Scotty McCreery is in a good spot right now. The 19-year-old fast-rising country star’s debut album ‘Clear as Day’ went platinum, no doubt bolstered by the burst of publicity he received after winning ‘American Idol’ in 2011. In the last year, he has finished high school, started college, and toured all over the country, and he recently released his first Christmas album, the aptly-titled ‘Christmas With Scotty McCreery.’

McCreery spoke to Taste of Country recently about his Christmas album, what he wants to do differently with his upcoming second studio record, how he balances his college classes and career and more. The deep-voiced singer’s success and earnest manner belie his youth, but despite an innate maturity beyond his years, McCreery acknowledged that in some ways he’s just a normal kid.

ToC: What makes a Christmas album so important to you right now? The industry’s generally accepted wisdom would say that it’s a bit early in your career for an album like that.

Scotty McCreery: It’s definitely early for a Christmas album in the country music world. A lot of people wait until they’re far down in their careers. For me, it’s just kind of another step where I’m growing as an artist. We talked about this for about a year now, and we finally got the okay to do it from the label, and everybody supports that. I was pumped up when they said yes.

I think it’s a good move. I think I’m going to have a lot more time to grow and take my time with my true sophomore album after ‘Clear as Day’ and really find the right songs. You know, in the last year I’ve won awards, I’ve had sold out shows across the country, but I haven’t had that big radio hit yet. So that’s my mission right now. So I’ve got to go out there and try to find it.

Read the rest of the interview - and 10 Things You Didn't Know About Scotty McCreery - at Taste of Country. 

» tasteofcountry.com

Just one album into a career, it's unusual for an artist to turn around and release a Christmas set next, but 2011 "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery says he "got lucky," even if he admits he did have to talk his record label into the idea.

"A lot of people have to wait a few years -- a lot of years -- before they ever get to do a Christmas album," he says. "I just wanted to get it out there, and I really put a lot of time and effort into it. Christmas is my favorite holiday."

In keeping with the music industry's strategy of releasing Christmas fare before the Halloween candy has cleared the aisles, "Christmas With Scotty McCreery" arrived in stores on Oct. 16.

The singer, who just turned 19 this month, grew up loving Christmas music and performing it in school and church, so he was eager to get an album of his favorites into the marketplace. With his first studio album, "Clear as Day," having been certified platinum for sales of more than 1 million units just three months after its release last year, McCreery had a little leverage in gently twisting the arms of executives at his label. Once they agreed to the idea, he says, "They had my back on it, so it's been really nice to have their support."

Recording the album in August, during a scorching heat wave in Nashville, posed a second set of challenges, which McCreery and his team overcame by immersing themselves in holiday trimmings.

"We had Christmas lights, Christmas trees, Christmas cookies, Christmas hats; it was Christmas-y in there," says McCreery with a grin. "That made it easy on us, as long as we didn't go outside."

Read more about how Scotty picked which Christmas songs to record and how his first year in college is going at MSN Entertainment. 

» music.msn.com

Mercury Nashville/19 Recordings/Interscope artist Scotty McCreery debuts at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200, No. 2 on the Top Country Albums charts and No. 1 on the Top Seasonal Albums chart with Christmas With Scotty McCreery, selling over 40,000 albums. As the holiday season begins, this is the best-selling holiday album so far this season.

"I owe it all to my fans,” said McCreery. “It's just incredible that last October AND this October, the fans put my new albums at the top of the Billboard charts."

The Platinum-selling teen, who spends half of each week as a full-time student at NC State and the other half on the road performing, will be all over the airwaves as the holiday season kicks in to high gear. He will perform one or two of his Christmas favorites on the upcoming “CMA Country Christmas,” which tapes in front of a live audience Saturday, Nov. 3 (7:30 PM/CT) at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The special will air later this holiday season on the ABC Television Network. 

McCreery will also be part of some other major holiday specials that will be announced soon. 

