American Idol winner and Country star Scotty McCreery is celebrating the release of his brand new, fifth studio album, Rise & Fall, with a special Audacy Live performance and interview with host Sabrina from Queens recorded at the Hard Rock Hotel New York.

Scotty has plenty to celebrate, after marking off a bucket list item when he was honored as the most recent Grand Ole Opry member just before his new album arrived. “I'm still trying to take it all in,” McCreery admits. “The Opry happened because it was a lifelong dream. But, yeah, I don't know, I mean, where do you go from there? The Opry to me is, in Country music, it is the stage to play, it's the family to be in. So, to be deemed worthy to join that family is crazy.”

“You always want to play bigger venues, have more fans, write better songs,” Scotty adds. “So that's always my goal. But as far as a bucket list thing, that's crazy. I'm gonna have to think long and hard about that one.”

Scotty’s new album Rise & Fall, he has said leading up to the release, is his favorite album that he’s ever laid to tape thus far. “No competition,” he tells Sabrina. “I feel like a lot of life's happened, I mean… starting at 17 and going to 30, but just in the last two years of my life, me and my wife welcomed our first little boy into the world. It's the best thing ever, and just everything that comes with that... They've been on the road with me. Songwriting-wise, I feel like I've grown into the man that I am today, and I know what I want to say, and how I want to say it.”

“Writing this album kind of came naturally… like the way we wrote it, the writing retreats and stuff. Typically in Nashville, like 11 o'clock, you go into the office and you write a song with your buddies. But this was like, ‘Man, let's get away from that and let's go into the woods and mountains of North Carolina.’ We just went up there, it was buddies with guitars sitting around the fire, writing Country music. It just felt like the old days and it felt right.”

“It's heaven on earth to me,” Scotty says. “You know, the Appalachian Mountains, it's so relaxing. You feel like you're getting in the way, it moves at a slower pace. I'm a very chill guy. People say I'm so laid back, I'm horizontal. Like that's my M.O. So, for me it just feels like that's where I gel and am one with everything. Me and my wife love to go there, so I figured, man, if I'm gonna make an album, why don't I start it right there?”

McCreery already has another number one single under his belt with the album track “Cab in a Solo,” and says there are plenty more tracks on the record he’s proud to share with fans. “They're all like, you know, kids to you,” he says of his songs.

“You love them all for different reasons,” he explains. “‘Slow Dance’ to me feels special, it feels great to sing too. I'm like the world's worst social media guy… I feel like I'm an 80-year-old man trapped in a 30-year-old's body when it comes to TikTok and stuff. I'm trying though, and one day I'm sitting there waiting on some hibachi, you know, take out, and they were taking forever. My management's always like, ‘We need you more on TikTok.’ So I said, let me tease this song called ‘Slow Dance.’ And it's like my biggest TikTok ever. All of a sudden people were watching, I was like, ‘Is this what viral feels like?’ Ever since then, every night I meet and greet, and online -- people are like, ‘When's ‘Slow Dance’ coming out?’”

Scotty and his wife Gaby welcomed their first child, Avery, back in 2022. Fatherhood, Scotty reveals, “changes everything -- so it has no choice but to affect your songwriting. All of a sudden it's no longer about what I want or what I'm thinking. It's like, everything is about Avery, and what do we need to do for him and how can I help my wife support him? For me, it's completely changed everything. What's important in life, your perspective on life, and I've been loving it. I feel like at 30-years-old I've gotten to do some pretty crazy things. The Opry, sing at Super Bowl parties for my favorite team, and the World Series national anthem. But the coolest thing I'll ever do is being his daddy -- and I'm loving every minute.”

Don’t miss Scotty’s full interview with Sabrina and his Audacy Live performance above. Stay tuned for even more conversations and live sets from your favorite artists on Audacy.com/Live.

