The new American Idol Scotty McCreery has a Puerto Rican grandmother. Does he speak Spanish? Has he ever been to Puerto Rico?
—Steve Whitmore, Abilene, Texas
McCreery, 17, who is one-quarter Puerto Rican, says he and his grandmother visited San Juan one time. But no, he doesn’t speak Spanish. “I’ve done Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 classes,” he says. “My grandma asked me when I was young, ‘Do you want to learn Spanish?’ And I guess I should have, because it would have helped me out a lot.” That said, Idol judge Jennifer Lopez told the Garner, N.C., native that being part Puerto Rican gave him a competitive edge over last season’s other contestants.