Scotty McCreery is really just like us

Students make a connection when teen ‘Idol’ comes to town

By Ed Nadolski

Editor in Chief

                  After winning American Idol with the support of millions of people across the country, Scotty McCreery had to know he’d become a pop culture fixture – however fleeting it may be.

                  But on Monday, before a relatively paltry audience of 1,400 students and staff members at Burlington High School, McCreery realized he’s arrived as a legitimate artist on the country music scene.

                  Singing four of songs from his recently released No. 1 debut album “Clear as Day,” McCreery experienced a bit of a revelation: it was one of the first times he’s heard an audience singing along with songs that are uniquely his – not the hits made popular by other artists on an American Idol theme night.

                  “That’s a good feeling having them sing it back to you,” he said of the crowd’s reception at BHS.

                  That ability to connect with the music-buying public will likely mean the difference between forging a career on par with the likes of Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, or simply becoming a footnote in American Idol lore.

                  While the deep voice (as smooth as a Tennessee river stone and fresh as Appalachian air) and boyish good looks possessed by the teenager from North Carolina all but guarantee the former, McCreery is in no hurry to rush into stardom.

                  In fact, once the concert was over, McCreery was anxious to get back to Garner Magnet High School so he could attend his bowling class on Tuesday (like most people, he’s an erratic bowler – 170 one game and 70 the next).

                  He also does his best to stick around on Friday nights – before flying out for weekend concerts – so he can follow the school’s football team into the state playoffs.

                  It’s all part of the senior year high school experience that McCreery has no desire to forfeit just because of his newfound fame.

                  In fact, with his proud father standing in the wings Monday, McCreery appeared much like the ordinary high school students who politely sought his autograph, snapped copious cell phone photos and shrieked at the mere sight of him walking into their gymnasium.

Toy drive winners

                  McCreery visited BHS as part of a promotion sponsored by Milwaukee radio station FM 106.1. The event was intended to reward the school for collecting the most toys to donate to the annual U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign in the Milwaukee area.

                  BHS was one of five schools among hundreds of entries selected to compete for the concert. The victory was a triumph of school unity that included students and staff members – from custodian Craig Ebert, who made sure there were a sufficient number of bins to collect the toys, on up to Principal Eric Burling, who worked out all the concert logistics in a few days’ time.

                  “It’s amazing how a positive event snowballs,” said teacher Matt Nie, one of the advisors for the Driven organization that took a lead role in the toy collection campaign. “Initially I had no idea how much (effort) would go into something like this.

                  “But it all comes together in the end,” he added. “(The concert) was an incredible ending to a positive event.”

                  McCreery arrived at BHS at 11 a.m. and was at the school for about two hours, starting off by recording some voice promotions for the school’s radio station and then meeting and signing autographs for about a dozen students who played key roles in the toy drive.

                  Among that group were sophomores Bianca Clayton and Madison Epping, who were deeply involved with the toy drive from beginning to end.

                  The two were among the students rewarded with front-row seats for the concert due to their roles in the toy drive. Epping said she “still couldn’t believe it” as McCreery left the stage.

Dancing in the bleachers

                  He entered the gym to the shrieks of the assembled students and, backed by a three-piece band, launched into four songs: “Watertower Town;” “Trouble with Girls;” “I Love You This Big;” and “Walk in the Country.”

                  After the first two songs he took some questions from a handful of girls who got to walk to the center of the floor right below the stage. Among them was Amanda McKeen, who asked McCreery if he would sing “Happy Birthday” to her. He obliged by leading the crowd in the song.

                  Afterward, McCreery reflected on the irony of singing to an audience of high school students – something he’s done numerous times as a member of his own school’s choirs – after a whirlwind summer that now has him sitting atop the country music charts.

                  “It’s just weird to even think about that,” he said. “But it was really fun.”

            And beyond the kinship those realities fostered between McCreery and the local students was the realization that sometimes the fat velvet rope separating them from the stars is not the insurmountable barrier they thought it was.