Raleigh. Both of those events begin at 7 p.m.

Biggest Loser Couples (8pm, NBC) - After viewer votes determine the third finalist, the winner of the $250,000 prize is crowned in the Season 11 finale. The eliminated players return to weigh in for the $100,000 at-home prize.

Frontline: Wikisecrets (9pm, UNC-TV) - Martin Smith examines the WikiLeaks scandal, in which classified U.S. material -- including secret cables and a controversial video -- was made public. Includes remarks from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Brian Manning, the father of Army Pvt. Bradley E. Manning, who is accused of leaking the information.

Dancing with the Stars (9pm, ABC) - A winner is announced in the 12th-season finale.

Glee (9pm, Fox) - In the Season 2 finale, the glee kids head to New York to compete in Nationals and take in the sights and sounds of the city. Patti LuPone appears as herself.

The Voice (10pm, NBC) - Part 3 of the battle rounds continues. Reba McEntire, Monica, Sia Furler, and Adam Blackstone are the coaches' advisors.

Here are some Scotty McCreery nuggets for you -- some McNuggets, if you will...

-Scotty won the "American Idol" coin toss, which determines who gets to sing first on next Tuesday night's show. According to Billboard Magazine, the coin featured a picture of Scotty's face on one side and Lauren's on the other. Scotty, a perfect Southern gentleman, deferred to Lauren, who said she'd like to go second. Billboard says the person who sings second is thought to have a slight advantage. Yes, well, we shall see about that.

-How much could Scotty potentially earn as a result of his "Idol" run? Well, as of this week, "Idol" Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood has sold more than 12 million albums and nearly . . .

Garner town officials confirmed today that the "American Idol" finale party at the RBC Center on Wednesday night will begin 7 p.m.

But the town will also host a viewing party at the Garner High gym for Tuesday night's performance episode. "American Idol" airs at 8 p.m. and the Garner gathering will begin at 7 p.m.

Thousands of fans are expected to show up to cheer on Garner's Scotty McCreery, who advanced last night and earned a top-two spot on the show.

I'm back on recap duty tonight because Thad is reporting again from the "American Idol" viewing party in Garner. I'll try to make him proud!

The three finalists come out for a quick hello, and the first thing I notice is that Scotty is not wearing plaid. I repeat: Scotty is not wearing plaid.

Seacrest throws us straight to a filmed segment where the three finalists (Scotty, Haley, Lauren) plus ousted James Durbin meet J.J. Freakin' Abrams at his Bad Robot production company. Scotty is wearing his Garner "Blue Crew" t-shirt. If Garner High is not selling those on the internet now to raise money for their Booster Club, they are missing a huge opportunity. 

Abrams shows the Idols scenes from his latest film, "Super 8," a movie about some kids who ... do something. It must be connected to Fox in some way. I can tell you it has Kyle Chandler from "Friday Night Lights" and it's in 3D. The Idol kids just see a little and they beg for more. Don't get greedy!

Jimmy Iovine predicted a guy would be in next week's "American Idol" finale -- and he was right. Garner's Scott McCreery was the first contestant sent to safety at Thursday night's results show, an emotional hour-long segment that showed footage from all three finalists' homecoming rallies from last weekend. He'll compete for all the marbles next week against Lauren Alaina.

Josh Hamilton is following Scotty.

American Idol (8pm, Fox) - Hold your breath, McCreerians: Someone goes home tonight. But first, performances from Il Volo, Nicole Scherzinger and 50 Cent.

Big Bang Theory (8pm, CBS) - In the fourth season finale, Raj moves in with Sheldon when Leonard and Priya's "Star Trek" bedroom fantasy is too much for him.

The Office (9pm, NBC) - In the Season 7 finale, Jim takes the lead on a committee interviewing potential candidates for the branch manager job.  The hopefuls include Andy, Darryl, and Dwight, but also candidates played by Jim Carrey, Will Arnett, Ricky Gervais, Catherine Tate, James Spader, Warren Buffett, and Ray Romano.

