Scotty McCreery’s latest song shouts out NC’s longleaf pines, wild horses, Andy Griffith

Scotty McCreery released a new song ,“Carolina to Me,” on Friday that calls out Kill Devil Hills, Linville Gorge, Andy Griffith, the wild horses on the Outer Banks and a host of iconic images of North Carolina.

The Garner native and “American Idol” winner plans to release “Same Truck,” his fifth studio album, on Sept. 17. It’s a celebration of a decade performing country music since he won the TV singing competition “American Idol.”

The album’s song “Carolina to Me,” written by Taylor Phillips and Jeremy Bussey, compares the Old North State to a blissful afterlife.

“You think pearly gates

You think streets of gold

And I think about them long leaf pines lined on Tobacco Road

You think skies of blue

You think angels’ wings

I think grandpa on an old creek bank and a Zebco 33.”

“Same Truck” also will feature the singles “Why You Gotta Be Like That” and “You Time,” which came out earlier this year.

Upcoming appearances

McCreery will perform several songs from the new album on the “Talk Shop Live” online site on Monday at 8 p.m. (talkshop.live/channels/scottymccreery).

And on Tuesday, McCreery will play the Grand Ole Opry stage, which is broadcast on WSM Radio.

McCreery won the 10th season of “American Idol” in 2011 while still a teen, going on to become the best selling country singer that year.

During the pandemic, he has made more than 130 online performances while writing and recording for the new album. McCreery penned 10 of 12 of the album’s tracks.

“My last album was about me as a young man getting ready to get married,” said McCreery, in a July news release. “‘Same Truck’ is me three years later, taking a moment to acknowledge where I am now as a 27-year-old happily married man, sharing both what I’ve learned and where I want to go.”

McCreery married longtime girlfriend Gabi Dugal in 2018.

This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Scotty McCreery’s latest song shouts out NC’s longleaf pines, wild horses, Andy Griffith."