Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina first met as competitors on Season 10 of American Idol in 2011. The pair competed for the title of the next American Idol winner during the historic Season 10 finale that found two country artists pitted against each other.
McCreery won the Idol title that year, however, both McCreery and Alaina have went on to find incredible heights of success on their own.
In a new interview with RADIO.COM, McCreery recalled his conversation with fellow country star and American Idol alum Alaina, who learned that her success on the popular singing competition show did not necessarily reflect success within her music after the show.
“I think for the both of us, we went through that together,” McCreery told the outlet. “We had a country finale, which I’m still so proud about, on the biggest show that was out there. But it’s true. I think you’re a TV star when you come off that show, but I don’t think anybody goes on that show to become a TV star.”
“It’s crazy, because one thing everybody in this business is looking for is to be able to put a face to the name and you get that immediately with Idol,” he continued. “But I think what me and her are both looking for is to be seen as country music artists that write our own songs, and have them on the radio. Idol helped us get known, but I would say both of us were looking more so for the songs. Because in country music it’s all about the song.”
McCreery achieved superstardom with several hit singles including “Five More Minutes,” “This Is It,” “In Between” and his latest single “You Time.”
The singer is currently “full steam ahead” working on his fifth studio album and he says “It’s been fun to make,” as he looks forward to wrapping up the recording process in February. The album will feature songs, half of which were written solely by McCreery and according to Radio.com are “mostly a look back at his life rather than his previous offering which was focused on his new life with [his Wife] Gabi.”
Watch the full McCreery interview below.
