American Idol‘ Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery returned to the stage tonight (March 29) to perform his twangy, uptempo single ‘Water Tower Town.’ It feels like only yesterday that the singer was competing in the thick of the competition each and every week. Now, with a hit record and hard-earned status as a country superstar, McCreery really has grown by leaps and bounds in the space of a year.

Looking much like he did in 2011, in dark jeans and a black button-down shirt, McCreery cruised through the song effortlessly. He engaged the crowd and the judge’s panel, performing behind the trio for a minute or so. He’s such a natural performer and it showed tonight. America did not make any sort of mistake when it crowned him the winner 10 months ago.

After McCreery’s performance, host Ryan Seacrest ad-libbed Josh Turner‘s ‘Your Man’ when he gave McCreery a hug, nodding to the singer’s audition song and the lyric (“Baby lock the doors / And turn the lights down low”) that started it all.

Show mentor Jimmy Iovine came on the stage to present McCreery with a platinum plaque for his album ‘Clear as Day,’ which means it has sold a million copies. Iovine, a longtime industry exec, acknowledged that for an artist to have a platinum certification on their debut release in this day and age is nothing short of herculean.

Things really have come full circle for McCreery, who is one of the most successful Idols in the show’s history. Congrats on your success, Scotty!

Watch Scotty McCreery Perform on ‘American Idol’

 

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