Photo: Getty Images
Scotty McCreery hailed his wife “Super Woman” as he gushed over his family in a recent interview.
McCreery reflected on some of his most heartwarming moments with loved ones as he recounted the course of his career as a country artist, beginning with his American Idol victory in 2011, when he was 17 years old. Since then, he’s experienced highs and lows as he’s navigated the music business in Nashville, Tennessee, and he spoke about his challenges and successes in CMT Stages Featuring: Scotty McCreery, which premiered on Wednesday (May 3).
“I’ve lived some life now. I’ve got some stories to tell,” McCreery, now 29, said as he remembered singing in his church and learning “Sweet Home Alabama” during his childhood in North Carolina.
During the special, McCreery remembered meeting his wife, Gabi, when they were in the same kindergarten class. The country superstar said that the two “were always friends, but I always, always had my eye on her.”
McCreery remembered having dinner with Brad Paisley, who he said told him that he met his wife on the set of a music video. The American Idol alum credited Paisley with the idea, and starred Gabi as the lead role in his “The Trouble With Girls” music video “before I worked up the nerve to ask her out. And the rest is history.”
Now at work on his fifth album, McCreery’s most heartfelt music stems from inspiration from his family, including sentimental moments and memories with loved ones. He knew that “Five More Minutes” would always be a special song to him, he said, reflecting on the writing process and the first-ever standing ovation he received at the Grand Ole Pry when he played it for the first time live. He said of the challenges he experienced in his career, after that moment: “I think it all worked out like it was supposed to work out. You know, I can look back and smile now and see things that I thought were so bad and realize that they were really blessings in disguise.”
“I think being a dad changes your perspective on a lot of things,” McCrery said, per CMT. “For me, I think ‘Five More Minutes’ now, being a dad, it’s like, ‘Hey man, live in the moment, be there as often as you can be there and try not to miss anything because, you know, you don’t wanna be down the road wishing you had that time because you missed out on it.’ I don’t wanna miss a thing with little Avery because of that song.
“I think for me as an artist, nowadays, I just try to draw from real life, and what’s in my heart, to sing about and to write about,” he continued. “It’s perspective, you know, about what’s really important in life. And to me, you know, it’s the three Fs: faith, family and friends. Gabi is unreal. Like, she is Super Woman to me. She does it all. She’s, to me, the rock of our family, and Avery is so lucky to have her as a mama, and I’m lucky to have her as a wife.”
McCreery and Gabi welcomed their firstborn child, son Merrick Avery McCreery, in October 2022. He’s named in honor of Gabi’s father, Merrick (Tre) Dugal III, and the proud parents call him Avery. McCreery — who is also featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s annual American Currents: State of the Music exhibit, spotlighting those who have heavily influenced country music in the past year — included sweet moments with Gabi and Avery in his “It Matters To Her” music video, inspired by his wife. Watch McCreery talk about that song and more in his CMT Stages interview: