Scotty McCreery’s Hometown Becomes a Destination for Fans

Scotty McCreery is flattered and a bit overwhelmed by the number of fans that drive around his hometown of Garner, N.C., trying to meet him or otherwise connect with him.

"There are fans who have driven here from Michigan, from Florida, from Texas, from a lot of different states just to take a picture of my house," McCreery tells Taste of Country. "They'll even go to [my high school] football games to catch a glimpse of me. That's what they're saying. I love them to death, but I don't want them to spend all their money on gas to see me!"

Fortunately, his schoolmates aren't impacted by the attention he receives and don't single him out in any special way. That's important to him, he says, as he enjoys his senior year of high school -- including extra activities such as football games.

"That was one of the things that I was worried about, how the kids would treat me when I got home," says McCreery. "The first day when I was back was a little weird, but since then it's been very much like I never left. They treat me like the same old kid and that's just what I wanted."

Not that his fans don't interrupt his downtime occasionally, but he says that he finds their quest for his attention flattering.

"It's tough to even go out to dinner these days without stopping to [pose] for a lot of pictures," he says. "But it's all been absolutely incredible."