Scotty "WOWS" Music City

Baby, lock them doors ...

Tonight's an important one for Scotty McCreery. He's not only performing for the 12,000 or people who bought tickets to the show, but he's also showing members of the country music industry and media how well he can hold a crowd. They're listening to how he sings, they're seeing what kind of presence he has, they're gauging his performance and his potential in a room where they've watched the biggest singers in the genre, from Garth Brooks to Taylor Swift. For better or worse, he'll have a reputation in the country music industry after tonight, and it'll be a hard one to shake. The significance of the show wasn't lost on Scotty this afternoon as he did a round of interviews.

Make no mistake: This is Scotty's audience. The people in the crowd may like other performers, they might cheer and scream for them, but the 17-year-old from North Carolina's the one that got them to the box office.

And he doesn't disappoint. The crowd is with him for every word, every gesture.

"What's going on, Music City?" he says after Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not? "Y'all were probably wondering if I was ever going to make it out here," he says, noting that he's been watching the show from beneath the bleachers the whole time.

Some of the audience sits for Scotty's single, I Love You This Big, but the rests between the lines are punctuated with the shouts of young girls. Scotty sounds like he's growing into the song, too. he hasn't always been spot-on singing this song, but this performance is one of the stronger ones I've heard from him.

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