Multi-platinum country star Scotty McCreery has announced the soundtrack to your summer with the upcoming release of his star-studded EP, Scooter & Friends, out on 18th July. Produced by Frank Rogers, the forthcoming project brings McCreery together with some legendary friends including Hootie & the Blowfish, Lee Brice, and one of McCreery’s greatest musical idols, R&B legend Charlie Wilson.
“Back home everyone calls me ‘Scooter,’ so since I’m singing with a few of my favorite artists, I decided to call this project Scooter & Friends,” said McCreery. “It’s a fun collection of songs that are a little different from what I normally sing, yet they are still me. If the fans like it, maybe there will be a second volume in a few years.”
Pre-save/pre-add Scooter & Friends EP here.
Scooter & Friends Track List:
“Bottle Rockets” feat. Hootie & the Blowfish
(Scotty McCreery, Brent Anderson, Derek George, Jeremy Bussey, Monty Criswell, Frank Rogers, Bobby Hamrick, Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Jim Sonefeld)
“Swim Up Bar”
(Scotty McCreery, Brent Anderson, Derek George, Monty Criswell, Frank Rogers)
“Once Upon a Bottle of Wine” feat. Charlie Wilson
(Scotty McCreery, Brent Anderson, Derek George, Jeremy Bussey, Frank Rogers)
“Whiskey Said” feat. Lee Brice
(Scotty McCreery, Brent Anderson, Derek George, Jeremy Bussey, Frank Rogers)
“Holding Down the Honky Tonk”
(Scotty McCreery, Brent Anderson, Derek George, Jeremy Bussey, Frank Rogers)
In his latest release off Scooter & Friends, “Once Upon a Bottle of Wine” (out today), McCreery shows off his artistic versatility alongside Charlie Wilson for an unexpected sound that many fans haven’t heard from the ACM Award winner. Written by McCreery, Brent Anderson, Derek George, Jeremy Bussey, and Frank Rogers, the song was a dream come true for McCreery who has long admired Wilson.
“I have been a massive fan of Charlie Wilson since I first heard him on the radio when I was a kid. He’s one of my favorite artists of all time,” said McCreery. “Getting to perform with him on stage a few years ago was a bucket list item for me. Being able to call him a friend means more than I can say. And now, having him sing with me on a song I wrote is a dream come true.”
“My ‘Charlie Last Name Wilson’ song was one of his favorites when he was growing up and I never knew he was a fan, so when we finally met years ago I was blown away with that huge voice and had him jump on stage with me” shared Wilson. “He brought the house down that night and now I’m so excited that we have a duet together.”
Listen to “Once Upon a Bottle of Wine” here.
McCreery’s first release off Scooter & Friends, “Bottle Rockets” featuring Hootie & the Blowfish, quickly became fans’ song of the summer upon release. The nostalgia-inducing track was the top track added to Country radio at impact and is continuing to run up the charts – ranking #5 on the UK Country Radio Airplay Chart this week after just five weeks since it was released.
As revealed in Billboard yesterday, McCreery will host his new monthly series “Prime Country with Scotty McCreery” on SiriusXM’s Prime Country channel. The show will debut on 5th July 5 and will air a total of 10 times on the channel throughout the month. A new episode will debut on the first Saturday of each month as McCreery spotlights his favorite musical era, ’80s and ’90s country, by handpicking each song and sharing how that artist influenced him or telling behind-the-scenes stories. Each episode will also feature a live performance from an artist on the Grand Ole Opry that was recorded on that legendary stage in the ’80s or ’90s.
“I appreciate SiriusXM giving me my own monthly show on Prime Country,” said McCreery. “I can talk about my love for ’80s and ’90s country music for hours. And as a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry, I wanted to include an Opry moment in my show to share with the listeners each month.”
Fans can see McCreery out on the road across the US this summer. He will also headline the Country Night Gstaad Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland on 12th-13th September, and will be co-headlining the “Two for the Road Tour” with fellow Country star, Dustin Lynch. The “Two for the Road Tour” kicks-off this November.
ABOUT SCOTTY McCREERY:
Scotty McCreery has been a household name for nearly half his life, ever since making history in 2011 as both the first country artist and the youngest male artist of any genre to debut his first studio album, the Platinum-certified Clear as Day, at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. The 31-year-old has sold more than 4 million albums and achieved 6 No.1 hits: the recent “Cab in a Solo,” the RIAA Platinum-certified “Damn Strait,” the RIAA Gold certified “You Time,” the RIAA Gold certified “In Between,” the RIAA Platinum certified “This is It,” and the RIAA Triple Platinum certified “Five More Minutes.” His most recent album is Rise & Fall.
The North Carolina native has earned one Triple Platinum, five Platinum and four Gold singles; one Platinum and two Gold albums; won the 10th season of “American Idol” in 2011 at age 17; was named the ACM New Artist of the Year in 2011; won two CMT Music Awards, the first for Breakthrough Video of the Year (“The Trouble with Girls”) in 2012, and the second for Digital-First Performance of the Year (‘It Matters to Her’ from “CMT Stages”) in 2024; and BMI Awards for writing One of the Top 50 Country Songs of the Year six times (in 2015 for ‘See You Tonight’, in 2018 for “Five More Minutes,” in 2019 for “This is It,” in 2021 for “In Between,” in 2022 for “You Time,” and in 2024 for “It Matters to Her”). He was awarded Pandora Billionaire status in 2021 in recognition of his music achieving more than one billion streams on Pandora. His song “Five More Minutes” inspired two popular holiday movies which aired on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Network: “Five More Minutes” in 2021 and “Five More Minutes: Moments Like These” in 2022. He released his first book Go Big or Go Home: The Journey Toward the Dream in 2016. McCreery was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2023. Last year, he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry by Josh Turner and Randy Travis, after being invited by Garth Brooks. The singer/songwriter married his high school sweetheart Gabi in 2018. The couple had their first son Avery in October 2022 and are expecting their second child in 2025.
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ABOUT CHARLIE WILSON:
To say that Charlie Wilson is an “Icon,” does not truly describe the musical powerhouse whose vocal prowess began as founding member and lead singer of the legendary GAP Band (“You Dropped a Bomb on Me,” “Outstanding,” “Party Train,” and “Burn Rubber on Me”). As a solo artist Wilson has topped the R&B charts with 13 number one singles, 13 GRAMMY® nominations, a New York Times and Washington Post best-selling memoir, I Am Charlie Wilson, a BET Lifetime Achievement Award, a Soul Train Icon Award, a Soul Train Certified Soul Award, and a NAACP Music Makes a Difference Award.
Wilson kicked off 2024 receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on his birthday, surrounded by a star-studded crowd of friends including Snoop Dogg, Babyface, Tyler The Creator, Kanye West, Ty Dolla Sign, Don Toliver, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Johnny Gill, Tank, and Chante Moore. In 2022 Charlie was on the critically acclaimed “The Culture Tour” with New Edition and Jodeci. He has previously sold out two of his own headlining arena tours- “Forever Charlie” (2015), “In It To Win It (2017)” – and toured with Bruno Mars on his “24K Magic” tour. He was twice named Billboard’s Top Adult Male R&B Artist (2009, 2020) and named Billboard’s Top Adult R&B Male Artist with the most #1s in three decades.
Known to most as “Uncle Charlie,” the lovable nickname given by Snoop Dogg, he continues to be one of the most sought-after voices in music today. He has collaborated with many chart-topping artists in addition to Scotty McCreery, including Bruno Mars, Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Tyler The Creator and Nas, to name a few. In the years between the GAP Band and his solo success, Wilson survived drug and alcohol addiction, homelessness, and prostate cancer. Sober now for 28 years, the singer says, “I wouldn’t have believed I’d be where I am right now. That’s why I shout every night because I thank God for allowing me to be here.”
