Scotty McCreery is riding high after earning his fifth consecutive No. 1 hit, with “Damn Strait.” The success of the song feels especially sweet to the singer, since the song honored his one of his all-time favorite artists, the legendary George Strait.
“This song is such a great tribute to one of my musical heroes, George Strait, while also using his song titles in a clever way to tell such a heartbreaking story,” McCreery states. “I’ve loved it from the moment I first heard it. It is one of my favorite songs that I’ve recorded, and the fans love it in concert as well. You can feel the anticipation in the air as they get ready to sing along on the chorus.”
“Damn Strait” and his previous single, “You Time,” are both from his latest Same Truck album, as is his next single. The North Carolina native reveals “It Matters To Her,” which he wrote with Lee Thomas Miller and Rhett Akins, will be released next. The song is McCreery’s nod to another country music act he grew up admiring: Brooks & Dunn. McCreery recently crossed a major item off of his bucket list, when he was invited to open for the duo for a few shows, an experience he will never, ever forget.
“Those shows were bucket list shows for me,” McCreery tells Audacy‘s Katie Neal, speaking of sharing a stage with Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn. “We’ve gotten the chance to open for a lot of my heroes and a lot of folks where I’m like freaking out, but they’re towards the top of the list for me.
“They were just the coolest guys… they put on just such great show and sound as good as ever,” he continues. “It’s hit after hit after hit. I’m just a country fan losing it when I’m front of house watching!”
It’s McCreery’s love of Brooks & Dunn that was at least part of the inspiration for releasing “it Matters to Her” next.
“The coolest one for me is our next single, ‘It Matters To Her,” which, if you listen to it, speaking of Brooks & Dunn, it definitely has that inspiration to it,” McCreery concedes. “And how could you not when I grew up listening to all their albums? This is the [song] where you start playing it and you see the crowd start trying to sing along like they already knew it, but then they realize like ‘Oh, I don’t know this song.’”
McCreery will celebrate the success of “Damn Strait” with a special show at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas, where Strait’s career began. The show will take place on September 23. Find music and tour dates by visiting his website.
