Scotty McCreery

As a fresh-faced 16-year-old country boy Scotty McCreery strolled out to face Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler at his American Idol audition in 2010, prepared to receive a difficult time from the judging panel. But when he unleashed his deep, baritone voice and homespun North Carolina charm, Scotty McCreery was soon on his way to the final, where he was crowned champion thanks to a rousing performance of his self-penned track “I Love You This Big.” Signing a deal with Mercury Nashville, he became the first ever country artist to have their debut album reach number 1 on the Billboard 200 with Clear as Day (2011) and went on to perform for President Obama and sing the national anthem at the baseball World Series. He recorded a selection of seasonal classics on Christmas with Scotty McCreery (2012) and worked with Frank Rogers on his next album, See You Tonight, in 2013. Despite his new-found superstardom, he returned home and enrolled at North Carolina State University to study for a communications degree. In 2015, he released the single “Southern Belle,” which peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Country Airplay. He returned to his American Idol roots to mentor and perform with 2016 contestants Jeneve Rose Mitchell and Jenna Renae. Following this, he took part in the show's last ever broadcast where he performed a medley of country hits. After leaving Mercury Nashville, Scotty McCreery released “Five More Minutes,” which became the first independently released single to chart on the Country Aircheck / Mediabase Top 50. He announced a deal with Sony Music Entertainment and re-released the single where it charted at number 1 on the Country Singles Chart. In 2018, he issued the album Season’s Change, which was his third album to reach the top of Billboard’s Country Music Albums chart. Three years later, he issued the album Same Truck, which included two Country Airplay singles: “You Time” and “Damn Strait.” Scotty McReery’s next album, Rise & Fall (2024), featured the hit single “Cab in a Solo.”