The title of Scotty McCreery‘s new Rise and Fall album is indicative of the career he has had, ever since winning Season 10 of American Idol in 2011. McCreery signed a record deal, which he subsequently lost a few years later, and then released “Five More Minutes” on his own, a song that changed everything for him.
It wasn’t always easy, but McCreery is profoundly grateful, for all of it.
“I think we’re at a pretty good spot right now with what we’re doing career-wise, but it wasn’t always that way,” McCreery admits to Holler Country. “It took us a long time to get going and get a little traction, and the fall for me was 2016. We went through a lot of crap that year, and pretty much the whole year I didn’t really see a light at the end of the tunnel, but we got through it.
“That year, I learned a lot about life and a lot about myself,” he adds. “I just kept building back to it and kind of got us back on the rise since then, but we wouldn’t have made this record without both the rise and the fall.”
From an early age, McCreery was influenced by traditional country music. As an adult, with his fifth studio album about to be released, those influences have remained largely the same.
“I’m not sure too many of my influences have shifted,” the 30-year-old says. “I mean, I’m still the guy that turns on old country just because that’s what I like to listen to in the car, so you’ll definitely hear those influences on this record. I love Garth Brooks. You’re going to hear a little Garth on this record…These songs I’m proud to sing now, but I was influenced by songs that were like that growing up. I’m proud to have them in my catalog now.”
It was Brooks who invited McCreery to become a Grand Ole Opry member, and who remains one of McCreery’s biggest inspirations.
“Garth is Garth,” McCreery says. “There are no other Garths out there, so I grew up listening to his stuff, and just ever since I got started, he’s been so kind to me and my family, inviting us out to his shows. I’ve gotten to know his family a little bit over the years, so he’s just always been an influence, but to be able to say he’s a friend too is pretty cool for me. The fact that he even flew in – he was on the West Coast that weekend – to invite me [to join the Grand Ole Opry] was pretty special for me, so I’ll always be indebted to him”
McCreery released several songs ahead of the release of Rise and Fall, including “Lonely,” “Red Letter Blueprint,” “Slow Dance,” “Can’t Pass The Bar” and his recent No. 1 single, “Cab In A Solo.”
“From start to finish, I’m just so proud of this record. The sounds, the feel, the vibes, the songwriting,” says the singer. “There’s not a song I’m not happy to have somebody listen to…If the label picked any of these songs to be a single, I’d be like, ‘Okay, that’s fine. I’m good with it,’ whereas on past records, I probably would have fought them on certain songs. This record just feels like me. It feels right.”
Rise and Fall will be available on May 10. McCreery will appear on Fox & Friends the morning of his album release. Order the record, and find all of McCreery’s music and upcoming shows at ScottyMcCreery.com.