Scotty McCreery has become a beloved country star since winning American Idol back in 2011. He's built quite a successful country music career, winning several accolades, including a CMT Music Award for USA Breakthrough Video of the Year, an ACM award for Best New Artist, and an ACM award for Artist of the Year: New Artist. He's released five studio albums, including his latest release Same Truck, which included his lead single "You Time," which became McCreery's fourth consecutive single to reach No 1. on the US Country Airplay chart.
McCreery has also released several Top 20 songs, including "The Trouble with Girls," and "I Love You," as well as a Top 10 single, "See You Tonight."
Even though he has been in the spotlight quite a few times, there are still some interesting things that his fans haven't picked up on! Here are 10 things you might not know about the American Idol alum.
1. "Five More Minutes" inspired a Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Christmas movie.
McCreery debuted "Five More Minutes" at the Grand Ole Opry, making it a staple for his career. Released in 2017 the song hit the No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart and is a tribute to the singer's late grandfather, Bill McCreery, who passed away in 2015.
After hearing the singer's story, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries were so touched that they actually wrote a movie inspired by the song itself. Five More Minutes is about a woman's Christmas wish that was answered unexpectedly when her late grandfather's journal turns up and then reveals an untold whirlwind romance. The movie stars David Haydn-Jones, Nikki DeLoach, Serge Houde and Sherry Miller
2. He is part Puerto Rican
Denise Truscello/Getty Images for ACM
McCreery's father was born in Puerto Rico to his American dad and Puerto Rican mother. His grandparents eventually decided to move to North Carolina, which is where his family currently lives.
The country singer noted that he never learned to speak Spanish fluently. He did say that his grandmother offered to teach him when he was younger, but never got around to learning the language.
3. He's a big fan of baseball
Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images
Throughout his career, McCreery has revealed that he was a big fan of sports, especially baseball. The singer played baseball throughout his time in high school and grew up loving the Boston Red Sox. Back in 2013 he even got the chance to write for the MLB. He wrote a series of blogs during the baseball season called McCreery on the Majors.
4. He studied communications at North Carolina State University
After high school, McCreery decided he wanted to further his education and experience college. He attended North Carolina University and studied communications. The singer tried to attend full-time, but he realized it was hard to balance his music career with his studies and quickly switched to part-time.
"I felt like (professors) were empathetic but not sympathetic. They understood what I was going through, but they also had the mindset of 'if you're going to be a student, you're going to be a student, McCreery told the Chicago Tribune. They didn't want to give me any special gradings, which is what I wanted. If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it."
5. He married his high school sweetheart
The singer and his now-wife, Gabi Dugal McCreery, have quite a beautiful love story. The couple originally met in elementary school but didn't start officially dating until high school. Apparently, Gabi, who is a nurse, used to write "Mrs. Gabi McCreery '' in her personal diary with several hearts surrounding it! Talk about some great manifestation, huh? McCreery proposed to Gabi in 2017, and the couple officially married on June 16, 2018, at the Twickenham House & Hall.
Fun Fact: Mrs. McCreery has appeared in several of the singer's music videos including, "Feelin' It," "The Trouble With Girls," and "Five More Minutes."
6. He's a big George Strait fan
Throughout his career, McCreery has repeatedly stated he is a big fan of the Country King himself, George Strait. Earlier this year the singer paid tribute to Strait with his single "Damn Strait." Not only does he name drop several of Strait's songs, but he also released a music video that was filmed in Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas, where Strait would play in his early days. A beautiful tribute indeed!
7. He was almost named Evan McCreery
Rich Fury/Getty Images for ACM
Believe it or not, McCreery's parents, Judy and Mike McCreery, changed their minds about their second child's name while going to the hospital. McCreery was originally going to be called Evan McCreery, but they ultimately decided on Scott Cooke McCreery instead. Honestly, I think I prefer Scotty, it just rolls off the tongue. It was quite a good call!
8. He's a major fan of reduced-fat Cheez-Its
Just like us regular folks, McCreery is a big snacker, especially when on the road. Speaking with Sounds Like Nashville, the singer revealed that his favorite snack is Reduced Fat Cheez-Its...because well the regular Cheez-Its are just not the same. Honestly, they are delicious so we can see why he likes them.
9. He wanted to be an astronaut
Initially, the singer revealed that he wanted to be an astronaut. This can probably tie into him wanting to pursue an engineering career at North Carolina State. He even revealed in an episode of American Idol that he really wanted to go to space, but apparently, his "brains were not astronaut material." Which is fair, but hey, at least your vocals blow us out of this world!
10. He's a Katy Perry Fan
Apparently, McCreery's guilty pleasure is listening to Katy Perry, and honestly, we don't blame him. Didn't see this one coming at all, I can't picture him jamming out to "Firework'' but hey, you like what you like. The two were recently reunited during the season finale of American Idol Season 20.
