Scotty McCreery Says Brad Paisley Is ‘Great Professor’

Scotty McCreery is currently crossing the country serving as an opening act on Brad Paisley's Virtual Reality world tour. While many headliners keep their distance from the acts who start off their shows night after night, the North Carolina native says his tour boss has been beyond gracious.

"Brad is a great guy," Scotty tells Taste of Country. "He treats his opening acts well and treats the people who work for him well. I haven't been on any other tours, but I've heard horror stories about the headliners not talking to their opening acts and don't want anything to do with them ... they just brush off all their workers and it's all about them. But Brad, he's the total opposite."

The Season 10 "American Idol" champ also says the two have had plenty of time to chat as they travel from state to state. "Brad will walk around and eat dinner with anybody," Scotty notes. "Sometimes, he'll ask me to come eat dinner or lunch with him. He's just an all-around good guy. You can talk to him about anything."

Spending so much time with someone that generous has left an impact on the upcoming college freshman. "That's how I want to be," he explains. "I don't want anybody to feel intimidated before they come talk to me. I want to be open with anybody, kind of like Brad. He's a good teacher for me. If I'm in school, he's a great professor."

Scotty plans on heading to North Carolina State University in the fall, while he continues to pursue his music career. But while the dual roles may seem intimidating to some, he says he has it all figured out. "We're not going to take a full week's load of classes," the singer tells The Boot. "Probably like a two-day schedule. That's the initial plan, but we'll see what works out. It will be a balance for sure. We'll figure it out."

Scotty and Brad, along with the Band Perry, Jana Kramer, Love and Theft and Kristen Kelly, heads to Alberta, Canada this weekend, followed by shows in Nebraska, Wyoming and California. Keep track of his tour schedule here.