Scotty McCreery

ABOUT SCOTTY MCCREERY

Clear As Day is the perfect title for Scotty McCreery’s debut country album because this impressive collection of songs clearly and vividly captures who Scotty is as an artist and a young man. America fell in love with Scotty in 2011 when he appeared on American Idol and immediately made a name for himself with his deep and undeniably country voice, strong sense of self, small-town roots, and unwavering integrity and conviction. In May, he won Season Ten of American Idol when a record-breaking 122.4 million votes were cast for the finale and nearly 39 million people tuned in to see the winner’s name announced.

The album’s debut single, “I Love You This Big,” became a Top 15 hit and enjoyed the highest-charting debut for a new artist since at least 1984, while the video for the song hit No. 1 in just a week after its release. He recorded his debut album while starring in the American Idols' Live! Tour, which Pollstar ranked as one of the nation’s Top 15 tours.

Scotty is pleased that he was able to accomplish the goals he had set for his debut album. “I wanted to make sure people could hear me through the songs they were listening to,” he says. “On American Idol, I always told them, ‘What you see is what you get. Scotty on the show is Scotty off the show. I’m the same guy onstage and offstage.’

“On this album, I wanted them to make sure they really got who I am, how I grew up in Garner, N.C., and what I am all about,” he says. “It was also really important to me to keep some of the traditional elements of country music in it, to remember where country came from, and I think we did that. I hope that the people who listen to this record will see that and appreciate it and really see exactly who I am.”

While recording the album, Scotty was driven by the desire to blend the best of both musical worlds – classic and contemporary – to create a fresh sound that is simultaneously new and timeless. “It’s got some true country songs that have a contemporary feel, like ‘The Trouble With Girls,’” he says. “But there are some songs, like ‘Clear As Day’ or ‘That Old King James,’ that have that old country feel to it, that country that I grew up idolizing and listening to, like Hank Williams and Conway Twitty and Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. I think this album has a good mix.”

Clear As Day explores the big philosophies and small details that define life in America, especially the small towns that can sometimes feel confining to teens with a powerful wanderlust for places unseen. With songs such as “Out of Summertime,” “Write My Number On Your Hand” and “You Make That Look Good,” the album depicts the intoxicating excitement of the coming teen-age years, such as the anticipation of Friday nights, the intrigue of meeting a pretty girl and the thrill of exchanging class rings. The album is a collection of appealing songs with universal themes, whether they’re exploring topics such as girls, family dinners or the Bible. “I chose these songs because they mean a lot to me, but I think everybody can also relate to them,” Scotty says.