Scotty McCreery has lived a lot of life in 30 years. The North Carolina native won Season 10 of American Idol when he was just 17 years old, the unexpected jumpstart to a career that has now included six No. 1 singles, sold-out tour dates, multi-platinum hits and more.
McCreery also lost a record deal, propelling himself forward by sheer determination and hard work. In 2018, he married his wife, Gabi, and in 2022, he became a father, influences that are all clearly evident in his music. In other words,
“I feel much more like an old man than I do that kid nowadays,” McCreery tells American Songwriter. “I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and I didn’t know what the world had in store for me. At this point in my career, I’ve seen just about everything. You can easily get jaded, but for me, it’s like, ‘Now, I know what to expect.’ And it still excites me.”
McCreery just released Rise and Fall, writing all but one of the songs that showcase his artistry and songwriting in a new way. While there are songs that were a direct reflection of his own life on the record, it’s also the first project that McCreery focused solely on songwriting, even if the songs weren’t all about his own life.
“That probably put another little wrinkle in my songwriting brain as opposed to just writing from my everyday life,” McCreery says.
Even before McCreery announced Rise and Fall, he released “Love Like This,” a song he began writing while still in the hospital after the birth of his son, Avery, last October.
“I have enough daddy and baby songs that I could have made three records full of those,” McCreery maintains. “I didn’t want the whole album to be that.”
He also gives a nod to Avery in the final verse of “Porch,” the last song on Rise and Fall, which says, “Little man, little man, climb up in my lap / Leave your little boots by mine on the mat / One day you’re gonna make this big world yours / But you’ll always have a spot by your daddy on the porch.”
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“I just felt like it was a natural way for where I’m at right now in life to end this chapter and to end this project,” he said. “There’s plenty of songs in this record that are me playing the character for the first time. Some of my favorite songs in country music are the heartbreak songs. I hadn’t really had those in my catalog. And, I wanted to write some of those too.”
The new Grand Ole Opry member is rightfully proud of all of the songs on Rise and Fall, which is the most authentic representation of him that he could release, at least so far.
“It feels very me right now, and so I’m excited,” McCreery says. “I wanted to capture the feeling that we had when we wrote these songs. I’ve never had more fun writing an album than I did with this one.”
Rise and Fall was just named one of Billboard‘s 50 Best Albums of 2024 (So Far). McCreery just released “Fall of Summer” as the second single from Rise and Fall, which follows “Cab In A Solo. Find all of his music and upcoming shows at ScottyMcCreery.com.
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