2018 was a big year for Scotty McCreery. The North Carolina native scored his first No. 1 hit, with “Five More Minutes,” a song he first released independently, before signing with his current record label, Triple Tigers, to help propel the song up the charts. “Five More Minutes,” released six years after McCreery won American Idol, also kicked off a string of successes, with four more chart-topping singles after that, including his multi-week, multi-platinum-selling “Damn Strait” single.
“I still think that was probably the biggest moment in my career,” McCreery told CMT‘s Cody Alan of the success of “Five More Minutes.” “I mean, Idol was so big, and it gets your face out there, your name out there a lot. But that was a TV deal. I grew up wanting to be a music star, and having songs on the radio. I never quite got that first No. 1. ‘Five More Minutes,’ a song that was so personal to me, being that first No. 1, to me was just huge.”
There is no one more deserving 🙏 @ScottyMcCreery looks back at his unbelievable career success + where he’s been and where he’s headed. Take a look: pic.twitter.com/N2Nn9dQPup
— CMT Hot 20 Countdown (@cmtHot20) October 29, 2023
“Five More Minutes” hit No. 1 in March of 2018, only a couple of months before he wed his wife, Gabi, on June 16. In the half-decade since then, the 30-year-old has learned some important lessons about how to have a successful marriage, advice he is now willing to share with others.
“I would just say, pick your battles,” McCreery suggested. “You gotta figure out what’s important to you, what’s important to your partner, and know what hill to die on, what battles are worth fighting. A lot of times, the small ones really don’t mean a lot, you’re better off just letting it go.”
McCreery and Gabi just celebrated the first birthday of their son, Avery. Although McCreery’s late grandfather inspired “Five More Minutes,” he admits the song takes on new meaning now that he has a child.
“I think being a dad changes your perspective on a lot of things,” McCreery said on CMT Stages. “For me, I think ‘Five More Minutes’ now being a dad, it’s like, ‘Hey man. Live in the moment. Be there as often as you can be there, and try not to miss anything, because you don’t want to be down the road wishing you had that time, because you missed out on it.’ I don’t want to miss a thing.”
McCreery recently turned 30, a milestone that for him serves as inspiration to work harder than ever in the years to come.
“I feel like I got started so long ago,” McCreery told Everything Nash. “I’ve been doing this so long, and now I’m turning 30. A lot of people are getting started at 30. I’ve lived a lot of life. I’ve got a lot of great memories. I still love that I get to do this and travel the world, singing country music. I’d like to think I’m a little wiser, and know a little bit more than when I started.”
McCreery’s current single, “Cab In A Solo” is in the Top 30. He will embark on his Cab In A Solo Tour on January 26. He also just released his Christmas single, “Feel Like the Holidays.” Find all of McCreery’s music and upcoming shows at ScottyMcCreery.com.