Scotty McCreery

Since becoming American Idol's youngest male winner in 2011, as well as the show's first country male winner, Garner, NC native Scotty McCreery quickly emerged as country music's most successful new artist. McCreery's first studio album, Clear As Day, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and Top Country Albums charts, making him the youngest man in history to open at the top of the all-genre chart with a debut release. It also garnered the highest sales of any country solo album released last year, held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart for six weeks and earned Platinum status in just thirteen weeks. Scotty won New Artist of the Year at both the 2011 American Country Awards and the 2012 Academy of Country Music Awards. He also won the USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year for "The Trouble With Girls" at the 2012 CMT Music Awards. McCreery was ranked No. 1 on Billboard's list of Top New Country Artists for 2011 also earned the No. 4 spot on Billboard's 2012 List of the Top 21 Under 21. Scotty spent most of 2012 opening for Brad Paisley's Virtual Reality Tour 2012." McCreery recently released Christmas With Scotty McCreery, which debuted atNo.1 on the Billboard Top Seasonal Albums chart and remains one of this season's top holiday albums. Scotty has continues to perform and record while pursuing an undergraduate degree at N.C. State University.