Christmas With Scotty McCreery, an 11-song collection produced by Mark Bright,follows his history-making debut album, Clear As Day, which was certified platinum for sales ofmore than 1 million units in just three months. Clear As Day debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and Top CountryAlbums charts, making him the youngest man in history to open at the topof the all-genre chart with a debut release. It also garnered the highestsales of any country solo album released last year and held the No. 1 spoton the Billboard Top Country Albums chart for six weeks.  The album'sfirst two singles, "I Love You This Big" and “The Trouble With Girls,” have also been certified gold.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                      
Oct 22, 2012

SCOTTY McCREERY TO PERFORM SONGS FROM CHRISTMAS WITH SCOTTY MCCREERY ON QVC TUESDAY, OCT 23

Viewers Have Opportunity To Order A Two CD set Including His Platinum-Selling Debut Clear As Day

NASHVILLE, TN – QVC’s gone country! American Idol Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery is scheduled to perform songs from his newly released album,Christmas with Scotty McCreery, live on QVC Tuesday October 23 at 2 PM (ET). In the spirit of the upcoming holiday season, the CMT award-winning artist will offer QVC viewers the exciting opportunity to order his new album as part of a two CD set including his platinum-selling debut album Clear as Day.

Christmas with Scotty McCreery blends classic holiday favorites such as “Let it Snow” and “Jingle Bells” with a distinct country vibe, creating a unique and refreshing sound sure to please music lovers of all ages. The album also features two new singles, “Christmas in Heaven” and “Christmas Comin’ Round Again.”

The two CD set containing Christmas with Scotty McCreery and Clear as Day will be available starting October 23 through QVC.com, while supplies last.

In September, the North Carolina State student was ranked No. 4 on Billboard’s list of “21 Under 21: Music’s Hottest Minors 2012,” which was his second consecutive year to be ranked No. 4 on that prestigious list. He was also among only five musical artists to be included in Variety’s Youth Impact Report 2012 that detailed those under age 21 who are driving forces in the entertainment industry. 

McCreery quickly emerged as the most successful new country artist of the last year. He won New Artist of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards in April, the same award he received at the American Country Awards in December. He also won the USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year for “The Trouble With Girls” at the 2012 CMT Music Awards. He was ranked No. 1 on  Billboard’s list of Top New Country Artists for 2011 and has been touring as part of Brad Paisley’s “Virtual Reality Tour 2012” presented by Chevrolet.

Clear As Day debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and Top Country Albums charts, making him the youngest man in history to open at the top of the all-genre chart with a debut release. It also garnered the highest sales of any country solo album released last year and held the No. 1 spot on theBillboard Top Country Albums chart for six weeks.  The album's first two singles, "I Love You This Big" and “The Trouble With Girls,” have also been certified gold.

Back in July, when it was 98-degrees outside… Country Star Scotty McCreery was in an air-conditioned recording studio, singing Christmas songs.

‘Christmas With Scotty McCreery' is on sale now.

Follow Scotty on Twitter: @ScottyMcCreery 

On Facebook: www.Facebook.com/ScottyMcCreery

Offical Website: www.ScottyMcCreery.com

Watch the video and read more at MyFOXLA.com

» www.myfoxla.com

"It's been three weeks since my first day," McCreery recently told SoundSpike via telephone from Virginia Beach, VA. "It's going really well for me so far... I've gotten to do so many cool things, like go to the World Series and sing. Right now, I'm on tour with Brad Paisley. It's been a crazy great year for me since 'Idol.'" 

» www.soundspike.com

Fans will soon flock to Raleigh to catch one of Scotty McCreery’s performances at the N.C. State Fair. Another must for fans — a visit to the N.C. Museum of History to see several of McCreery’s items on exhibit. From Monday, Oct. 1, 2012, through Friday, Jan. 4, 2013, an exhibit case will spotlight objects the 2011 “American Idol” winner has donated to the museum. Admission is free.

