The Farr Side: McCreery's journey an interesting decade

It’s been 13 years now since Scotty McCreery was named our next “American Idol.” He was just 17 years old then, the second youngest to win the reality TV show’s top prize.

Since then, his life has endured its fair share of twists and turns. But, last Saturday at Blue Gate Performing Arts Center in Shipshewana, Ind., he proved that it’s what you choose to do in those twists and turns that can be all the difference.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen several Idol participants through the years in concert and have enjoyed watching many of them bloom into major stars. McCreery was always one of my favorites from the show, particularly Season 10. He was one of the first men on the show to bring country music attributes.

The sold-out audience consisted of a nice blend of music lovers, both old and young. I always love to see that.

McCreery opened with the fun upbeat track “In Between” from his “Seasons Change” album. It was just the right tempo to prepare the crowd for a fun-filled night of good music for making great memories. Several tracks followed including “Small Town Story,” “I Love You This Big,” “Seasons Change,” “Feelin’ It” and the track “It Matters To Her.” The songs prompted several show-goers to rise to their feet.

“It’s been 13 years now doing this for a living. So thank ya’ll for sticking with me,” he said. “When I do it, it makes me kinda think back to when I was a kid and I got my very first cassette. Ya’ll remember cassettes?”

“Man, I loved that cassette,” McCreery said, while mentioning that it contained two songs on each side: Little Richard on one and Elvis Presley on the other. He was just 5 years old at the time, he said.

I loved hearing that, as it proves that music is timeless and you don’t have to live in a particular generation to appreciate the music. He then broke into short snippits of “Tutti Frutti” (Little Richard) and “Blue Suede Shoes” (Elvis Presley).

What came next was a pleasant surprise. McCreery talked of his friendship with Charlie Wilson, who was the frontman for The Gap Band. He then sang one of Wilson’s solo tracks before going into a rousing performance of The Gap Band’s “You Dropped A Bomb On Me.” It was an unexpected highlight, for sure.

Sometimes fame can get the best of artists, but it hasn’t changed him. He still is as respectful and humble as he was from the beginning. It might be what was needed for him to weather some career storms that ultimately led to some dark days. He shared some of his experiences including singing on a hometown “Idol” show and then his multiple auditions for “American Idol.” It was cool to hear it as those first few auditions were not in front of any of the Idol judges then; instead, they were show producers and such.

After making it through four rounds, he got a golden ticket to perform before Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson. Of course, that 17-year-old boy was all about meeting J-Lo, as he shared.

But it wasn’t all fun as the pressures to be successful were mounting, nevermind the fact that he had already set a few industry records of his own. McCreery spoke of being dropped by his label and experiencing the worst. But he remained hopeful despite the possibilities. That lead to McCreery putting out the track “Five More Minutes” independently. The song became his first No. 1 and made him the first country artist in history to write, perform, record and successfully go all the way to No. 1 without a record contract behind him. The song was one of the night’s biggest as McCreery's heartfelt story resonated with his fans.

He followed the success of “Five More Minutes” with four more consecutive No. 1 singles including “In Between,” “This Is It,” “You Time” and “Damn Strait.” He just lit up the stage and seemed to feed off the crowd’s enthusiasm. “You Time” just might be one of faves now.

New tracks from his forthcoming album filled in the night. The songs “Cab In A Solo,” “I’m Counting” and “Can’t Pass The Bar” to name a few.

— David T. Farr is a Journal correspondent. Email him at farrboy@hotmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: The Farr Side: McCreery's journey an interesting decade