Scotty McCreery, the country music singer and 2011 American Idol winner, is gearing up for a sold out performance at the N.C. State Fair this month.

But before fans see him there, they can take a look at some of the things he's collected along the way at a new exhibit, which opened Monday, at the N.C. Museum of History. It runs through Jan. 4. Admission to the museum is free.

This isn't a huge exhibit. The pieces fill an exhibit case in the downtown Raleigh museum's lobby. But fans, I'm sure, will be excited to get a closer look at it all.

Here's what you'll see:

• The outfit — black leather jacket, jeans, T-shirt and cross necklace — that McCreery wore when he sang his final duet, “Live Like You Were Dying,” on “American Idol” with country superstar Tim McGraw at the Nokia Theatre, Los Angeles, Calif., on May 25, 2011.
• The lyrics sheet for “Live Like You Were Dying.” The sheet indicates the individual parts: “S” for Scotty and “T” for Tim.
• The gold record presented to McCreery by Mercury Records for his first album, Clear as Day, which sold over 500,000 copies in the seven months after his “American Idol” victory.
• The backstage pass used by McCreery’s mother, Judy McCreery, on May 24 and 25, 2011, for the “American Idol” final rehearsal and show at the Nokia Theatre, Los Angeles, Ca.

McCreery, who graduated from Garner Magnet High School in the spring and now is a student at N.C. State University, maintains an active performance schedule. He'll perform on Oct. 15, just a few days after he turns 19 on Oct. 9, to a sold out crowd at the State Fair.

When he won the 2011 season of American Idol, he was the show's youngest male contestant and the first male country music singer to win the reality show.

I have to say that I have been so impressed watching Scotty and his parents handle all of the craziness that must come with a win and career like this. Kudos to them all for making sure that he's not missing out on life experiences like high school and college despite a demanding schedule.

The museum created a similar museum case with pieces from Raleigh native Clay Aiken's run with American Idol. He was the runner-up during the 2003 season.