The exhibit case, titled Scotty McCreery: An “American Idol,” will feature these items:

More About McCreery

America fell in love with McCreery and his deep, undeniably country voice during the 2011 season of “American Idol.” After the hit TV show’s four-month competition, with a record-breaking 122.4 million votes cast for the final showdown, the Garner high school student won the coveted title. Nearly 39 million viewers tuned in to the season finale. Seventeen-year-old McCreery was the youngest male contestant and the first male country music singer to win “American Idol.”

Born on Oct. 9, 1993, in Garner, McCreery attended West Lake Middle School and in 2012 graduated from Garner Magnet High School, where he sang bass in a vocal ensemble and played on the Garner Trojans baseball team. Now a student at N.C. State University, he maintains an active performance schedule.

Don’t miss this opportunity to visit the N.C. Museum of History and see the exhibit case Scotty McCreery: An “American Idol.” 

For more information about the N.C. Museum of History, call 919-807-7900 or go to www.ncmuseumofhistory.org or Facebook.

IMAGE CAPTION

Scotty McCreery wore this outfit when he sang his final duet on “American Idol,” “Live Like You Were Dying,” with country superstar Tim McGraw on May 25, 2011. It is on exhibit at the N.C. Museum of History. CREDIT: N.C. Museum of History.

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Which country artist enjoyed the best first-week sales tally of 2011? Just a few months from winning "American Idol," Scotty McCreery became the answer to that question, and though the 18-year-old has yet to place a single in the top 10 on the country charts, the North American native has developed a very loyal fan base at a young age. After his debut album "Clear as Day" helped him claim awards from the Academy of Country Music Awards as well as the CMT Music Awards upon its October release, McCreery announced that his debut holiday set, "Christmas with Scotty McCreery," will hit stores on October 16. This year, McCreery will ring in the holidays as one of country's proven young stars.

» www.billboard.com

» www.theboot.com

SCOTTY McCREERY WILL RELEASE CHRISTMAS ALBUM ON OCT. 16

Christmas with Scotty McCreery Contains His Lifelong Favorites and Two New Standout Originals

NASHVILLE, TN – Scotty McCreery will release a new album, Christmas with Scotty McCreery, on Oct. 16 that features many of the holiday songs that have played an important role in his life, as well as two exciting new originals that he hopes will have a place in many Christmases to come.

“Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year,” he says. “And what is Christmas without music? We start listening to Christmas songs early in the McCreery household, so it felt right. I’ve always wanted to record a Christmas album since I’ve had my music career.

“It’s a special thing for me,” he says. “As a family, we were all really excited about making a Christmas album. Now we can add my CD to the collection we listen to.”

McCreery quickly emerged as the most successful new country artist of the last year. He won New Artist of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards in April, the same award he received at the American Country Awards in December. He also won the USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year for “The Trouble With Girls” at the 2012 CMT Music Awards. He was ranked No. 1 on  Billboard’s list of Top New Country Artists for 2011 and has been touring as part of Brad Paisley’s “Virtual Reality Tour 2012” presented by Chevrolet.

Christmas with Scotty McCreery, an 11-song collection produced by Mark Bright, follows his history-making debut album, Clear As Day, which was certified platinum for sales of more than 1 million units in just three months. Clear As Day debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and Top Country Albums charts, making him the youngest man in history to open at the top of the all-genre chart with a debut release. It also garnered the highest sales of any country solo album released last year and held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart for six weeks.  The album's first two singles, "I Love You This Big" and “The Trouble With Girls,” have also been certified gold.

McCreery’s goal for his Christmas album was to create a body of work that makes people feel good and celebrate the birth of Jesus. “I just wanted it to be holly and jolly and really lift people’s spirits in the Christmas season because it’s supposed to be a really happy time. But I also wanted to get across the real reason for the season. ‘Christmas in Heaven’ is my favorite song on the album and it really speaks to that.”

