NASHVILLE,TN—Platinum-selling singer/songwriter Scotty McCreery took a break from his first headlining tour to perform at the Sweet 16 birthday party for Sadie Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame.
After the party, Sadie tweeted, “This boy made my birthday the best day of my life! So thankful that he came down for my party!”
Before the party in West Monroe, La., Scotty also got stuck in the mud in a truck with John Luke Robertson, Sadie’s brother, and enjoyed the legendary home cooking of Kay Robertson.
“The first time I met Sadie and John Luke was at the Opry in Nashville,” says Scotty, referring to his recent performance at the Grand Ole Opry during CMA Music Fest. “I saw her tweet that said she was in Nashville, so I said, ‘Hey, you want to come to the Opry?’ I’ve watched the show since season one and we had exchanged tweets before.”
They talked about her upcoming birthday during their Opry visit, and a few phone calls later, he was confirmed to perform at the “Redneck Red Carpet” party held under a tent at a vineyard on June 17. “I thought it was going to be a surprise at first, but then I figured out that she knew, so Sadie and I talked about what kind of songs she wanted me to sing,” he says.
“Then I texted her before the party and asked if she had any song requests and she said as long as I played ‘See You Tonight’ that she would be happy because that is one of her favorites right now, which is really cool. We kept it country. Willie and John Luke came onstage and we sang ‘Man of Constant Sorrow.’ We had a good ol’ time!”
The day before the party, Scotty and four friends rode in John Luke’s Jeep, which got stuck in the mud. “He said that he had taken it mudding plenty of times and had never got it stuck before,” Scotty says. “After that, we did more mudding with four-wheelers. That is when we got really muddy. I drove a big old tractor out there and we had a lot of fun on the land. It was just us and the mud, pretty much.”
Scotty and his band and friends met many of the Robertsons for dinner that night at the home of Kay and Phil Robertson. “That fried shrimp was about as good of a fried shrimp as I have ever had, and her banana pudding was incredible too.”
“I was blown away by their hospitality,” he says. “(Sadie’s parents) Korie and Willie said, ‘Y’all stay at our house,’ so we stayed with them for the night. They are just great folks.
“I like the fact that they are who they say they are; they are who they look they are on the TV show. They are good, normal folks who like to have fun. It’s really cool for me being so young and being in the public eye to have friends like John Luke and Sadie who are in the same boat. I am in an adult business and always around adults, so it’s nice to have friends who are in the spotlight and around my same age.”
Scotty is currently recording his second studio album, which is set for release later this year. The project’s debut single, “See You Tonight,” is currently climbing the country charts.
His debut album, Clear As Day, was certified platinum in only three months, making him the best-selling country solo artist of 2011. He became the youngest man in history to have his first album debut at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Top 200 albums chart. The album’s first two singles were certified gold. He released a Christmas album last year that was certified gold, and he won best new artist awards at the Academy of Country Music Awards and the CMT Awards. He was named top new artist by Billboard.
The party is featured in the new issue of Us magazine, on newsstands now.
