Q&A with 'American Idol' winner Scotty McCreery, who's coming to Lafayette

LAFAYETTE, Ind. − Season 10 winner of "American Idol," Scotty McCreery, is coming to Loeb Stadium Aug. 17.

McCreery's current album "Same Truck" holds his No. 1 RIAA Gold-certified singles "You Time" and "Damn Strait." He also recently earned three back-to-back No. 1 hits with songs "Five More Minutes," "This Is It" and "In Between."

McCreery won season 10 of "American Idol," an ABC singing competition show. The country music star recently spoke with the Journal & Courier about his upcoming tour and his previous experiences on "American Idol."

"We've always had a good time (in Lafayette)," McCreery said, in regards to why Lafayette was included on his tour list. "The fans, they know their country music up there. In the 12 years of doing this, I don't think we've had a bad show up in that area. Always a good time."

What're you most looking forward to with your upcoming shows?

"We got a lot of new music we're working on," McCreery said. "For me, it's kind of fun to play some songs that might be recorded, might not be recorded. Playing off the crowd, seeing what they think, seeing how their reaction is. It kind of gives us the gauge of what we should record and what the next album should look like. It doesn't happen every year, because we're not always making an album, but we're doing that this year. So it kind of gets to be fun out there doing that."

What advice do you have for prospective singer/songwriters?

"For me, I kind of have (four) things: live it, love it, know it (and) believe it" McCreery said. "... It's got to be something that I really believe in and love and know about. Some writers are awesome at kind of using your imagination. And if that's your thing, then go for it. But for me, what I've found that works is just writing about my real life stuff. Like 'Five More Minutes' was for my grand-daddy. 'This It It' was me and my wife's wedding song.

"It's all these little things that I just try to incorporate into the music."

Do you think another country singer could win American Idol?

"Yeah, 100%," McCreery said. "I think country music's done really well on that show, really I think a lot of that's because of Carrie Underwood. Her kind of paving that path for all of us to come down (on) the show later. I think so, I think it's a great way to do it. Nowadays, there's more ways than ever to be discovered.

"TV is still one of those ways, going out and playing the bars and clubs. It's still always a way. But nowadays there's YouTube and there's TikTok and there's Instagram, all the social media stuff. ... I just tell folks 'Get you music heard, because you never know who's listening.'"

What's your favorite memory from your time on American Idol?

"It was all pretty special," McCreery said, "beginning to end. Just that whole process. But I'd say the finale with me and Lauren both being there. Two country artists. And we both got to sing with a couple of our heroes. I got to sing with Tim McGraw that night ... I got to talk on the phone with George Strait, he picked a song for me to sing.

"That whole finale week was just bananas."

What's coming up in the future for you?

"We'll have a new song out on the radio here, I'd say in the next month or so," McCreery said. "And then a new album (will be released) early next year, is probably what I think. But we're working hard on it and hopefully folks enjoy it when it finally gets here."

Aug. 17 performance information

McCreery will perform at Loeb Stadium on Aug. 17 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $35 and go up to $75. Gates will open at 6 p.m.

Tickets are available on online at the Long Center for Performing Arts' website.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Scotty McCreery looking forward to performing in Lafayette