Nashville Star winner Angela Hacker signed autographs and debuted songs off her upcoming album Monday at a Fuquay-Varina shopping center, which attracted some N.C. State students.

The show, which also launched country artists Buddy Jewel and Miranda Lambert, is a country version of American Idol, allowing its audience to vote for the winner after several weeks of the judges’ needling.

The singer is promoting her album, due out April 3. As the winner of the competition, she was given a record deal with Warner Brothers Records Nashville and will be performing this summer as part of the Nashville Star tour.

Megan Justice, a junior in communication and history, said she tagged along with a friend who is a fan of the show, but was won over by Hacker’s performance.

“She’s got the voice of classic country singers like Tanya Tucker,” Justice said. “I was really impressed. It was so cool to talk to her and get a picture — she’s going to be huge.”

Nick Raby, a senior in turfgrass management and a follower of the show and its contestants, recognized Hacker’s talent from the first time he heard her sing.

“She’s got that whiskey-soaked sound that reminds me of Tanya Tucker and other old-school country singers,” he said.

The small Altell Wireless store in Fuquay-Varina is a far cry from the Nashville soundstage where the competition was held, but Hacker made do with a microphone and a guitar. Her songs, mostly written herself or co-written, talked of heartbreak and lost love, but Hacker said she was impressed by the number of fans that turned out.

“I just really want to thank everybody who came out here today to meet me and hear some new songs,” Hacker said. “It’s a long way to Raleigh where I’m from in Alabama.”