The Mentalist (9pm, CBS) - CBS has back-to-back episodes tonight to end the show's third season. In the episodes, a CBI mole is discovered and Patrick Jane finally confronts Red John face-to-face.

Grey's Anatomy (9pm, ABC) - In the seventh season finale, Meredith's deceit in Derek's clinical trial comes to light, jeopardizing her career and causing unintended consequences for others. Also, Owen announces his choice for chief resident.

Bones (9pm, Fox) - A bowler's remains are found in an automatic pinsetter in the Season 6 finale, and Booth goes undercover to fill an injured Max's spot on the victim's team to gather clues and suspects.

Parks and Recreation (10pm, NBC) - Two new episodes tonight mark the end of Season 3. In the final episode, Leslie organizes a memorial service or a dearly departed friend and Chris deals with a health problem.

Private Practice (10pm, ABC) - Season 4 ends with Oceanside Wellness facing an existential crisis as a result of its vulnerabilities. Whatever that means. More importantly, Addison has a new admirer, how is played by Benjamin Bratt.

Scotty McCreery and the other two "American Idol" finalists sang three times each tonight as they sought spots in next week's finale. And guess what? Randy Jackson declared that all three of them are "in it to win it!" Because Randy thinks everyone is in it to win it! (And if you weren't in it to win it, why would you be in it at all?)

In any case, Scotty won good marks for all of his performances -- one personal pick, one judge's pick and one selection from "Idol" mentor Jimmy Iovine.

Scotty's personal selection was Lonestar's "Amazed," which allowed him to show off a higher range than we're used to from the low-voiced 17-year-old. The judges called it a smart choice that was sung well.

On Tuesday, we showed you a very cool picture from The News & Observer archives of 6-year-old Scotty McCreery at Lake Benson Park.

Today, who have a reader-submitted photo of young Mr. McCreery.

The Boyette family sent this photo of a Garner baseball team. Scotty, now a 17-year-old "American Idol" finalist, was 9 at the time. That's him second from left in the back row of kids. Keith Boyette, whose family sent the picture, is third from left on the front row.

American Idol (8pm, Fox) - Tonight we get to see Scotty's hometown visit to Garner, which "Idol" filmed aaalllllll day long this past Saturday. Then Haley, Scotty, and Lauren each sing three songs: one chosen by the judges, one chosen by mentor Jimmy Iovine, and one of their own choosing. We know Scotty is singing Kenny Rogers' "She Believes in Me" as the judges' choice. Some fan sites are reporting that Scotty will also sing "You'll Think of Me" (Keith Urban) and "What Hurts the Most" (Rascal Flatts) -- but it's all rumors at this point, no one who really knows is saying...

Criminal Minds (9pm, CBS) - In the sixth season finale, the team hunts for a human-trafficking ring and J.J. returns to the BAU.

Modern Family (9pm, ABC) - The family gathers at Jay's house before going to Alex's middle school graduation, but they're in danger of missing the ceremony thanks to a perfect storm of problems: Jay tries to hide a cosmetic snafu, Cameron thinks Mitchell is mocking him, and Phil keeps reminding Claire that the kids are getting older.

America's Next Top Model (9pm, CW) - The season ends with the two final models shooting a CoverGirl commercial and walking their last runway before judges choose a winner.

Law & Order: SVU (10pm, NBC) - In the Season 12 finale, a rape-trial witness is murdered before she's able to testify, so Benson and Stabler look for links between her homicide and the rape case, and uncover some surprising relationships.

Happy Endings (10pm, ABC) - This show just got picked up for another season! Tonight, in an episode that seems wildly out of order with the others which have already aired, Dave moves into Max's place and in a moment of drunken inspiration, the two decide to track down the guy who spirited Alex away from the doomed wedding ceremony.