Category Archives: Scotty McCreery

After winning the tenth season of American Idol at the age of 16, country crooner Scotty McCreery forged an impressive career throughout the 2010s. Beginning with his chart-topping 2011 debut, Clear as Day, the North Carolinian followed in the footsteps of fellow Idol winners Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson to become one of the more consistently successful artists to emerge from the show. Later releases like 2013’s See You Tonight and 2018’s Seasons Change increasingly featured more of McCreery‘s own songwriting and continued to dominate on the Billboard country charts. In 2020, almost a decade into his career, he issued the single “You Time.”

McCreery began singing as a child in Garner, North Carolina. School performances eventually gave way to local competitions, and McCreery won a singing contest in the nearby town of Clayton before trying out for American Idol as a 16-year-old. Auditioning with Josh Turner‘s “Your Man,” he made good use of his country twang and deep baritone vocals, prompting the judges to compare him to Randy Travis. McCreery passed the audition, became an audience favorite, and eventually won the competition in May 2011. Lauren Alaina, another teenage country singer and a close friend of McCreery‘s, took home the second place title.

Christmas with Scotty McCreery

McCreery‘s coronation song was “I Love You This Big,” a country ballad that sold nearly 175,000 copies during its first week of release. The song also cracked the country charts at number 32, making it the highest-charting debut single in country history, and helped stir up anticipation for his full-length album, which he recorded while preparing for American Idol’s summer tour. Clear as Day appeared in the fall of 2011 from Mercury Nashville, debuting at number one on the Billboard Top 200 the week of its release. It went on to be one of the better-selling latter-day Idol-related records, earning a platinum certification and producing another hit single in “The Trouble with Girls.” The following year, McCreery released the seasonal Christmas with Scotty McCreery in time for the 2012 holiday season.

In October 2013, he returned with his second official studio album, See You Tonight. Produced by veteran producer Frank Rogers, the album moved McCreery into bright contemporary country-pop. It was a commercial and critical success, debuting at number one on Billboard’s Country Albums chart and earning widespread acclaim, including McCreery‘s win of the Breakthrough Artist Award at the 2013 American Country Awards. In 2015 he issued a new single, “Southern Belle,” and toured with Rascal Flatts. The year 2017 saw the release of the poignant “Five More Minutes,” the first single from his third LP, Seasons Change. A trio of additional singles arrived in early 2018 in advance of Seasons Change, which was released by Triple Tigers/Sony Music in March of that year. Another chart-topper in the U.S., it also fared well in Canada and the U.K. The heartfelt single “You Time” arrived in late 2020 followed the next year by “Why You Gotta Be Like That.”

Artist Biography by Andrew Leahey

Scotty McCreery Clear As Day Album Review

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Scotty McCreery’s Debut Album Is A Good Start. As I am sure most of you have noticed by now, I have not been the biggest supporter of Scotty McCreery. I was unimpressed by his debut single “I Love You This Big“, and I was prepared to dislike his debut album, Clear As Day. I am happy to report however, that Scotty has surprised me. It really is rare for an artist these days to release a complete concept album. Most of the releases we see now are just albums full of “singles”. While Clear As Day certainly qualifies as the latter, I still think that these singles collectively really do have a represent a common theme. This theme can be easily summed up in one word: “youth”. I was worried about this album in many ways because of Scotty’s age. When he entered American Idol he was 16, and by the time he won he was still only 17. I was concerned that this would have a limiting effect on his options as far as content was concerned. However, the songs chosen for this album all deal with stories and concepts that really seem to be representative of Scotty and his life experiences. Instead of trying to make Scotty seem older than his years, he and his team carefully chose songs which embrace his youth. This really helps to provide depth to the individual tracks and the album as a whole. Essentially, I believe that Scotty believes what he’s singing about, and this will carry the album further than it would have gone otherwise. Also, there is a really nice variety in pace on this album. There are upbeat songs appropriate for a young guy like “Out of Summertime“, “Water Tower Town“, “Better Than That“, “Write My Number On Your Hand“, and “You Make That Look Good“. At the same time there are more sentimental, heart-string strumming songs like “Clear As Day” and “Back On The Ground” and “That Old King James“. The slower sentimental songs are just as believable as the faster songs even though the content is more serious. They still contain references to family and memories that really seem to be a part of Scotty’s life. The best of these slower songs is probably “Back On The Ground” because it tells the story of a young man coming home again to see his Momma, and it really seems to be a parallel of Scotty’s experiences with success on American Idol and coming home after all that. The most poignant moment on the album probably comes at the end of the title track “Clear As Day” when it resolves into a surprising conclusion which changes the entire meaning of the song you just spent 3 minutes and 58 seconds listening to (Don’t worry, I won’t give it away!). My favorite song on the album has to be “You Make That Look Good“. It is an adorable song, and it definitely has potential to be a crowd favorite at Continue reading Scotty McCreery Clear As Day Album Review→

Scotty McCreery Sings National Anthem

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Scotty McCreery Set To Sing National Anthem at World Series. Scotty McCreery will be singing the National Anthem at Game One of the 2011 World Series which will air on the Fox network. The World Series will kick-off Wednesday, October 19th. Not surprisingly, Scotty is rather excited about this special opportunity and honor he has been offered. “This is absolutely incredible for me. I have had two loves in life–music and baseball. The World Series is this biggest event in baseball, so to be there and be able to sing the National Anthem is like putting my two greatest loves together.” -Scotty McCreery Besides his upcoming appearance at the World Series, Scotty has plenty more to be excited about! His debut album, Clear As Day, releases Tuesday, October 4th! Be sure to check back with us for a full review of the album later this week!

