Scotty McCreery is starting the New Year on a high note…

The 18-year-old part-Puerto Rican country singer’s debut album Clear As Day has been officially certified platinum, with sales of more than one million copies just three months after its release. McCreery’s CD now ranks as one of the highest selling debuts from an American Idol contestant.

In addition, Billboard magazine named the American Idol champion the Top New Country Artist for 2011, in addition to winning New Artist of the Year at the American Country Awards in December.

“It means the world to me,” said McCreery, who was recently named New Artist of the Year at the American Country Awards, in a press release. “It’s one of the highest honors you can get with your album and it’s a huge testament to the loyalty of country music fans and how great they have been to me this year. 2011 was absolutely an incredible, life-changing year for me. I want to say a huge thanks to the fans for this.”

Grabbing the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top 200 and Top Country Albums charts makes McCreery the youngest male in history to open at the top of the all-genre chart with a debut release. Clear As Day also garnered the highest sales of any country solo album released last year and held steady in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart for six weeks.

“Never in a million years did I dream that the album would go platinum,” the singer added. “It’s wild! It’s going to take me a few months or years to really wrap my head around it.”

Meanwhile, McCreery is preparing for his first country music tour, “Virtual Reality Tour 2012,” in Grand Rapids, Mich. The newcomer will serve as one of the opening acts for superstar Brad Paisley, along with The Band Perry.

“I’m looking forward to having a great time,” said McCreery of the tour. “It’s going to be a fun, jam-packed set.”