The James Logan Courier

By Lauren Mascarenhas, Courier Managing Editor

Fresh off the success of his American Idol win, Scotty McCreery has broken onto the country music scene, earning himself a nomination for this year’s Acadamy of Country Music New Artist of the Year award.

Last May, McCreery became the youngest male American Idol winner in the show’s history. He won particular recognition for his deep baritone voice that seemed developed far beyond his years. Clear as Day, his debut album, went platinum in just three months and stayed at number one on Billboard’s Top Country Albums list for six weeks.

Following his debut single, “I Love You this Big,” McCreery’s new single “The Trouble with Girls” has become his second consecutive gold single.
McCreery stays true to his age, staging the music video in a high school. His down –to –earth attitude is reflected in the video; no big tricks or elaborate dance moves are needed to draw listeners in.

As he starts to sing in a sunlit hallway, his calm demeanor paired with his deep, soulful voice set the tone for the rest of the video. The video features high school students passing notes in a classroom, overflowing beakers in a chemistry lab, and lots of those troublesome girls McCreery loves to sing about.

As a throwback to his days as a pitcher on the varsity baseball team, the video includes some shots of McCreery suited up and demonstrating that perfect pitch out on the baseball field.

The fairly simple and innocent video, a refereshing change from those of many other artists these days, gets the job done. It highlights the music and the meaning of the song, while keeping in line with the clean-cut image McCreery has made for himself thus far.

The soft piano at the beginning of the song, sets up the gentle melody and soothing tone that carries throughout. McCreery sticks to his soulful country sound and his humble demeanor. The lyrics, simple but touching, work with his smooth and earnest sounding voice to expose a vulnerability that listeners can latch onto, “They smile that smile, they bat those eyes, they steal you with hello, they kill you with goodbye.” The song ends with that same melody on the piano, and leaves listeners feeling good.

McCreery’s first year in the industry has been a success. He is performing with Brad Paisley’s “Virtual Reality Tour 2012,” this year, and will be attending the Acadamy of Country Music Awards this Sunday. Fans can vote for Scotty as “New Artist of the Year,” anytime until 5 P.M. PT on Sunday April 1 at www.voteACM.com.