Star quality=generous spirit
love the link
McCreery will compete for ‘American Idol’ title
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/05/20/2310647/scottys-fans-cheer-for-the-idol.html
“Scotty Mania” has swept through Garner in recent weeks, reaching a crescendo last Saturday, when Scotty had a homecoming trip and performed a concert at Lake Benson park for a crowd estimated at 25,000 to 30,000 people. Now, Scotty is in the home stretch of his “Idol” journey, and the town’s residents intend to cheer him on to a huge victory.
“I think everyone loves him!” said Kelsey Bryan, a freshman at Garner High. “He’s just down to the roots.”
Scotty has been an “Idol” favorite since trying out for the show in auditions held last summer in Milwaukee, Wis. Producers obviously saw something special in the Garner High junior with the deep voice - they sent a camera crew to film background footage in Garner even before this season began airing in January.
Along the way, he also became a heartthrob to legions of preteen and teenage girls. Others appreciate the wholesome, Christian image he has projected during interviews.
“He’s a great role model for the kids in a world where there are not many role models,” said Melissa Hinton of Garner, who was at the high school viewing party Thursday night with daughter Carmen, 8, and son Bryan, 2. All had on T-shirts with Scotty’s image on them.
Paulette Disbrow of PKD Screen Printing has been selling the Scotty shirts for months, with profits going to Scotty’s favorite charities. At Saturday’s celebration at the park, she sold out of 1,840 shirts before Scotty even took the stage.
GARNER For months, Scotty McCreery had been ringing up customers just like any other high school cashier at the Lowes Foods in Garner.
But one day last February, store manager Terry Mascaro noticed that everything had changed. Scotty had just been featured on TV as a singing hopeful for this season of "American Idol," and Lowes patrons had taken notice.
"Once they realized who it was, they all went to his register," Mascaro recalled. Four checkout lines were soon empty, while Scotty's stretched 30 customers deep - all the way to the back of the store.
Scotty, 17, patiently posed for pictures and signed autographs for all of them. But the scene was a stark reminder that the life he had known - high school baseball player, member of the school chorus and the church youth group, afterschool employee at the grocery store - was going away. He was on his way to celebrity and would soon be singing for a national audience on TV's top-rated show.
Most of the stories describe Scotty as a wholesome boy next door - but one who always had something special about him, too. Jaime Baker, Scotty's kindergarten teacher at Timber Drive Elementary School in Garner, remembers a self-assured youngster who shook her hand on the first day of class and said, "My name is Scott McCreery. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Baker."
Cathy King, who taught Scotty in eighth grade at West Lake Middle School in Apex, had her students write a biography of themselves. She still has part of Scotty's: "My philosophy of life is simple. Please God, work, provide for your family and help others."
Scotty also showed his musical side back then. King remembers him bringing his guitar in and performing during an eighth-grade awards ceremony. The song choice foreshadowed Scotty's future: "The Time of My Life" by David Cook, the winner of the seventh season of "American Idol."
As he grew older, Scotty performed often at church. He won "Clayton Idol," a local singing contest. And he starred last year in Garner High's production of the musical "Bye Bye Birdie." Scotty played the role of Conrad Birdie, a thinly disguised version of Elvis Presley - Scotty's own childhood idol.
His performance was a revelation to many who hadn't heard Scotty sing yet, Garner High Principal Drew Cook said.
"My wife ... looked over at me and said, 'Who in the world is that?'" Cook recalled.