Scotty McCreery rose to fame by winning Season 10 of American Idol in 2011, with judges Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez. Fellow Idol winner Carrie Underwood was just announced as a judge for the upcoming season, a role that McCreery says he likely would not be interested in if he was ever offered the position. But if he did, he jokes he might be more like infamous critic Simon Cowell than one of the other, kinder judges.
“I have not received that phone call, but if they do, I don’t know that I would,” McCreery tells CMT. “Just because I know the feeling of being the artist on stage getting judged, and how terrifying that is. I don’t want to instill that terror in those kids, ’cause I can be a pretty mean guy. I’d probably take the role of Simon Cowell if I was doing that.”
All kidding aside, McCreery is enjoying a career high with his latest Rise & Fall album, out now. The record, which debuted at the top of the charts when it was released, is resonating with his fans in a new and exciting way.
“More than ever, I feel like,” McCreery says of how his fans are responding to his latest project. “They’re legitimately requesting some of the album cuts. I’m like, ‘It’s not even a single!’ They’re like, ‘We want to hear it.’ It makes you feel good, ’cause I love an album, one cohesive project. So it makes me feel good as the artist.”
View this post on Instagram
McCreery is currently headlining his Fall of Summer Tour, which fortunately includes his wife, Gabi, and son, Avery, for most of the dates.
“I got a little crib in the bus, and they get to travel around,” McCreery said at a recent media event. “If the show doesn’t start too late, Avery’s side stage, watching. We’ve had beach days together, we’ve had mountain trips where he’s crossed the bridge … We do a lot of stuff as a family. Just watching him grow up and realize what we do, it’s pretty cool.”
McCreery just celebrated his sixth No. 1 single, with “Cab In A Solo,” the first single from Rise & Fall. Grateful for his success, his reign as one of country music’s biggest hitmakers is even sweeter because of all of the highs and lows it took to get him to where he is today.
“It took a lot for me to get to this place,” McCreery conceded. “I think for one, growing up. I started so young, as we all know … I remember people being like, ‘What’s this kid going to sing about?’ It used to tick me off, but now I’m like, ‘What was I singing about?’ I hadn’t lived a lot of life. But those days were not that long ago, in the grand scheme of things, where I’d never had a No. 1.
“I had songs that I believed in, but wasn’t sure if they’d get out there,” he continued. “Ever since ‘Five More Minutes,’ and just the roll we’ve been on, it feels good. It feels very fulfilling. My fans have been by my side since before No.1s and it’s just grown since then.”
The North Carolina native just joined Carly Pearce, Clint Black and Robert Earl Keen in raising more than $375,000 for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, at the All for the Hall Dallas event.
“Anytime you get to do country music for a good cause, I’ll come running,” he said.
McCreery just announced his headlining UK Tour in 2025. Find all of McCreery’s music and upcoming shows at ScottyMcCreery.com.
Photo Credit: Celeste Smith for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.