"American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery releases debut album
(CBS) Not only does 17-year-old "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery have turning legal to look forward in a few days, he also released his debut album, "Clear As Day" on Oct. 4, 2011.
The singer stuck to his southern roots, and is making a name for himself in the country scene with his first record.
Pictures: "American Idol" Season 10 finale
Pictures: "American Idol" Season 10
Pictures: "Idol" winners
On "Clear As Day," McCreery draws on his childhood in Garner, North Carolina for inspiration on some songs like "Water Tower Town." "When I'm singing that song, it's kind of the way I grew up," he told Entertainment Weekly, adding that when he's at home he still goes to the football and basketball games. It's easy to forget that he's still in high school because he has accomplished so much at a young age.
Breakout hits from the album, "I Love You This Big" and "The Trouble With Girls," have already charted in the top 50 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs.
USA Today's Brian Mansfield called the album is a solid effort and not just a beginner's production. He added that McCreery can only grow and improve from.
"That said, 'Clear as Day' draws deeply from country music traditions, offering its own take on time-honored storytelling themes of God, mama and coming of age. It's an album of summer romances, Friday night football and memories of first kisses that are fresh in the mind. And that deep, honest delivery of Scotty's reflects an awareness of the genre's history that goes back farther than the singers he would've heard on the radio growing up," Masnfield wrote.
