Scotty McCreery
#
105
Ranking
BIRTHDATE
BIRTHPLACE
Garner
,
NC
,
USA
32
5
'
10
"
Scotty McCreery is a Garner, North Carolina-born country singer who won American Idol at age 17, became the youngest male artist of any genre to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, and has since grown into a Grand Ole Opry member with six number-one hits and a deeply personal catalog rooted in faith, family, and his small-town Southern roots.
Current Tour & Setlist
McCreery is playing a busy run of 2026 festival and headline dates including CMA Fest in Nashville on June 5, co-headlining shows with Josh Turner in New Berlin, Illinois (June 12) and Martinsville, Indiana (June 13), the Windy City Smokeout in Chicago on July 17, Freedom Fest MN on July 18, and a solo headlining show in Arlington, Washington on August 15. Based on recent setlists fans can expect signature hits including "Five More Minutes," "This Is It," "Damn Strait," and covers of traditional country classics by George Strait and Randy Travis.
Early Life
Born Scott Cooke McCreery, he grew up in a close-knit, church-going family where his earliest musical hero was Elvis Presley, an obsession passed down from his grandmother that led him to spend hours impersonating the King as a child. By age 10 he was playing guitar, and as a teenager he led his church's youth praise band, sang in the Garner Magnet High School choir, and pitched for the school baseball team, while also winning a local singing contest called Clayton Idol at age 16 and raising money for sick children by performing with a regional radio station.
Career Highlights
McCreery auditioned for Season 10 of American Idol in 2011 at age 17 with no prior professional experience and went on to win, becoming the first male country artist and the youngest male contestant of any genre to claim the title. His debut single "I Love You This Big" entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart immediately after his win, and his debut album Clear as Day, released in October 2011 on Mercury Nashville, made history as the first debut album by a country artist to open at number one on the all-genre Billboard 200. He was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2024 and has since built a catalog of six studio albums and six number-one singles, most recently releasing Rise and Fall in 2024.
Family & Personal Life
McCreery and his wife Gabi Dugal met in kindergarten in Garner, dated through high school, and stayed together as he launched his career and both attended college. They married in 2018 in the North Carolina mountains. The couple have two sons. Merrick Avery, born October 24, 2022 (known in the family as Avery, named after Gabi's father), and Oliver Cooke, born September 18, 2025, whose middle name carries on Scotty's own.