Scotty McCreery Releases New Single

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Scotty McCreery Releases His Second Single! Scotty McCreery debuted the second single off of his upcoming album Clear As Day, due out October 4th, yesterday to country music radio. The song is titled “The Trouble With Girls“, and Scotty insists that despite the title, it really is a sweet song. He even went as far as to run the track by his sister for approval. “I played it for my sister and I said, ‘Would you like to hear what’s said in this song?’ She said, ‘I would love to have a guy say some of this stuff to me.’”-Scotty McCreery We got a hold of some of the lyrics, and I have to say that it really does sound like its going to be a pretty cute song. Scotty felt a real connection to the chorus (He IS a seventeen year old boy!), and especially enjoyed the twist at the end. “They smile that smile/ They bat those eyes/ They steal you with hello/ They kill you with goodbye/ They hook you with one touch/ And you can’t break free/ Yeah, the trouble with girls/ Is nobody loves trouble as much as me.” Chorus of “The Trouble With Girls” The new track is now available for download on iTunes, or you can preview the song by clicking here. His album, Clear As Day, will release October 4th. Have you heard “The Trouble With Girls” yet? What do you think about it?

Scotty McCreery I Love You This Big

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Go Behind the Scenes with Scotty McCreery On Set of I Love You This Big Video! In the midst of the American Idol Live tour this summer, Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery took time out for another brand new experience, filming his first ever music video for his first ever single, “I Love You This Big“. The video released earlier this month, and was filmed in a park in Los Angeles. McCreery though swears when you see the video you’d think it was shot somewhere in the Carolinas. In a behind the scenes look at the filming of the video, fans get to see what it was like for McCreery to experience making a music video for the first time. Also, Scotty gives fans insight into the meaning behind not only the lyrics in the song, but the story in the video. See the behind the scenes footage now!

Scotty McCreery Debut Album Release

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New Details on Scotty McCreery’s Debut Album Release! Ever since Scotty McCreery won the 10th season of American Idol, there have been rumors, hints and not a whole lot of details floating around about the new singer’s debut album. Well, finally, new details have been released about the upcoming album! The album is titled Clear As Day and is slated for a Tuesday, October 4th release date. While Scotty is not quite to the song-writing stage in his career, he chose a collection of songs, including his already popular single “I Love You This Big“, which he feels represents the style of country music he loves and relates to. “We’ve got songs on it from some of the best songwriters in country music. I’m so fortunate to have so many talented people contributing to my first album…It has some old country influences and elements, but it also has a contemporary feel with fun up-tempo songs…It’s a good mixture. You can hear some of the influences that I grew up with, like Hank Williams, Conway Twitty and Merle Haggard…I chose these songs because they mean a lot to me.” -Scotty McCreery I have definitely been openly skeptical of Scotty and his skill level since before his American Idol win. However, I must say I am impressed with how he has handled himself publicly in the onslaught of publicity, attention and chaos of the past few months. I am truly curious about this new album, and hope it delivers to fans what they’re looking for. Scotty and fellow American Idol alumn and Season 10 runner-up, Lauren Alaina discussed their new album details on Friday’s Good Morning America. Check out the video for the segment below.

Scotty McCreery I Love You This Big Video

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Scotty McCreery Premiers Debut Music Video August 9th. Season 10 American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery is set to release the debut video for his first single, “I Love You This Big“. Like fellow American Idol alum Lauren Alaina, Scotty will be featured on CMT Premieres: Scotty McCreery I Love You This Big. Unlike, Lauren though, Scotty will be premiering his video during this segment, Tuesday, August 9th, the day after Alaina’s release date. The video was shot in Los Angeles, but McCreery and the crew worked hard to find a spot that had the right kind of country vibe. Watch Scotty McCreery in “I Love You This Big” now! “The location for the shoot was really cool. If you looked one way, you could see Dodger Stadium, and if you looked another way, you could see downtown L.A. We found this park that had a little country feel to it … If I hadn’t told you that, you would think we would have shot that in North Carolina. The music video has a summertime barbecue feel.” -Scotty McCreery Scotty will be performing on ABC‘s Good Morning America on August 12th. Also, you can catch him on the special television concert event, CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock on Sunday, August 14th on ABC. Scotty will be singing with Josh Turner. McCreery is still working on his debut album, but a release date has yet to be announced.

