Scotty McCreery and his wife, Gabi, welcomed their son, Merrick Avery McCreery, in 2022, and the couple is currently preparing to welcome their second child. During a recent chat with Us Weekly, the “Five More Minutes” singer opened up about fatherhood, easily naming it as the highlight of his life.
“It’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me, for sure,” he said before sharing a few details about his older child, who he and Gabi call by his middle name, Avery. “He’s already two and a half and running around, and he’s talking a mile a minute. It’s just so fun watching him grow. Having two is gonna be insane. … It’s the coolest, best thing I’ve ever done is being a dad.”
McCreery and Gabi revealed in May that they’ll be parents of two this year, posting a slideshow of family photos on Instagram featuring McCreery and Gabi in white t-shirts and jeans while Avery sports a blue sweatshirt that reads, “Big brother.” “A new best friend coming this fall!” Gabi captioned the snaps, adding two blue heart emojis.
After Avery’s birth in October 2022, McCreery told Billboard that becoming a parent has “been the joy of my life.”
“He’s awesome. He is healthy,” the American Idol winner told the outlet of his son. “It’s been so cool just to watch him grow, and it’s only been three weeks, and we’re just getting started, but it’s been the joy of my life.”
He also praised his wife and how she handled pregnancy and the transition to motherhood. “It’s been incredible, and also just seeing Gabi be a mom—she’s worked so hard for nine months and is still crushing it. It’s been cool getting to do this together and just be there for him.”
The couple’s journey to parenthood was chronicled in McCreery’s music video for his song “It Matters to Her,” which featured footage of the day Gabi found out she was pregnant, ultrasound appointments, getting their son’s nursery ready and more.
McCreery’s latest single is “Bottle Rockets,” which is a collaboration with Hootie & the Blowfish and features the band performing snippets of their hit 1994 song “Hold My Hand.” The North Carolina native opened up about his new song’s origin to Billboard, sharing that he was at a writing retreat with songwriter friends and producer Frank Rogers when his thoughts turned to past summer soundtracks.
“I had mentioned how much I loved Hootie & the Blowfish, and Frank being from South Carolina and a frequent collaborator with Darius [Rucker] knew exactly what to do with that,” McCreery recalled. “We started strumming the tune that would eventually become ‘Bottle Rockets,’ and at the end of the makeshift chorus we had at that point, Frank went into ‘Hold My Hand.’ It fit like a glove. Everyone was laughing and high-fiving because we knew we were on to something. The song really just spilled out from there.”
Scotty McCreery has a series of fairs and festivals dates spread throughout the summer. Later this year, he will co-headline the Two for the Road Tour alongside Dustin Lynch. The tour begins on November 6th in Saginaw, MI.
