It was a bittersweet homecoming for 'American Idol' (Thu., 8PM ET on FOX) Top 3 finalist Lauren Alaina. While she was on the show, a series of tornadoes wreaked havoc on the South, devastating much of her home region.

So while it was exciting to get that 'Idol' hometown welcome with the crowds and adulation, it was also Lauren's first chance to see the damage the storms caused. It was an emotional rollercoaster as she was stunned at what she saw.

"I cheered my last basketball game in this high school," she said of a building just recognizable as a school. It was a moving homecoming as she experienced the emotional lows of the storm, enjoyed stories of heroism during them and then got to sing for throngs of her hometown fans. A girl could get used to that, we're sure.

'American Idol' airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8PM ET on FOX.