ALBERMARLE, N.C. -- Former 'American Idol' contestant Kellie Pickler returned Thursday night to the show that made her famous.  She was sporting a shorter hairdo and curls as she belted one out for the audience, but moments before taking the stage, she called home to Albermarle.

"Honey it's gonna be great."  That’s what best friend Summer Holt Miller said when Kellie Pickler called from backstage at 'American Idol'. 

“You gotta go out there and show them what you got,” she said.

The former Idol was nervous, and needed a confidence boost from the one that knows her best.

"She just needed somebody to say it's gonna be OK," said Miller.

Miller and her family are Pickler’s adopted family. They are the ones that took her to the auditions and supported her through her Idol run. That’s why, as she got ready to sing Thursday night, they were nervous about whether she’d make it through the emotional song. It’s a song Kellie wrote about her mother who left her.

"Her mother abandoned her.  All every girl wants is a mother in their life and she put that into a song," said Miller.

When Pickler made it through the song, her loved ones back home in Albermarle cheered.

Her best friend said, "I'm so proud, you know her mother has really lost out on a lot."

Pickler's next gig is touring with Brad Paisley and her best friend says she'll be on the tour bus along for the ride.