Scotty McCreery is paying homage to his home state with a new version of his current “Fall of Summer” single, out now. The American Idol alum just released “Fall of Summer (NC State Version),” trading the words to reflect his love of North Carolina.
McCreery first changed the lyrics to the song when both the men’s and women’s basketball teams at NC State made it NCAA Final Four last spring, In the new lyrics, McCreery sings, “You sent one ‘I miss you’ when you got back home to Dallas / I said come see me at NC State.” Fans quickly latched onto the idea, inserting their own college names into the song, which is what inspired McCreery to drop the new version.
“Fall of Summer” is the second single from his latest Rise & Fall album, which was released in May. The song, which was the most-added at country radio when it was released, was the catalyst for his new record’s name.
“Every album until this one, I’ve just picked a song title that I thought represented kind of where we’re at or the lead single,” McCreery said soon after the release of Rise and Fall. “But this one, something felt different, and I didn’t think there was a song title that totally captured the feeling that I had for the whole project. And I’m old school; I know it’s a single-driven world nowadays, but I want my album to tell a story, start to finish.
“I want it to be a cohesive unit,” he added. “And I didn’t feel like there was one title that did that. So I was just listening down to the songs, probably on a plane to California or something. I was listening to ‘Fall of Summer’ and I heard, ‘Here’s to the rise and fall of summer,’ and I thought, ‘Rise and Fall.’”
“Fall of Summer” follows “Cab In A Solo,” the debut single from Rise and Fall, and his sixth No. 1 single. The entire project was a labor of love for McCreery, who made the record as authentic to him, and honest, as he could through all of the tracks.
“I just think for me, I’m at a place where I wasn’t going to make a record chasing trends, or chasing the top of the charts, or what sound is selling more tickets on the road,” McCreery tells Everything Nash. “I just want to make an album that feels good to me, feels good to my soul, touches on influences that I had growing up. I really think we did that on this record. To me, it’s the most ‘me’ record, and the most proud I’ve been of a record yet.”
“Every song has a story,” he adds. “Every song is one I’m passionate about.”
McCreery also is part of a new duet, “Gettin’ Old,” with Callista Clark, out now. The 30-year-old will have plenty of chances to sing “Fall of Summer,” and plenty of his other hits, over the next few months. McCreery just launched his headlining Fall of Summer Tour, which will wrap up in early December.
“I’m so proud of my new Rise & Fall album, and I’m pumped to bring the Fall of Summer Tour out on the road,” McCreery said when the tour was announced. “Performing live is one of my favorite things to do, and I can’t wait to play these songs for folks across the country as well as a few Canadian shows in Ontario.”
Find “Fall of Summer (NC State Version)” and all of McCreery’s music and upcoming shows at ScottyMcCreery.com