OFFSTAGE: Scotty McCreery: Different but the Same
(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that's happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)
Of course, Scotty McCreery's life was turned upside down when he won American Idol. That's a given, and you really have to be ready for that massive change when you first step in front of the judge's table. But fortunately for McCreery, who seems to have a good head on his shoulders, he is still the same guy he was before. "My life has changed, but I think the person I am pretty much stayed the same," he told the M Live website before he played a show in Michigan last week. "I went from being an average teenager working at a grocery store in the country, to playing music every night and doing what I loved. It's been a huge blessing. I learned a lot of things last year about the industry and about myself." He credits good family, good church, good morals and a small hometown with helping him stay grounded. In a couple of weeks, McCreery will be starting his first year of college at North Carolina State University, with most classes on Mondays and Wednesdays so that his Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are free for touring.
Scotty McCreery spreads Christmas cheer for his fans with new holiday album
Scotty McCreery fans can expect a little Christmas cheer from the Season 10 “American Idol” champ this year.
Though it’s sweltering in Nashville, McCreery has been getting his holiday spirit on and is recording a Christmas album. Though his label, Mercury Nashville, has been mum on the subject, McCreery spilled the beans on Thursday when he tweeted a photo of himself wearing a Santa cap and wrote, “Well, it’s still 90 some degrees outside, but it’s Christmas in July here in the studio.”
Though the tweet has since come down, Aceshowbiz.com reported that singer/songwriter Nick Autry had tweeted that all the Christmas decorations to make McCreery feel festive in the studio were now stored in his office. Further proof!
Courtesy of HitFix.com
Scotty McCreery in Studio Working on New Album
Breakout country star Scotty McCreery announced that he’s in the studio working on his next album in a post to Twitter Monday morning. “Back in the studio today! Im so pumped about this!” the singer tweeted just before 11AM.
The 2011 ‘American Idol’ winner’s debut album, ‘Clear as Day,’ went platinum and and scored two Top 20 hits, but he’s made it clear that he intends to try to push himself in new directions on his sophomore effort. McCreery has been writing some of his own songs for the next album, working with some of Nashville’s top writers.
“I was never a huge writer growing up, but it’s definitely growing,” McCreery told Taste of Country a few weeks ago. “I think now, getting a chance to be around those guys, it’s starting to develop.”
The young star, who’s currently on tour with Brad Paisley, has been working on songs while on the road. “It’s been great — we’ve had a writer’s bus come out and follow us on the road sometimes, and I’ve kind of gone back and forth from there and just writing some tunes, and writing some of my own back home,” McCreery told On The Red Carpet. “So we’ll see what I’ll get on there, and how many – I don’t know. But it’s kind of fun — it’s more creative and more unique for me that way.”
Of course, that’s not the only thing on the singer’s plate these days. The recent high school graduate will head off to college in the fall, but he makes it clear that he’ll continue with music. “Oh, of course – this is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” he said in an interview in June.
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Scotty McCreery’s Songwriting Is ‘Definitely Growing’ as He Works on Sophomore Album
The one thing lacking on Scotty McCreery‘s debut album, ‘Clear as Day,’ is anything penned by the young star. But with his sophomore project, McCreery hopes to change that.
Just in the past year of being involved with the country music industry after winning ‘American Idol,’ McCreery has already seen a huge difference in the songwriting craft, which has a lot to do with the amazing and talented writers in Nashville.
“I was never a huge writer growing up, but it’s definitely growing,” McCreery tells Taste of Country. “I think now, getting a chance to be around those guys, it’s starting to develop.”
This summer, McCreery’s touring life is as crazy as ever, opening up for Brad Paisley on his Virtual Reality Tour. Quick fix to that? Send songwriters to McCreery! “We’re going to have a songwriting bus go out on some of the dates,” McCreery reveals. “Some of the guys from Nashville will follow us on the road so in our spare time we can write, and [I'll also] find a few days for me to go to Nashville [to write] as well, so I’m excited. It will be the first time for me to have a cut of mine on the album.”
That is unless another song wins him over even stronger. “In the end, I need to let the best song win, whether I write it or somebody else writes it,” says McCreery. “For me, it’s better to be effective than original, you know? I want to effect peoples lives in a positive way and really make an impact on it. Whatever song does that the most, we’ll go with that song.”
Click here for a full list of dates where the Virtual Reality Tour will be stopping, and stay tuned to Taste of Country for our exclusive chat with McCreery!
Scotty McCreery Talks Future Plans And New Album
Scotty McCreery has opened up about his plans for the future and about the subject matter he hopes to tackle on his second album. The 18-year-old American Idol champ says that though he'll go to college in the fall, he's committed to a music career.
"This is what I want to do for the rest of my life," McCreery tells Billboard. "It's getting to be . . . I don't want to say a job, but it's getting to be like that. I'm taking it seriously. But I love it."
He adds, "I love entertaining. If I wasn't on (Idol) I would've tried to head to Nashville and make it the traditional way."
As far as his new material goes, McCreery says that he plans to push away from doing sad country ballads:
"I don't want to get caught up in the sappy love songs; those are important, but I want them to get a feel for who I am as an artist and sing about real things in life," he explains.