Scotty McCreery is returning to the TV show where his career began. The singer-songwriter will perform on American Idol on Sunday, April 28, 13 years after he was crowned the Season 10 winner in 2011.
McCreery announced the news on social media.
I’m returning to @AmericanIdol this Sunday as a performer! Catch me on ABC or stream on Hulu! 🎤✨ #americanidol pic.twitter.com/7AOuPZLpkL
— Scotty McCreery (@ScottyMcCreery) April 23, 2024
The 30-year-old was just 17 when he won Idol, with Lauren Alaina coming in as the runner-up. McCreery reflected on that experience, and how the reality TV show changed everything for him, ahead of his recent induction into the Grand Ole Opry.
“The journey started differently than I was anticipating,” McCreery said backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. “I never had a plan of going on TV. My plan was always to go to college at either Belmont or Middle Tennessee, and then after that, hit the bars, hit the honky tonks, and see what happens. But Idol worked out.”
In the early days of his career, McCreery was still a minor, so his parents traveled with him, often also helping out by doing various tasks on the road.
“I started so young, my folks had to be out there,” McCreery said. “They had to sign every piece of paper that I signed, so they were out there with me. And they really helped me. They gave me the confidence to do this, to get on stage in front of people. They always encouraged me. It’s been a long ride, starting that young — I’m still very young, 30 — but I’ve lived a lot of life in the last 13 years, and learned a lot of things, good and bad.
“You learn who you are as a man, as a person,” he added. “There were some tough times there, but I learned in life it’s not always going to be roses. It’s good, bad and ugly. When times are tough, you gotta pull yourself up by the bootstraps, build back brick by brick. I’m proud to say we did that back in the day, and got to this point.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry / Chris Hollo
It was McCreery’s close friend and mentor, Josh Turner, who officially inducted McCreery as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.
This night is just, it’s unbelievable. It really is,” McCreery said from the Opry stage. “My mama came to the Opry in 1978. Whispering Bill was playing that night, and I heard stories of the Opry, and heard the Opry, and have such a deep respect for this tradition, and the history of the Opry. If you listened to any of my interviews for the last 13 years of doing this, they’d say, ‘What’s your biggest goal in doing any of this?’ and I would always say, ‘One day I want to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry.’ I gotta go home and start writing a new bucket list.”
McCreery has a Top 5 hit with “Cab In A Solo,” the debut single from his forthcoming Rise and Fall album which will be released on May 10. He has plenty of concert dates on the calendar for the next several months.
Watch his Grand Ole Opry induction on YouTube. Find all of McCreery’s music and upcoming shows at ScottyMcCreery.com.