Perhaps this is the year of country music (and not rock and roll) on American Idol!

Scott McCreery sang “I Cross My Heart” by George Strait during the American Idol Top 8 performance night.

Here are the judges’ thoughts:

Randy Jackson said “I love that song for you. I love when you return to your roots. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Steven Tyler said “I love your voice. All of America is falling in love with your voice. You picked the right song.”

Jennifer Lopez said “You all are so damn good. Wow. That was really good. Not my favorite choice for you but you still performed it.”

Looks like Scotty McCreery is no longer the dark horse of the competition. With Pia’s elimination last week, Scott is now the front-runner!

Watch Scotty’s performance here: