Scotty McCreery will soon be a married man. The singer, who got engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Gabi Dugal, in September, says he and his fiancee are navigating long-distance wedding planning: Dugal's in their home state of North Carolina, while McCreery's in Nashville.

"It’s a team effort so far," McCreery tells The Boot. "She’s a nurse, working at Duke Hospital. When she’s working, I’ll pick up a little bit, and when I’m out on the road, she’ll help out a little bit ... Engaged life is great. I’m really happy."

The American Idol alum will release his third studio album, Seasons Change, in March. The record is, at least according to McCreery, his best one yet.

"I’ve been listening to it nonstop in the car," McCreery shares. "It’s sounding good. I’m a little biased, but I’m excited about it.

"It’s by far my most personal album I’ve had out yet. I’ve got a song, "Five More Minutes," for my granddaddy. I’ve got a song I wrote the week before Gabi and I got engaged, but I knew it was coming up. I’ve got a song about my guys back home that I grew up with," he adds. "Every song is kind of a life story. I’m excited about it."

It was "Five More Minutes," in fact, that inspired McCreery to dig deeper, and to trust that his fans would allow him to show a more serious side of himself as an artist.

"This song has been a totally different type of single than I’ve ever had before. I wrote it back in 2015, in February. We didn’t know if the song was going to get a shot at radio or not. But here it is ...," McCreery says. "More than anything, I’m just enjoying fan response, the stories they’re telling me and how they relate to it."

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