'American Idol' Winner Scotty McCreery's Debut Album Certified Gold

Ken Hall

Country music still sells -- big time.

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For proof, look no further than American Idol season 10 winner Scotty McCreery, whose debut album, Clear As Day, has been certified gold marking sales in excess of 500,000.

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The feat took all of two months, as the album was released on Oct. 4. Clear As Day and currently tops the Billboard Country Albums chart, a spot it has held for five weeks. McCreery broke chart records in other ways, too -- he was the youngest male solo singer in history to land the No.1 spot on the Billboard 200 with a debut release. He also racked the highest first-week sales of any solo country artist this year, moving 196,739 units. The album’s first single, “I Love You This Big,” has also been certified gold (see photo).

Says McCreery in a release issued on Dec. 5: “It’s huge! Every artist dreams of a gold album and works hard for it, so it’s a major accomplishment to have your debut album go gold. This is just incredible."

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The deep-voiced Garner, North Carolina 18-year-old says he owes it all to his devoted followers from Idol and beyond, commenting "this is a testament to how great the fans are.”

McCreery is scheduled to perform his latest hit, ‘The Trouble With Girls,” on Fox's American Country Awards tonight. In 2012, he heads out on tour with Brad Paisley.