Scotty McCreery became one of the youngest American Idol winners in the history of the show when he won Season 10 of the iconic reality singing competition on May 25, 2011, at the age of 17.

The native of Garner, N.C., had one of the most unusual journeys ever to the Idol crown. He garnered huge attention from the moment he auditioned, partly because of how unusual it seemed for such a rich, well-developed baritone voice to emerge from such a gangly-looking kid, and partly because of Idol judge Steven Tyler's priceless reaction to McCreery's audition.

After McCreery sang Josh Turner's "Your Man," Tyler asked him to show the higher part of his range, and McCreery responded by singing Travis Tritt's "Put Some Drive in Your Country."

"Well hellfire, save matches, f--k a duck and see what hatches," an astonished Tyler exclaimed.

McCreery went on to dominate the season with one strong, rock-solid country performance after another, becoming a favorite of both fans and the judges. In the end, it came down to a face-off between him and Lauren Alaina, with whom he had become close friends over their run on Idol. Fans chose McCreery, and his win was revealed in a two-hour finale.

The devout Christian began by thanking God for his victory, and he also sang his debut single, "I Love You This Big," while hugging his family and fellow contestants. McCreery released his debut album, Clear as Day, in 2011 and followed it with a Christmas album in 2012. He released See You Tonight in 2013 and parted ways with Mercury Nashville in 2016.

McCreery partnered with independent Triple Tigers to release his next album, Seasons Change, in 2018, and it proved a major commercial breakthrough, scoring three back-to-back No. 1 hits with "Five More Minutes," "This Is It" and "In Between." McCreery also hit No. 1 with "You Time" from his Same Truck album in 2021.

In 2022, McCreery became a father for the first time, to a son named Avery.

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