Of course, the album embraces the traditional country sound for which McCreery has become known, but he also stretches his boundaries a bit to showcase songs with a more rocking feel, like “Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Santa Claus Is Back in Town,” and even create a musical atmosphere reminiscent of the Rat Pack on some songs.

“There will be some songs that sound like a different Scotty – not different as far as not country, but a different sound than they heard on the first album. Hopefully, they will be pleasantly surprised.”

He says deciding which songs to record was the most difficult part of the process because there are so many great Christmas standards. “I knew of a few that I just had to do, like ‘Mary, Did You Know?’ and ‘The First Noel.’ Then we heard some originals that blew me away and it was a no-brainer to put them on the album. When I heard ‘Christmas in Heaven,’ I listened to the first verse and automatically said, ‘You can stop it. That is on the album.’

“The other new song is called ‘Christmas Is Coming Around,’” he says. “That’s just a great story about Christmas time and really just lifting people’s spirits. Times may be tough, but during Christmas, it needs to be a happy time.”

Standards on the album include “Winter Wonderland,” “Jingle Bells,” “Let It Snow,” “The Christmas Song” and “O Holy Night.”  “With me being such a huge Elvis fan, I had to have one Elvis song, so I chose ‘Santa Claus Is Back in Town.’”

Since his elementary school days, he has delivered special performances for Christmas. In elementary school, he got a last-minute solo in a holiday concert and was able to sing it with ease. He played Joseph in a Christmas play and sang “O Holy Night” in fifth grade.

“For the last few years, I sang ‘Mary, Did You Know?’ in Christmas Eve services before the church service started with my friend Cody Wilson. He would play a little drum and I would play the guitar.

“Music is a very important part of Christmas time for me and everybody else.”

Beginning today, McCreery’s official site, www.ScottyMcCreery.com, will have an exclusive CD offer for fans to pre-order an autographed copy of the CD, receive a video message from Scotty and enter for a chance to meet or speak to McCreery.

"There will be some fun things to promote this album,” he says. “For example, I'll making Christmas calls to 100 random fans who purchase the album from my site and everyone who buys the album from my site will get an autographed copy and will be entered to win a fun meet and greet with me.”

» www.mlive.com

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» www.ontheredcarpet.com

After getting his high school sheepskin and a new CMT Music Award (or USA Breakthrough Video of the Year), Scotty McCreery is happy to be able to turn music into his sole and full-time pursuit. 

"Oh, of course -- this what I want to do for the rest of my life," the 2011 "American Idol" champ, who helped pitch his Clayton, N.C., baseball team into the playoffs this season, told Billboard.com. "You've got to put in the work early to be able to do that for the next few years down the road. It's pretty intense. 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. I never wanted to sit behind a desk; that wasn't me. I love entertaining. If I wasn't on ('Idol') I would've tried to head to Nashville and make it the traditional way." 

McCreery has already made some waves in the country world. His debut album, "Clear As Day," is certified platinum and has spawned three Top 20 country hits -- including the current Top 50 hit "Water Tower Town." He's back out on the road now with Brad Paisley, but he's also ready to get to work on his second album.

"We've gotten songs in... and starting to get in the mode of writing and stuff," McCreery says. "We've already got a few winners picked out I'm really excited about cutting. It's going to be fun. I like the process of making an album. The first one I did was a little rushed; I didn't get to enjoy it or get creative with it. This one we're going to take our time and really make a good album." McCreery predicts that he'll probably start recording during the summer, in-between concert dates, but he doesn't expect to release anything until 2013.

For the full article, check out Billboard.com

» www.billboard.com

On June 9 Scotty will be suiting up for the 2012 City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge. However, Scotty won't be the only one stepping up to the plate!

Carrie Underwood, Brantley Gilbert, Lauren Alaina, and David Nail are a few of the other big names that  have committed to play in an effort to raise money and awareness. All proceeds will benefit thr City of Hope organization in their fight against cancer.

The game is currently set to take place at the Greer Stadium in Nashville, TN. Buy your tickets here!