The "American Idols Live!" tour has packed up and headed across the state to Charlotte, where a performance is scheduled for tonight. But here are a few final thoughts on the sold-out Raleigh show at the RBC Center on Wednesday night.

First, check out my colleague David Menconi's fine review, if you haven't already. He is dead-on in noting that Garner's Scotty McCreery, left, seems right at home onstage and that Haley Reinhart already seems like a seasoned performer. And yes, an appearance by Scotty a little earlier in the show would have been preferable.

But I tended to view the show from a slightly different lens than David -- was it an enjoyable, family-friendly night out for my wife and I and our 10-year-old daughter, a huge "Idol" fan who is not quite ready for a Katy Perry or Lady Gaga show? On that measure, just looking at my kid's face, it was a big success.

"Idols Live!" is never going to match, say, a Prince or Springsteen show. No one expects it to. But for what it is — well-produced, Disney-fied singing of popular songs, with something for everyone — it works.

Highlights:

You get used to loud noises on the music beat, but every now and then you still hear one loud enough to take your breath away. Like the sound that went up at the Garner High School gymnasium at about 8:58 Thursday night -- when it was announced that homeboy Scott McCreery had made it through to the "American Idol" top-three.

The 1,500 or so people who had assembled at McCreery's alma mater to bear triumphant (they hoped) witness gave a deafening, animal roar tinged with relief, because he was apparently in the bottom-two this week. At the end of the show, it came down to McCreery or James Durbin for the last spot. So now, he'll get the big Saturday homecoming, including an afternoon pep rally/concert at Garner's Lake Benson Park. See details on that here; and a more detailed report on the scene at the Garner gym here.

Meanwhile, Thursday night's results might have sealed the rest of the competition in McCreery's favor. I could imagine him losing to Durbin, but not to either Haley Reinhart (who I expected to get the boot this week) or Lauren Alaina. Right now, this year's title looks like McCreery's to lose. But we'll see...

I'm on recap duty tonight because our regular 'American Idol' recap king is reporting live from Garner's Scotty Viewing Party! So, yay for Thad and my apologies to his fans, who will no doubt notice that we recap differently...

Okay, on to the show!

Scotty and James open the show out in the audience  singing "Start a Band" (originally by Keith Urban and Brad Paisley -- and yes, I had to use the Google to get the name and artists). During the journey from the audience to the stage, Scotty plays hot potato with his mic and sings with some girls in the audience who looked to be around 8 or 9 years old. James stops to kiss his wife Heidi and instead gets bumped in the eye by Heidi's nose. Smooth.

This is the first time I've seen James sing country, and I think he held his own, but this is Scotty's territory for sure. Eventually, the two make their way to the stage and grab their guitars to finish out the song.

Next up, Haley and Lauren sing Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder and Lead" (and no, I didn't have to Google that one... I begged Twitter to tell me. Thank you @PreppyBumpkin).

Scotty McCreery continued to show his vocal and emotional range on "American Idol" tonight, singing both an emotional Sept. 11 anthem and a fun 1950s song. Plus, he told us how much he misses Garner. He vowed to "kiss the grass" – then find some tea and fried chicken – if he gets to come home for a Final Three visit this weekend.

But the highlight of the night was probably Scotty's encounter with this week's guest mentor, Lady Gaga. Clad in black-and-white hair, makeup and clothes, Gaga looked like some sort of bird, as my colleague Brooke noted. Gaga was obsessed with making sure Scotty didn't pull away from the microphone, even going so far as telling him to think of the mic as his girlfriend and to "make love" to it. "I better have a good-lookin' microphone," Scotty joked. Later, he was shown good-naturedly kissing the cross around his neck and seeking forgiveness after his Gaga encounter.

For the first round of tonight's show, the Final Four were asked to pick songs that had special meaning to them. Scotty chose Alan Jackson's 9/11 anthem “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).” Of course, Scotty was just 7 on Sept. 11. Still, he gave a strong, emotional performance that the judges loved.

So, what will Garner's Scotty McCreery be singing on Wednesday night's Final Four showdown? Hard to say. The theme/mentor combination is an odd one.

Fresh from last week’s “Now and Then” theme, the Final Four -- from left, Haley Reinhart, Scotty, James Durbin and Lauren Alaina -- will face something old and something new this week. The old? The songs of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who wrote music for Elvis Presley, The Drifters and The Coasters, among others. The new? The guest mentor is Lady Gaga. Her teaching session with Scotty should be interesting.

What should Scotty sing? We still like the idea of him tackling “Stand By Me,” which we suggested for the “then” part of last week’s theme. Other Leiber and Stoller songs that it would be fun to hear Scotty try: “There Goes My Baby,” “Kansas City,” “On Broadway” or “Spanish Harlem.”

If you're a Scotty McCreery fan that likes to plan ahead -- and you're not the superstitious type -- you can go ahead and block off Saturday afternoon. You'll want to be in Garner for the big Scotty homecoming party.

Granted, the party isn't official yet. Scotty, the "American Idol" contestant from Garner, doesn't get a hometown party this weekend unless he makes it to the Final Three. And we won't know that until Thursday at about 8:55 p.m.

Still, town officials need to go ahead and get ready for what will be a huge bash if Scotty makes the cut. Here are the details we can reveal thus far:

North Carolina moved a step closer to its second “American Idol” tonight as Scotty McCreery was named one of the Final Four finalists of this, the show’s 10th season.

The Garner High School junior is less than three weeks from the May 25 finale. Scotty has reached the highest spot for a Tar Heel resident since Season Five of “Idol,” when Chris Daughtry made the Final Four. The sole “Idol” winner from North Carolina is Fantasia Barrino of Season Three. (Raleigh’s Clay Aiken was second in Season Two.)

Scotty won praise this week for the variety he showed in his two Wednesday performances – Montgomery Gentry’s “Gone” and Elvis Presley’s “Always On My Mind.” On tonight's show, Scotty joined the other finalists for a version of The Turtles’ “Happy Together” that showcased – in a bad way – how different their five voices are.

Scotty McCreery may be the hometown favorite, but he's not the only 'American Idol' with devoted fans in the area.

Jean Kitchin, who grew up in Raleigh and now lives in Scotland Neck, says she loves Scotty but has a special connection to James Durbin that has her rooting for him to also succeed.

This might get a little complicated, so stick with me. Kitchin's son Mercer Rowe is married to Angela Rowe, the mother of Craig Hyatt, who grew up in Chapel Hill and Apex (Craig's parents Don and Bonnie Hyatt still live in Willow Springs). Craig, Kitchin's step-grandson, moved out west for college and started a band, and none other than James Durbin was the lead singer in Craig's band -- Whatever Fits -- right up until the time he auditioned for 'Idol.' James even wrote some of the songs the band performed.

Jean Kitchin and her husband Hodge visit her son and daughter-in-law in Santa Cruz a couple of times each year, and they met James on a trip out there last summer.