Before Scotty McCreery sang “Check Yes or No” in the 2011 American Idol finale, George Strait personally called the teenage contestant. According to Scotty McCreery’s recollection, George Strait was on a boat in the Caribbean, doing some fishing.
Scotty McCreery was 17, preparing for the last competition night of a season that would end with a new American Idol winner. George Strait had a song to choose for Scotty McCreery, and the conversation began with an easy introduction to the task.
In a November 2021 interview with Taste of Country, Scotty McCreery recalled George Strait saying:
“Hey, man. I heard I get to pick a song for you.”
The selection was George Strait’s 1995 hit “Check Yes or No.” For Scotty McCreery, the artist choosing the song was also a personal musical hero.
A familiar country story on the finale stage
On May 24, 2011, Scotty McCreery performed at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. After opening with Montgomery Gentry’s energetic “Gone,” Scotty McCreery moved into the more relaxed pace of “Check Yes or No.” Contemporary coverage in Taste of Country confirmed that George Strait had selected the song.
The two performances offered different sides of Scotty McCreery’s country sound. “Gone” supplied the quicker, more forceful opening; “Check Yes or No” gave Scotty McCreery a straightforward story about young love lasting into adulthood.
The song had been released in 1995, long before Scotty McCreery’s television debut. In the finale, a teenage singer was introducing that familiar story to viewers who were deciding between Scotty McCreery and fellow finalist Lauren Alaina.
A song with a personal connection
Years later, Scotty McCreery explained another reason “Check Yes or No” felt familiar. In a 2024 Biscuits & Jam interview, reported by iHeartRadio, Scotty McCreery connected the song to a relationship that began in elementary school: Scotty McCreery and Gabi had known each other since childhood.
Speaking about the childhood sweethearts in “Check Yes or No,” Scotty McCreery said, “to me, that’s kind of our story.” The connection was part of a broader point about George Strait’s music: listeners could recognize their own lives in the songs.
The performance also outlasted the competition. When Scotty McCreery recalled the fishing-boat phone call in 2021, “Check Yes or No” was still in Scotty McCreery’s concert setlist.