Scotty McCreery - Rise & Fall tracklist:
1. Little More Gone
2. Cab in a Solo
3. Lonely
4. Can't Pass the Bar
5. Hey Rose
6. Fall of Summer
7. Love Like This
8. Slow Dance
9. No Country for Old Men
10. And Countin'
11. Stuck Behind a Tractor
12. Red Letter Blueprint
13. Porch

Words by Joe Cingrana Interview by Sabrina From Queens

American Idol winner and Country star Scotty McCreery is celebrating the release of his brand new, fifth studio album, Rise &amp; Fall, with a special Audacy Live performance and interview with host Sabrina from Queens recorded at the Hard Rock Hotel New York.
Scotty has plenty to celebrate, after marking off a bucket list item when he was honored as the most recent Grand Ole Opry member just before his new album arrived. “I'm still trying to take it all in,” McCreery admits. “The Opry happened because it was a lifelong dream. But, yeah, I don't know, I mean, where do you go from there? The Opry to me is, in Country music, it is the stage to play, it's the family to be in. So, to be deemed worthy to join that family is crazy.”
“You always want to play bigger venues, have more fans, write better songs,” Scotty adds. “So that's always my goal. But as far as a bucket list thing, that's crazy. I'm gonna have to think long and hard about that one.”
Scotty’s new album Rise &amp; Fall, he has said leading up to the release, is his favorite album that he’s ever laid to tape thus far. “No competition,” he tells Sabrina. “I feel like a lot of life's happened, I mean… starting at 17 and going to 30, but just in the last two years of my life, me and my wife welcomed our first little boy into the world. It's the best thing ever, and just everything that comes with that... They've been on the road with me. Songwriting-wise, I feel like I've grown into the man that I am today, and I know what I want to say, and how I want to say it.”
“Writing this album kind of came naturally… like the way we wrote it, the writing retreats and stuff. Typically in Nashville, like 11 o'clock, you go into the office and you write a song with your buddies. But this was like, ‘Man, let's get away from that and let's go into the woods and mountains of North Carolina.’ We just went up there, it was buddies with guitars sitting around the fire, writing Country music. It just felt like the old days and it felt right.”
“It's heaven on earth to me,” Scotty says. “You know, the Appalachian Mountains, it's so relaxing. You feel like you're getting in the way, it moves at a slower pace. I'm a very chill guy. People say I'm so laid back, I'm horizontal. Like that's my M.O. So, for me it just feels like that's where I gel and am one with everything. Me and my wife love to go there, so I figured, man, if I'm gonna make an album, why don't I start it right there?”
McCreery already has another number one single under his belt with the album track “Cab in a Solo,” and says there are plenty more tracks on the record he’s proud to share with fans. “They're all like, you know, kids to you,” he says of his songs.
“You love them all for different reasons,” he explains. “‘Slow Dance’ to me feels special, it feels great to sing too. I'm like the world's worst social media guy… I feel like I'm an 80-year-old man trapped in a 30-year-old's body when it comes to TikTok and stuff. I'm trying though, and one day I'm sitting there waiting on some hibachi, you know, take out, and they were taking forever. My management's always like, ‘We need you more on TikTok.’ So I said, let me tease this song called ‘Slow Dance.’ And it's like my biggest TikTok ever. All of a sudden people were watching, I was like, ‘Is this what viral feels like?’ Ever since then, every night I meet and greet, and online -- people are like, ‘When's ‘Slow Dance’ coming out?’”
Scotty and his wife Gaby welcomed their first child, Avery, back in 2022. Fatherhood, Scotty reveals, “changes everything -- so it has no choice but to affect your songwriting. All of a sudden it's no longer about what I want or what I'm thinking. It's like, everything is about Avery, and what do we need to do for him and how can I help my wife support him? For me, it's completely changed everything. What's important in life, your perspective on life, and I've been loving it. I feel like at 30-years-old I've gotten to do some pretty crazy things. The Opry, sing at Super Bowl parties for my favorite team, and the World Series national anthem. But the coolest thing I'll ever do is being his daddy -- and I'm loving every minute.”
Don’t miss Scotty’s full interview with Sabrina and his Audacy Live performance above. Stay tuned for even more conversations and live sets from your favorite artists on Audacy.com/Live.
Scotty McCreery - Rise &amp; Fall tracklist: 1. Little More Gone 2. Cab in a Solo 3. Lonely 4. Can't Pass the Bar 5. Hey Rose 6. Fall of Summer 7. Love Like This 8. Slow Dance 9. No Country for Old Men 10. And Countin' 11. Stuck Behind a Tractor 12. Red Letter Blueprint 13. Porch
Words by Joe Cingrana Interview by Sabrina From Queens

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