Luke Bryan Has Had Quite The Transformation
Luke Bryan is among the few country music artists who has transcended Nashville to achieve mainstream stardom. Like his musical contemporary Blake Shelton — who pulled off the same feat thanks to the years he spent sitting in a revolving red chair on "The Voice" — Bryan likewise found success on television when he joined the judging table of ABC's revival of "American Idol" back in 2017, alongside Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.
That said, critiquing aspiring young singers on a hit TV show is just one small aspect of a much larger and ever-expanding career. That's clear when taking a look at Bryan's stats. For example, his music has generated 21.7 billion streams worldwide. He's sold 12.5 million albums, with four of them going platinum, and another four going double-platinum. He's also sold 54 million Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)-certified digital singles, more than any other country artist. Plus, he's been named entertainer of the year by both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association, been awarded CMT's Artist of the Year for six consecutive years, and received more than 40 industry awards (although he's surprisingly never won a Grammy).
So how did a humble country boy from rural Georgia make it to the heights of stardom in the highly competitive music business? It's a fascinating journey, full of twists, turns and plenty of drama, so keep on reading for a complete rundown of why Luke Bryan has had quite the transformation.
Luke Bryan grew up on a peanut farm
Luke Bryan was born in Leesburg, Georgia, the youngest of three children. Bryan's father farmed peanuts on the family-owned farm; not surprisingly, Bryan is more familiar with peanuts than the average person — in fact, had it not been for the interest in music that he developed, peanut farming could easily have been Bryan's vocation. "I would either be working at my dad's fertilizer/peanut company, or I would probably be in some kind of real estate stuff with my brother-in-law," he told CMT of what he'd be doing for employment had he not pursued a career in music. Understandably, he has no regrets about the path that he wound up taking. "Probably, I would have been driving a tractor hauling peanuts, breathing a lot of peanut dust," he added, "so I'm glad I'm singing."
In 2014, Parade followed Bryan as he took a return trip to his childhood home. "I loved growing up here," he told the outlet of his hometown, which boasts a population of about 3,500 or so. "I love the foundation of this town. It's still very much the same, which puts a smile on my face."
Bryan has continually returned to Leesburg, and has performed numerous concerts there over the years — so many, in fact, that he's had to stop doing it. "I wore them out," he jokingly told reporters in 2016, as reported by Country Rebel. "I think they are pretty much tired of me."
A family tragedy derailed his Nashville dreams
Luke Bryan's life changed at age 14 when his parents bought him a guitar. He quickly mastered the instrument, and began playing with other local musicians before forming his own band while also starting to write his own songs. By the time Bryan graduated high school, he'd decided to pursue music professionally, and had made plans to move to Nashville and try to establish himself as a singer and songwriter. Days before he was scheduled to head to Music City, however, his family was hit with unimaginable tragedy. "My older brother, Chris, was unexpectedly killed in a ... car accident," Bryan told ABC News' "20/20." "I'm kind of hyperventilating talking about it ... You never truly ... move beyond it."
The dream that Bryan had been developing for years immediately fell by the wayside. The 19-year-old cancelled his plans, choosing to stay with his family during that devastating time. Instead of going to Nashville, he went to college, attending Georgia Southern University. He did, however, keep his music dreams alive, playing small gigs in the evenings whenever he could.
Nearly 30 years later, that tragic loss has remained a touchstone for him. "Man, I've had a billion emotions around all that," he told Parade of how his older brother's death continued to impact him. "You never quite get over it. But I do believe that when my brother was born, God allocated him 26 years. It was his time."
He met future wife Caroline while attending college
Setting aside his dream of making a name for himself in Nashville did have one silver lining: it was while attending Georgia Southern University that Luke Bryan met fellow student Caroline Boyer. The two dated for awhile, but because she was a few years behind him, they decided it was best to split up when Bryan graduated and she remained in school to complete her studies.
