Scotty McCreery to be Inducted Into North Carolina Music Hall of Fame

Scotty McCreery is receiving a distinguished honor from his home state.

Videos by American Songwriter

The American Idol winner is one of the six new inductees into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. He’s part of the 2023 class alongside fellow North Carolina born and bred artists Betty Davis, who passed away in 2022; musician Loudon Wainwright III, Bill Curtis; frontman of funk and disco group The Fatback Band; Fetchin Bones; and late gospel singer George Beverly Shea. A ceremony will take place on October 19 at the Mooresville Performing Arts Center.

McCreery celebrated the news on Twitter. “I am honored to be announced today as a 2023 inductee into the North Carolina Music Hall Of Fame!!!” he wrote. “Congrats to my fellow inductees and their families!”

A native of Garner, McCreery won season 10 of American Idol in 2011. He’s since released five studio albums, the latest being Same Truck in 2021. He’s scored five consecutive No. 1 singles with “Five More Minutes,” “This is It,” “In Between,” “You Time” and “Damn Strait.” His current single, “It Matters to Her,” is currently in the Top 5 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. He and his wife Gabi welcomed their first child, son Merrick, in October 2022.

The country star recently teamed up with Columbian singer GUSI on the bilingual track “Why She Gotta Be Like That,” a remix of McCreery’s song “Why You Gotta Be Like That” off Same Truck. McCreery contacted GUSI after he saw a video of him covering “Why You Gotta Be Like That.”

“I’ve always thought it would be fun to bring the Latin part of my heritage into some of my music,” McCreery, who’s one-fourth Puerto Rican from his father’s side, said in a press release. “I met GUSI after hearing him perform ‘Why You Gotta Be Like That’ on Instagram.

“It is always flattering to have someone cover one of your songs, and he’s so talented, so I asked him if he would want to bring some Latin flavor to the track. He brought so much to it. It was so much fun to do a new take on this song as a duet with GUSI, so we decided to call this version ‘Why She Gotta Be Like That.’”

Photo Credit: Jeff Ray/Courtesy of Essential Broadcast Media

Leave a Reply

5 Rockers and Their Strange Pets