American Idol Live Kicks Off

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American Idol Tour with Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery Kicks Off! The 2011 American Idol Live Tour featuring the Top 11 finalist from this season kicked off Wednesday, July 6th outside Salt Lake City. The tour, of course, will feature Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery. As previously reported, both Lauren and Scotty are actively pursing their careers within the country music industry, each having already released a single. All of you who voted Lauren and Scotty to the top, this is your chance to see them perform live for the first time! No doubt we will be seeing a lot of both of them after the tour wraps up on September 10th in Rochester, N.Y.

Scotty McCreery On Jay Leno

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Scotty McCreery Performs Single On The Tonight Show. After a long week in Nashville, Scotty McCreery is returning to the television stage. Except this time, it’s not a competition. So, maybe there will be a little less pressure! McCreery will be the featured musical act on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Wednesday, June 15th (tonight!) at 11:30/10:30 central. He will be performing his single, “I Love You This Big” which originally debuted on American Idol, before he even knew he would be walking away with the title. So far, the single has proved to be successful finding itself at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart. Blake Shelton will also be appearing on this episode of The Tonight Show as one of the featured guests! If you miss you his performance this evening, Scotty will be appearing on ABC’s Good Morning America on August 12th along with Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina and other members of Idol‘s Top 11 of Season 10. Word on the street has it that McCreery has already begun work on his debut album, but he is currently in Los Angeles to begin rehearsals for the American Idols Live tour that begins July 6 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and runs through September.

Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina at CMA Fest

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Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina Gain Experience and Perspective at CMA Music Festival. Recent American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery and runner-up, Lauren Alaina have hit the ground running with appearances and performances every other day last week during the CMA Music Festival in Nashville. The pair attended the 2011 CMT Music Awards where they had the chance to help bring attention to the devastation created by this Spring’s storms, the relief efforts being made by some country music stars, and specifically introduce Sugarland‘s performance. Additionally, the two had the career starting opportunity Friday during the CMA Music Festival to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Lauren sang LeAnn Rimes’ “Blue” as well as her debut single “Like My Mother Does“, and Scotty performed his debut single, “I Love You This Big” and George Strait’s “Check Yes Or No“. Saturday night during the nightly concerts at LP Field both Scotty and Lauren were able to perform with their own idols. Scotty, of course, performed a duet with Josh Turner on “Your Man” while Lauren sang “Anyway” with Martina McBride. On top of all this, both of these new and rising stars learned just recently that both of their singles are fairing very well on the charts, proving just how much American loves them. So, not only are Scotty and Lauren getting to jump right in, presenting at awards shows, performing with the artists who inspire them, and gracing the iconic Opry stage, they are already proving their worth with success on their first singles. Regardless of these opportunities and successes however, they are aware of the need to establish an identity of their own. Lauren who has sited Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert as influences in addition to Martina McBride, recognizes the need to create original content, and set herself appear as a female country artist. “I got a record deal, at 16. That’s weird. Making this record is going to be the biggest step I’m ever going to have to do. People know who I am because of a TV show, but it’s from singing cover songs…I have to be different from everybody else.” -Lauren Alaina Scotty who garnered much of his attention on Idol because of his vocal similarity to Josh Turner openly acknowledges the similarity, but underscores his responsibility to present something fresh and different, understanding that it will take a lot of hard work. “I might sound like them, kind of, but it’ll be a different career. They’re older, well-established guys. There’s going to be a lot of work for me to get out of this and hit the ground running. I’m trying to put my foot in the door.” -Scotty McCreery With CMA Fest and their whirlwind schedule concluded, hopefully Scotty and Lauren will get a little breather The they can get started on those albums they’ve promised fans! Watch Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina at the 2011 CMT Music Awards Here! More CMT Shows – More CMT Videos

CMA Music Festival Events at Grand Ole Opry

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The Grand Ole Opry Hosting Several Concerts and Events During the CMA Music Fest! Nashville is going to be all kinds of a frenzy next week with the CMA Music Festival running from June 9th – June 12th , and the Grand Ole Opry is definitely getting in on the action! Two of the concert events featuring a whole host of stars like Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Darius Rucker, Jerrod Neimann, Oak Ridge Boys and others on Tuesday, June 7th are unfortunately already sold out. However, on that Tuesday, the Opry is hosting a party with Jerrod Niemann and Eden’s Edge on the Opry Plaza at 5pm, so fans could always check in on that! Other fun events available to CMA attendees include the 3rd Annual Guitars of the Stars Benefit on Thursday, June 9th at 4pm in the Hall of Fame Park featuring performances by Josh Thompson and Steve Wariner. Up for auction are guitars either created or inspired by some of country music’s favorites like Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum and others. Also, fans should not forget about the special event taking place at the Opry Friday, June 10th featuring American Idol‘s Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina as they make their debut performances at the Opry in a concert including Randy Travis and Billy Ray Cyrus. Hopefully some of you will be getting the chance to check out this year’s CMA Fest, and the many corresponding events taking place in Nashville next week! For those of you who won’t be able to make it, just keep checking in with us! We’ll fill you in!