There was a recent survey which asked java devs which jvm languages they were taking a serious look at. Scala came out on top with groovy as the runner up. Kotlin was an also ran. Survey results:
aftershox.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/JVM_Survey_Responses.png
Your problem is that you think that Scala can overcome its perception problem. No, it can't. Scala is history and will never be anything. Look to Kotlin.