Country Music Memories: Scotty McCreery Wins 'American Idol'

Scotty McCreery became one of the youngest American Idol winners in the history of the show when he won Season 10 of the iconic reality singing competition on May 25, 2011 -- 12 years ago today. The future country star was 17 years old at the time.

The native of Garner, N.C., had one of the most unusual journeys ever to the Idol crown: He garnered huge attention from the moment he auditioned, partly because of how unusual it seemed for such a rich, well-developed baritone voice to emerge from such a gangly-looking kid, and partly because of Idol judge Steven Tyler's priceless reaction to McCreery's audition.

After McCreery sang Josh Turner's "Your Man," Tyler asked him to show the higher part of his range, and McCreery responded by singing Travis Tritt's "Put Some Drive in Your Country."

"Well, hellfire, save matches, f--k a duck and see what hatches," an astonished Tyler exclaimed.

McCreery went on to dominate the season with one strong, rock-solid country performance after another, becoming a favorite of both fans and the judges. In the end it came down to a face-off between him and Lauren Alaina, who became a close friend during their runs on Idol. Fans chose McCreery, and his win was revealed in a two-hour finale. The devout Christian began by thanking God for his victory, and he also sang his debut single, "I Love You This Big," while hugging his family and fellow contestants.

McCreery released his debut album, Clear as Day, in 2011 and followed it with a Christmas album in 2012. He released See You Tonight in 2013, then parted ways with Mercury Nashville in 2016. Most recently, he released his fifth studio album Same Truck, which spawned two successful singles, "You Time" and "Damn Strait."