Scotty McCreery to Receive
AutoZone Liberty Bowl’s Outstanding Achievement Award
Country Music Sensation to Perform at President’s Gala and Halftime Show
Award-winning country music star Scotty McCreery has been selected the recipient of the 2019 AutoZone Liberty Bowl Outstanding Achievement Award. Each year, this award is presented by the AutoZone Liberty Bowl and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in recognition of excellence in the field of music and entertainment. This time-honored recognition dates back to the early years of St. Jude and its founder, entertainer Danny Thomas.
The singer/songwriter will receive the award at the President’s Gala at the Peabody Hotel on Monday, December 30 at 6:30 pm. Past recipients include Danny Thomas, Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Lou Rawls, Clint Black, Little Richard, Alabama, The Beach Boys, LeAnn Rimes, The O’Jays, KC & The Sunshine Band, The Temptations, Big & Rich, The Commodores, The Isley Brothers and The Four Tops.
The Triple Tigers/Sony recording artist, who was inspired by Elvis Presley at an early age, will be the headline honoree at the President’s Gala and star in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl’s halftime spectacular on Tuesday, December 31. A portion of McCreery’s performance will be telecast on ESPN during their coverage of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl game. The 61st annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl game will kick off at 2:45 pm.
McCreery emerged on the national scene in 2011 when he won Season Ten of American Idol at the age of 17. But he achieved new heights this year, earning two back-to-back No. 1 hits from his current album Seasons Change, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album chart: the RIAA Platinum-certified “Five More Minutes” and the RIAA Platinum-certified “This is It,” which stayed at the top of the charts for two weeks.
All four of his albums have debuted at No. 1 on a Billboard Albums chart, with current combined sales surpassing 3 million copies. He’s earned five Platinum and one Gold singles.
In addition to Idol, McCreery has won numerous awards, including the ACM New Artist of the Year in 2011; the CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year (“The Trouble with Girls”) in 2012; American Country Awards for New Artist of the Year in 2011 and Breakthrough Artist of the Year in 2013; BMI Awards for writing One of the Top 50 Country Songs of the Year twice (in 2015 for “See You Tonight” and in 2018 for “Five More Minutes”); a Carolina Beach Music Award for National Dance/Shag Song of the Year (“Barefootin’”) in 2018; and the NSAI Nashville Songwriter Award for One of the Top Ten Songs I Wish I’d Written (“Five More Minutes”) in 2018.
In 2017, McCreery teamed with other country music artists to record a charity single, a cover of Alabama’s “Angels Among Us,” to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The following year, McCreery and his family appeared on ABC-TV’s “Celebrity Family Feud” and won the $25,000 grand prize for St. Jude. The North Carolina native has also participated in the St. Jude “This Shirt Saves Lives” campaign for the past several years.
For tickets to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Presidents’ Gala or the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Football Classic, call the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at (901) 795-7700 or visit the Tickets Page of our website.
