Scotty McCreery Opens Up About ‘I Love You This Big,’ Reveals He Almost Sang a Ne-Yo Song on ‘Idol’

Scotty McCreery's debut single, 'I Love You This Big,' is quickly developing into a smash hit at country radio -- and it's almost "the song that wasn't" for the 'American Idol' winner. In an interview with TV Line, McCreery reveals that the contestants always received the following week's song choices on a Thursday, and that there were two tunes in the running for him to sing for his potential single.

"They had two for me to choose from and it seemed to fit the show and the radio," McCreery said, explaining why he ultimately selected 'I Love You This Big' as his single. The aspiring artist was hesitant about saying what the other song was, since it may be released down the road and he doesn't want to "taint" it. He gave a one word clue from the title, which was 'out.'

Well, we reported that a McCreery song called 'Out of Summertime' leaked, and we agreed that 'I Love You This Big' was the better option for the teen's first. McCreery said that he felt that the other song "didn't fit the moment" and ultimately, his heart belonged to 'I Love You This Big.' He admitted, "I fell in love with it, I loved it pretty big."

Looks like McCreery has good instincts and is smart enough to follow them! He also mentioned that he and the show's advisors toyed with doing a hip-hop or R&B song during the season, so that the judges and America wouldn't think he was a one-note. "I wanted to strip it down to acoustic, make it good. We had a lot of songs we thought about doing," he admitted, naming one possibility as a song by R&B star Ne-Yo. Obviously, they nixed those plans, however.

Watch Scotty McCreery Perform 'I Love You This Big'