American Idol winner Scotty McCreery is giving back to Idol this year by paying tribute to one of his favorite artists. He’s recorded the Tim McGraw hit “Please Remember Me” as the goodbye song for this season of the reality singing competition. The song will play in the montage video for each contestant eliminated in the live rounds. While Scotty never had to go through a farewell montage of his own, he feels like he picked the perfect song to convey what the contestants feel:

“It’s always a sad time whenever this song is played, but it’s definitely a really big part of the show,” Scotty says. “I never had to experience that feeling personally, but I always felt the pain because we became such a close family on the show. We were such a tight-knit group of people, so it was always sad to see people go. The send-off song was always a way to stay connected to the show.  I’m glad they chose me to do it.”

If Scotty is feeling any nerves about re-recording a hit from such a superstar like Tim, he isn’t showing it. In fact, Tim even gave Scotty his blessing:

“Tim did such a fantastic job with it when he cut it. Hopefully we will live up to his expectations and he will like it,’ Scotty says. “I sent Tim a message and told him that we cut it and I hope that he liked it. He told me, ‘Great man. I can’t wait to hear it. I’m sure you nailed it.’ It was cool hearing that feedback from a country superstar.”

Scotty chose to record “Please Remember Me” for the lyrics and the message it conveys. He feels it’s a fitting tribute to the contestants:

“When you are eliminated, whether it’s early on or down the road in the competition, you always want people to remember you. You want to get to work and put out some good music, and through that music, people will remember you.  This is one way this lyric can be interpreted for this goodbye song.

Now the big question: will Scotty perform on American Idol this season? See what he says in his own words below: