“My Girl” is the very definition of a breakout hit, a catchy, relatable tune that gets lodged in your head with just one listen. Dylan Scott’s upbeat, romantic ballad scored the rising country star his first platinum No. 1 in 2016, and it’s easy to understand why so many people keep it on their playlists. Scott has performed in Las Vegas before, at festivals and small acoustic shows, but his first real Vegas gig is set for Jan. 12 at the Foundry at SLS Las Vegas, and he’s excited about it, Las Vegas Magazine’s Brock Radke discovered when he caught up with the 27-year-old new dad.
First off, congratulations on the brand new addition to your family!
Thank you! It’s a big life change, that’s for sure. We both wanted a little boy first, so we’re really excited.
Your father, Scotty Robinson, is a musician who played with some country legends. Did you always want to follow in his footsteps?
I think most young kids want to be like their mom or dad, and I guess I never really grew out of that. I saw him playing and heard the stories and that was what I wanted to do. He never really influenced me in a way of telling me I had to do it, it was just what I wanted, and I would never put a guitar in my son’s hands and say, “You will learn this.” He is who he is. Whatever he wants to be, I’ll be supportive. But as long as I can remember, I always knew music was what I wanted to do.
“My Girl” is such a huge hit. How personal is that song?
That song is 100 percent about my wife. We were high school sweethearts and we’ve been together a long time, and it’s all about what I’ve experienced with her. And when I wrote that song and did the demo, I didn’t push it on anybody. It found a life of its own, probably because everybody has their own love story. A lot of guys relate to it and come to me and say, “This is my girl.”
Were you ever concerned even a little that a romantic song like that would pigeonhole you?
Nah. I think in today’s age, the genre of music is less important. There has to be something consistent about what you’re doing, but it doesn’t have to be that. Music is all over the place right now, which is cool to me because I love all kinds of music, and I grew up listening to everything from country to pop to hip-hop and R&B. I can go to my shows and pull back and play an old-school country song from the ’70s and then turn around and do a current-day pop song, and people will relate.
Is it one of your favorite songs to play live?
Oh yeah. It’s just one of those things now that everybody anticipates and when it finally hits, everybody goes crazy. But the new single, “Hooked,” is blowing up and people are learning that one, too. I have a song called “Crazy Over Me,” and it only went to No. 34 on the charts but people still sing it just as loud as a No. 1 single. It’s cool to see that.
You’ve been here before, but it must be exciting to have more hits in your arsenal for your first major show in Las Vegas.
I’ve had great turnouts at the smaller shows in Vegas, but this is going to be the first time to actually judge what our own headlining show will do. I think it will be great, definitely the real moment to see if Vegas likes our music or not.
