Quote:"Idol" Scotty McCreery aims for the mushy middle

...Will Scotty be beamed up to whatever obscure place Lee DeWyze currently remains marooned, or have a chance to find himself and grow into a keeper? Even after hearing his debut album, the answer's still opaque as night.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/03/us-music-scottymccreery-idUSTRE7926XA20111003

Quote:McCreery Shows Promise and Flaws on New CD

...What McCreery does well shines as clear as day throughout his new album. But are the songs strong enough to transform a good cover singer into singular artist? Not quite yet. "Clear As Day" isn't a disappointment, but neither is it the kind of remarkable debut that established recent country stars like Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum — or, more to the point, former "Idol" winner Carrie Underwood.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/review-mccreery-shows-promise-flaws-cd-14655977

Quote:Scotty McCreery,Clear as Day
* * (out of four) COUNTRY
The American Idol winner's debut album is strictly paint-by-numbers country, with some mildly interesting colors occasionally dabbed inside the lines. It's entirely possible to craft an engaging album using muddy trucks, Mama, the Bible, small-town virtues and desire for girls as inspiration. Luke Bryan did just that recently. McCreery trods similar territory, but the hooks just aren't there.

Quote:* * (out of five)
His debut – a ho-hum jaunt through an America full of dog-eared Bibles, rugged pickup trucks and girls "hot as July, sweet as sunshine" – works overtime playing up his wide-eyed charm. Of the ballads, the least icky is the title track, a tear-jerker about a car accident à la "Jesus, Take the Wheel." The bright spot here is the rollicking Keith Urban co-write "Walk in the Country," where McCreery sneers, "I'm so sick of all them TV shows."

Quote:Winning American Idol on the strength his dopey grin and cornball down-home appeal, Scotty McCreery delivers his debut, Clear as Day, just five months after taking home the big prize, the quickest turn around in Idol history. Forget whatever this portends about the health of the television show or the power of Scotty’s personality: it does suggest that McCreery is the easiest of all Idols to fit within the pre-existing machinery of the music industry. Possessing no distinct persona outside of the good guy next door, McCreery can sing any generic Nashville number, and so he does on Clear as Day, singing songs about sweet tea, pecan pies, country, football, the King James bible, mom, water towers, and, of course, love. Songs this basic need flair, either in the writing or the performance departments, to distinguish themselves, and there are moments with flashes of life, both coming courtesy of writer Rhett Akins, whose “You Make That Look Good” and “Write My Number on Your Hand” have some pep and sturdy country roots. Apart from that, the songs and production demand that all energy come from young Scotty, who amiably sleepwalks through the tunes, expecting his “aw shucks” smile will translate onto record.

http://www.allmusic.com/album/clear-as-day-r2287355/review

Quote:Though they hope "Water Tower Town" will be released as a single, Scotty's current single - and the one he's likely to perform a lot this week - is "The Trouble With Girls," about a smitten young man who just can't figure out females. Scotty filmed the video for the song - with a bunch of his fellow students as extras - at Garner High on Saturday.

(10-03-2011, 07:38 PM)midnightblue Wrote: Where is everyone?

(10-03-2011, 07:38 PM)midnightblue Wrote: Where is everyone?

Quote:"Clear As Day" is projected to sell somewhere between 160,000 to 170,000 copies its first week in release, according to Neilsen Soundscan. Although a far cry from the 417,000 sold by Ruben Studdard with his "Soulful" debut (2003), not to mention the 297,000 units moved by Kelly Clarkson with "Thankful" (2002), the six-day sales total (Oct. 4-9; tracking begins on Mondays although albums are traditionally released on Tuesdays, as was McCreery's) should be enough to land the North Carolina teen atop the charts.

...McCreery probably won't have too much time to bask in the glory of being No. 1. His top competitor on "American Idol" Season 10, Lauren Alaina, drops her first studio album, "Wildflower," on Oct. 11 (giving the winner the traditional one-week head start, which in the last two seasons has done them no good -- the runners-up have, Adam Lambert and Crystal Bowersox, both outsold Kris Allen and Lee DeWyze, respectively). Ben Folds, Britney Spears, Evanescence, Ryan Adams, Judas Priest, and Martina McBride are all set to release albums the same week.

Besides McCreery and Alaina, James Durbin, who placed fourth during Season 10, is set to release his first studio album, "Memories of a Beautiful Disaster," in late November. Two other Season 10 alums, Haley Reinhart (third place) and Pia Toscano (ninth place) also have albums in the works, but no set release dates as yet.

...Scotty McCreery's "Clear As Day" is projected to beat out new releases by Jack's Mannequin, Mayday Parade, and Feist, all of which are on target for Top 10 debuts. The main contender for the top spot seems be the best-selling album of the year, Adele's "21," which will most likely take the second spot.

In addition to being only the third "American Idol" winner to debut at No. 1 with their first album, McCreery's 12-song album will sell the most from an "Idol" winner in three years...Last year's winner, Lee DeWyze's, saw "Live It Up" debut at No. 19 (the worst showing of all "Idol" champs) with 39,000 (the worst debut sales of all "Idol" champs).