Scotty McCreery has had plenty of pivotal times in his life, but nothing compares to the shift that happened when he became a father. The singer and his wife Gabi welcomed their son, Avery, into the world last October, a happy addition that forever altered McCreery’s life, for the better.

“It changes everything,” McCreery tells Audacy LIVE. “It has no choice but to affect your songwriting. I’m in a business, and my world, I’ve got a team around me, and everybody is asking me, ‘How are you doing?’ and ‘What are your thoughts on this?’ and ‘What songs do you want to write?’ ‘What picture do you want to be your billboard for this?’ And it’s like, all of a sudden, it’s no longer about what I want or what I’m thinking. Everything is about Avery, and what do we need to do for him, and how can I help my wife support him?

“So for me, it’s completely changed everything — what’s important in life, your perspective on life,” he continues. “And I’ve been loving it. I feel like at 30 years old, I’ve gotten to do some crazy things: the Opry, I’ve sang at Super Bowl parties for my favorite team, the World Series national anthem, but the coolest thing I’ll ever do is being his daddy. I’m loving every minute of it.”

McCreery has written about Avery already, including on “Love Like This,” from his just-released Rise and Fall record, but says there will likely be many more songs about his son in the future.

“Just like you’ve seen my life evolve in records, from me being a teenager to now a 30-year-old man, I think you’re going to see me write new songs, as he’s growing up and getting into some trouble,” McCreery hints “Like, ‘Boy, you better watch out.’ I’m sure those songs will be coming too.”

McCreery was 17 years old when he won American Idol. From the beginning of his career, he said his biggest goal was to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. With that under his belt, the 30-year-old is ready to look at even bigger dreams and opportunities.

“I’m still trying to take it all in that the Opry happened,” McCreery reflected. “That was a lifelong dream. Where do you go from there? The Opry to me, in country music, is the stage to play, is the family to be in. So, to be deemed worthy to join that family is crazy. You always want to play bigger venues, have more fans, write better songs, so that’s always my goal, but as far as my bucket list, it’s crazy. I’m gonna have to think long and hard about that one.”

McCreery, who just presented one of the trophies at the ACM Awards, calls Rise and Fall his favorite album he has ever released. The record, which debuted at No. 1, included “Cab In A Solo,” his sixth No. 1 hit. The North Carolina native is back with “Fall of Summer,” a song that influenced the title of his new record.

“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 recently at a media event celebrating 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.’”

Find Rise and Fall and all of McCreery’s music and upcoming shows at ScottyMcCreery.com.

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Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music