Scotty McCreery was just 17 years old when he was voted the winner of American Idol Season 10 in 2011. While not every Idol winner finds mainstream success, McCreery did get his footing in country music in the years following his win.
His post-Idol single also hit No. 11 on the US Billboard charts, while subsequent songs “The Trouble With Girls,” “See You Tonight,” “Feelin’ It,” “Five More Minutes,” “This Is It,” “In Between,” “You Time,” and “Damn Strait” all did well on the US Country and US Country Airplay charts.
So, what is McCreery up to now? Scroll down for an update on his life today!
What is Scotty McCreery doing now?
McCreery is still invested in his music career and is continuing to put out new stuff. His most recent album, Rise & Fall, came out in May 2024. Plus, he collaborated with Hootie & the Blowfish on the song “Bottle Rockets” in 2025.
After writing the track, McCreery said, “We were sitting there around the couch talking about old summers and reminiscing on good times and the soundtracks of those summers, and I started talking about Hootie & the Blowfish.” One of his cowriters then played “Bottle Rockets” along with the Hootie track “Hold My Hand,” which led McCreery to reach out to Darius Rucker about a collaboration.
“I think that’s one of my favorite things about the song,” McCreery added. “It’s not a sample of ‘Hold My Hand.’ Hootie & the Blowfish, all the guys went back in there in the studio and re-recorded their parts for ‘Bottle Rockets’ to make it happen.”
McCreery is also consistently keeping up with touring and has shows on the calendar throughout 2025. Although he lost his major record deal in 2016, he’s released his last three albums on the independent label Triple Tigers and is thriving!
Is Scotty McCreery still with his wife?
Yes, McCreery and his wife, Gabi Dugal, have been married since June 2018. At the time of their nuptials, they had already been together for six years, but their relationship dates back even further than that. The two actually met in kindergarten!
By senior year of high school, McCreery and Dugal were an item, and although they went to rival colleges (her at the University of North Carolina and him at NC State), they stuck it out and made their love last.
Dugal graduated from the UNC School of Nursing in 2016 and now works as a pediatric nurse.
Does Scotty McCreery have kids?
McCreery and Dugal welcomed their first child, a son named Avery, in October 2022. In May 2025, they announced that they had another baby on the way.
“A new best friend coming this fall!” Dugal captioned their announcement post, along with two blue emojis, insinuating that the new baby is also a little boy.
Are Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina still friends?
On the season when McCreery won American Idol, Lauren Alaina, another country singer, was the runner-up. All these years later, they still remain friendly.
“She’s still like a sister to me,” McCreery told Star City Broadcasting in 2023. “I never made the move to Nashville, so I don’t see her or too many artists that often. I’m still in Carolina. But any chance I get to see her, it’s like catching up right where we left off. I think I’ll always be like a brother to her, and she’ll always be like a sister to me. We went through that show together. Nobody, no matter how much you talk about it, nobody can truly get what it was like, unless you were right there.”
In 2022, the two also reunited on the American Idol stage to celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary where they teamed up for a rendition of “When You Say Nothing At All.”