See You Tonight is the third studio album by American country music singer Scotty McCreery. It was released on October 15, 2013, by Mercury Nashville. The album is produced by Frank Rogers with the exception of two tracks produced by Mark Bright.

The album garnered a positive reception from critics who praised McCreery's improved musicianship over a plethora of well-balanced songs. See You Tonight debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 and spawned two singles: the title track and "Feelin' It". As of April 2015, the album has sold 269,900 copies in the United States.

Background Scotty McCreery recorded the album while he was attending North Carolina State University. The producer of the album was Frank Rogers. McCreery co-wrote 5 of the tracks of the album, including the title track which he co-wrote with songwriter Ashley Gorley and Zach Crowell. He also collaborated with Alison Krauss on "Carolina Moon" where she provides backing vocals. He considered "Carolina Moon" to be his favorite track on the album.

Reception

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, with an overall Metacritic rating of 73 indicating "generally favorable reviews". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic found that the sound of the album has changed from the old-fashioned country of the first album, that its modern country sound is so "glossy and effervescent" making it seem McCreery's voice had jumped a couple of octave. He considered that McCreery had redefined himself as a "sports bar-hopping bro" in the album, but nevertheless thought the album works. Chuck Dauphin of Billboard thought that McCreery and the producers did well in stretching his music wings in the album, with positive reviews for most of the tracks.

Grady Smith of Entertainment Weekly felt that the first half of the album "bogs down under too much by-the-numbers rock-country," but "hits its stride in the smoother second half". Tammy Ragusa of Country Weekly concurred that the album seems at times "a bit formulaic, with songs that subscribe to what is currently hitting big on country radio", but also thought it "exhilarating to hear Scotty stretch out, both in content and vocals". Matt Bjorke of Roughstock considered that the "hook-filled, radio-ready 'summer songs'" in the album are counterbalanced with strong, mid-tempo songs as well as traditional ballads, and thought that the album showed "a remarkable amount of growth and maturity" for McCreery. Billy Duke of Taste of Country was enthusiastic about the album, calling it "dynamic", and thought the songwriting and production "sharp".

Commercial performance The album debuted as the number 1 country album and the number 6 album on the US Billboard 200, selling 52,000 copies. It also debuted at No. 3 on the Top Internet Albums and No. 10 on the Top Digital Albums charts. As of April 2015, the album has sold 269,900 copies in the US. Sales figure given here

Track listing

Personnel Adapted from liner notes.

All tracks except 7 & 16 Scotty McCreery – lead vocals Jim "Moose" Brown – acoustic piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond B3 organ Gordon Mote – acoustic piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond B3 organ Frank Rogers – keyboards, programming, baritone guitar, electric guitar, backing vocals J.T. Corenflos – electric guitar Jedd Hughes – acoustic guitar, electric guitar Bryan Sutton – electric guitar, mandolin Ilya Toshinsky – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, banjo, bouzouki Derek Wells – acoustic guitar, electric guitar Mike Johnson – pedal steel guitar, dobro Rachel Loy – bass guitar Shannon Forrest – drums Greg Morrow – drums Eric Darken – percussion Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson – harmonica Aubrey Haynie – fiddle Anthony LaMarchina – cello Kris Wilkinson – viola, string arrangements David Angell – violin Wei Tsun Chang – violin David Davidson – violin Wes Hightower – backing vocals Jon Randall – backing vocals Russell Terrell – backing vocals Matthew West – backing vocals Alison Krauss – featured vocals on "Carolina Moon"

Tracks 7 & 16 Scotty McCreery – lead vocals Charlie Judge – keyboards, synthesizers, Hammond B3 organ Jimmy Nichols – acoustic piano, Wurlitzer electric piano Brent Mason – electric guitars Ilya Toshinsky – acoustic guitars, banjo, ganjo Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass guitar Shannon Forrest – drums Aubrey Haynie – fiddle Perry Coleman – backing vocals Russell Terrell – backing vocals Jenifer Wrinkle – backing vocals

Production Brian Wright – A&R Hank Williams – mastering at MasterMix (Nashville, Tennessee) Russ Harrington – photography Karen Naff – art direction Wendy Stamberger – design Amber Lehman – wardrobe stylist Paula Turner – hair, make-up

All tracks except 7 & 16 Frank Rogers – producer, additional recording Scott Johnson – production assistant Richard Barrow – recording, additional recording Beau Maxwell – recording assistant Rich Ramsey – recording assistant Neal Cappellino – additional recording Nathan Zwald – additional recording Justin Niebank – mixing Drew Bollman – mix assistant Scotty Alexander – digital editing Brady Barrett – digital editing Matt Rausch – digital editing Brian David Willis – digital editing

Tracks 7 & 16 Mark Bright – producer Mike "Frog" Griffith – production coordinator Kirsten Wines – production assistant Derek Bason – recording, mixing, digital editing Ben Fowler – recording Chris Small – recording assistant, mix assistant Sean Neff – digital editing

Singles The title track, "See You Tonight", the album's first single was released on April 9, 2013. It was his first Top Ten hit on the country charts.

The second single, "Feelin' It", was released to country radio on April 14, 2014.

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (2013) Peakposition scope="row" scope="row" scope="row"

Year-end charts Chart (2013)Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard)47 Chart (2014)PositionUS Billboard 200170 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)27

Singles Year Single Peak chart positions Sales Certifications US Country US Country Airplay US CAN Country 2013 "See You Tonight" 10 8 52 34US: 693,000 RIAA: Platinum 2014 "Feelin' It" 16 10 84 46US: 293,000 RIAA: Gold

Release date Country Date Format Label United States October 15, 2013 CD, digital download Mercury Nashville, 19

References