Fans had to wait five years between albums by Scotty McCreery.

The wait won’t be nearly as long the next time. McCreery will be back in the studio later this month to start work on tracks for the follow up to 2018’s “Seasons Change.” Before that, he’ll be at the Covelli Centre, opening for Old Dominion on Saturday.

“We’re heading back in the studio in a week and a half to start the next record,” he said during a telephone interview. “I’ve been writing a lot, and we’ll work on the first batch of songs I’ve co-written, then the next time back in the studio we’ll listen to a lot of outside cuts.”

Not that he needs songs by outside writers this time.

“We’ll probably record four or five songs, but we’re working with 75 to 100,” McCreery said. “Sifting through all these songs is tough. Every one is kind of like your baby.”

McCreery’s prominence as a songwriter has grown in his decade-long career. His 2011 debut after winning season 10 of “American Idol” featured a dozen tracks, all by outside writers. He co-wrote five of the 13 tracks on 2013’s “See You Tonight,” and he co-wrote all 11 songs on “Seasons Change.”

“I had to grow up, hone in on my craft,” he said. “Luckily and unluckily, I had a lot of time to write songs. In five years, I like to think I could write at least 11 decent ones.”

That five-year gap wasn’t intentional. McCreery split with his original label, Mercury Nashville, in 2015. After competing for attention on a label with a roster the size of Mercury, he opted for a contract with Triple Tigers, a new label with former Sony Vice President Norbert Nix as its general manager.

“Something that seemed so bad in the moment turned out to be a blessing in disguise,” he said. “Norbert had more experience in radio than I’ve been alive. What impressed me is how radio-focused they were.”

McCreery had success at Mercury Nashville — a platinum-selling debut, a gold album follow-up, five top 40 country singles — but “Seasons Change” gave him his first two number-one country hits, “Five Minutes More” and “This Is It.” McCreery called Frank Rogers his greatest mentor as a songwriter, and “Five Minutes More” was co-written with Rogers and Monty Criswell.

“I’m not one of those guys who can imagine something and write it. I have to live it,” he said, and “Five Minutes More” was inspired by the death of his grandfather.

It’s also one of those rare songs where they knew they had something special as soon as it was finished.

“That day I tweeted out, ‘I think I just wrote my favorite song, I’ve ever written.'”

Along with the hits, McCreery also might include something from his 2012 “Christmas with Scotty McCreery” album for the mid-December concert.

“I hadn’t thought about it, but, yeah, we probably will throw a Christmas song or two in there. I’m the kind of person who sings Christmas songs literally every day of the year. It makes you feel good, puts you in a good mood.”