“Hello darlin’. Nice to see you. It’s been a long time. You’re just as lovely. As you used to be.” If you think you’ll never hear these lines sung the most iconic way as Conway Twitty did decades ago, then you might not have heard Scotty McCreery’s version yet.
All through his American Idol stint, Scotty McCreery stayed true to his county roots. You will rarely see him venturing away from singing in the genre, finding ways to add a little country twang in every performance.
Well, there’s no doubt to that as McCreery has revealed that he will always have a love for country music, no matter which way this genre is headed in the modern era. He was raised listening to classic country singers such as George Jones, Randy Travis, and Conway Twitty, that he incorporates into almost every live show. He always pays tribute to his musical heroes with a medley of their hits, and on special occasions, he would perform the entire song.
One of those special occasions was when he performed Twitty’s iconic song “Hello Darlin’” at the Grand Ole Opry in 2015. When the opening chords of the song played and McCreery said those two famous words, he had all the ladies swooning and the crowd cheering at the top of their lungs.
His deep, rich voice was romantic throughout the whole song that it was hard not to sing along! You can tell he truly loves what he is doing and can’t help but fall in love watching his performance. When he finally sang the song’s last few notes, the audience roared with applause.
“That’s Conway Twitty, y’all,” McCreery told the audience, smiling. “Thank you so much, Grand Ole Opry, y’all have a great night.” While Twitty would often open his concerts with “Hello Darlin’,” McCreery chose to close his time at the Opry with the hit — and it’s the type of performance you’d want to watch again and again.
When “Hello Darlin’” Became a Country Standard
Written by Conway Twitty himself, “Hello Darlin” was released in 1970 as the first single and title track of Twitty’s 17th record. The iconic song then became Twitty’s fourth No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and stayed in that position for four weeks. Not only that, but the song was also named the No. 1 song of 1970.
Aside from being Twitty’s standard concert opener, “Hello Darlin’” definitely became a country standard and his signature song. Indeed, there is no way you can replace someone like Conway Twitty. He is a country music legend that is a member of the Country and Rockabilly Halls of Fame and had a one-in-a-million kind of talent.
But Scotty McCreery’s performance of “Hello Darlin” was practically perfect in every way. His smooth, deep voice seemed to be made for this song. It is almost as if McCreery was born in the wrong era, seeing him so good at singing the classic song.
Watch his incredible performance below.
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Scotty McCreery