Scotty McCreery celebrates 18th birthday with hometown concert

The Garner native held his first solo concert since winning "American Idol" on Saturday at Raleigh's Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek in honor of his birthday and debut album, which was released Tuesday. He turns 18 on Sunday.

"This is the place to see a concert and I've grown up coming here, so to be onstage and singing, it's wild," McCreery said. "I kept stepping back and smiling."

The event began at 11 a.m. and featured a performance from McCreery and his band, as well as a question-and-answer session with the audience.

About 15,000 fans showed up to sing along.

"It was amazing. I think I've lost my voice," Karisa Hanna said. "It was nice to see him look at me a couple times."

Lisa Stout said she and her daughter were excited to see McCreery sing live and in person after watching him on "American Idol."  

"We watched every night. If we couldn't watch it, we taped it," she said. "We watched it together as a family. You can tell his true bringing up."

McCreery said his fans humble him.

"I just go out there and sing songs because that's what I love to do," he said. "To see the support that they give me and that they love hearing my music, it chokes me (up) a lot and it really brings me back down to earth."

Following his concert, McCreery sang the national anthem prior to NC State's football game with Central Michigan.  Before moving full speed ahead with his singing career, McCreery is finishing his senior year at Garner High School.