Pittsburgh is still buzzing about this past summer’s American Idol auditions. Tens of thousands filed into Heinz Field for their shot at getting discovered; to top it off, the whole roster of Season 10 stars played a date at the Consol Energy Center in August. We won’t find out if a Chatham woman is headed to Hollywood until American Idol kicks off Season 11 on January 22, but last year’s winner Scotty McCreery has the voice, charisma and warmth to keep you hooked well beyond last Spring’s finale.
Few country singers hit the big time by competing in reality shows. Those that have, such as Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, went above and beyond anyone’s expectations. But this success could mean trouble for young country singer and 2011 American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, who must match the achievement of former winners or risk falling into the dusty pit of those so irrelevant, not even the most devoted reality fans can remember them.
Scotty, however, is ready to fight all odds. With a deep, rich, and rare voice that bears an unforgettable, down-home Southern twang and near-perfect pitch and inflection, the North Carolina native has been compared to “Your Man” singer Josh Turner and has performed shockingly impressive renditions of songs from western greats, including Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, and the King of Country himself, George Strait.
The hard part will be easing out of singing country standards to create chart-topping singles of his own. In country, it’s not enough to simply wear the cowboy boots; you have to fill ‘em, too. Thus far, Scotty has done an excellent job of this with a sugary and heart-stopping number, “I Love You This Big.” Originally released on the American Idol finale, it is Scotty’s debut song.
In honor of his own personal idol, Elvis Presley, Scotty selected “The Trouble with Girls” as his follow-up single. It begins with a gorgeous piano opening and the soft vocals of Mister McCreery. However, the biggest trouble with this song truly is the girls…and just how much they’re able to confuse the heck out of this poor young teen. In other words, a real yawn for folks expecting more maturity from such a mature voice and personality.
But country is nothing if not about real life, and Scotty stays true to his experience. The song begins on a rather corny note, mentioning in a few forgettable words how complicated these girls really are: “Spent my whole life tryin’ to figure out/Just what them girls are all about/The troubles with girls is they’re so dang pretty/Everything about them does somethin’ to me.”
As soon as he surrenders to his own weaknesses in the chorus, though, audiences can’t help but melt along with him. Here, the quiet piano and whining violin crescendos into a pounding chorus with arena-filling drumbeats and a triumphant rise in vocal quality from nervous to effervescent. As Scotty sings “…you can’t break free,” he seems to be speaking directly to the listener who now keeps the radio on long enough to reach the more complimentary, rather than simply cliché, second verse; girls go from being eye-batting baby dolls to “hell on wheels in tight blue jeans.”
In this same verse, Scotty also moves from the pop-standard descriptions to genuine country, bringing us down by the lake and to thoughts of old “unshakeable” memories. Scotty delivers notes reminiscent of those he belted out in spring that brought American teens to their knees. (Listen to his “truck” or “lake,” and you’ll know what I mean.)
As if making a final pull on the lasso, he heightens the work’s narrative tension as his girl tells him to “stay” just after he drops her off at her home. Nowhere else in the song is Scotty’s sincerity, power, and yearning as palpable as it is in the final minute of the piece. The instrumentals rise once more with his vocals, this time to proportions that are worthy of even Chris Young. This leaves us imagining Scotty standing on a stage in front of thousands, losing himself in the music and the moment, fists tightly clenched to the microphone as screaming fans hang on his every note.
Girls may be “the perfect drug” for Scotty, but his fans would undoubtedly say the same of him. While a painful reminder of his youth and naïveté in the music industry, “The Trouble with Girls” also recalls the 1990s country classics that influenced Scotty on his journey throughIdol. It is yet to be seen whether this single will have success amongst the adult audiences of country music, many of whom might have laughed at the kindergarten-esque phrasing of “I Love You This Big.” Even so, they have yet to write him off as a no-talent wannabe, a task as impossible as labeling Johnny Cash a disco singer.
With his resonant tone, hit-making song team (whose previous credits include Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton, and Rascal Flatts), and a few teasing glimpses of the freewheeling fun listeners were lucky enough to sample in the leaked “Out of Summertime,” the outlook for Scotty McCreery’s debut album, Clear as Day, is indeed sunny.
Rep Image: Scotty McCreery’s Official Facebook