Several years later, when Bryan was an up-and-coming country singer, the two wound up reconnecting. "I was playing a little bar in Statesboro and she just happened to kinda be in town," Bryan explained in an interview with HuffPost. "We kinda saw each other and talked a little bit and then started emailing back and forth a little bit." The pivotal moment came when she invited Bryan to join her at her family's Christmas party. "I went to the party and the rest is history," he recalled; the two tied the knot in December 2006.
Since then, she's been right by Bryan's side as he experienced his rise from aspiring singer-songwriter to Nashville superstar, welcoming two children along the way. "My wife has been there from the time that I had just gotten my record deal," Bryan told CMT. "I mean, we've sat together and cried about whether any of this would ever happen, and she's ridden the ride through having kids and figuring out becoming parents and then getting here now."
He finally made it to Nashville and found early success as a songwriter
After graduating from college, Luke Bryan took his newly earned bachelor's degree in business administration and went to work for his dad, Tommy Bryan. It wasn't long before his father decided the best thing he could do for his son was to fire him. "I said, 'You know, if you're going to pursue your music career, you need to pack your truck up and move to Nashville," the elder Bryan told "20/20."
That's exactly what Bryan did, reigniting his original plan of heading to Nashville and make a grab for the brass ring. Arriving in 2001, Bryan was the proverbial deer in the headlights when he began shopping around the songs he'd been writing on Nashville's famed Music Row. "I didn't know a thing about it," he told CMT. "I didn't have one contact." Good fortune struck, however, when he met Rachel Proctor, a fellow songwriter who had a contract with local publishing house Murrah Music, and introduced him to the company's owner, Roger Murrah. "He really dug the songs that I was writing and decided to give me a publishing deal," Bryan recalled.
It didn't take long for Bryan to start churning out hits for other artists, beginning with "Honky Tonk History" for Travis Tritt, and "Good Directions" for Billy Currington, with the latter rocketing to the No. 1 spot in Billboard's Hot Country Songs charts.
He launched himself as a country music artist with 'I'll Stay Me'
While Luke Bryan was establishing himself as a Nashville tunesmith, he was trying to make a name for himself as a performer, taking to the stage of various Nashville honky tonks in the evenings. Those gigs paid off in 2004 when a Capitol Records A&R rep happened to catch his set in a bar, and became so impressed he signed him to a record deal.
Bryan took his time making his first album, crafting songs and getting a feel for the recording process. "We started writing close to four years ago, and that's when the magic started happening in my career," Bryan told Songwriter Universe of his debut LP, "I'll Stay Me," and its lead single, "All My Friends Say." The single made a big splash, ultimately hitting No. 5 in the charts, while third single "Country Man" made it into the top 10. The album wound up selling a half-million copies — not too shabby for a rookie artist's first release.
As Bryan explained, the true litmus test for a song is the response it received from a live audience. "I always tell aspiring writers that the key to success is writing songs that you believe in, about moments you pull from your life," he explained. "Then get out and perform them if you can, or at least let people hear them. If no one is reacting, then it's not a good song."
He established himself as a Nashville star
The success of Luke Bryan's debut album was only the beginning. His sophomore release arrived in 2009, "Doin' My Thing," which boasted more of a pop-influenced sound than his first album, and proved to be a commercial success. It wasn't until 2011's "Tailgates & Tanlines," however, that Bryan really blew the doors off, with three singles hitting No. 1.
And then came the 2013 album "Crash My Party," which also spawned several No. 1 singles. Subsequent albums "Kill the Lights" and "What Makes You Country" cemented his status as country's newest superstar. One thing he was not willing to do, however, was rest on his laurels. "From now until the day I die, I will continue to try to get better — a better singer, a better guitar player, a better entertainer, and better at this business," he told Entertainment Weekly.
Along the way, Bryan cornered the market on spring break with his "Spring Break" releases. That led to the launch of his annual spring break concerts in Panama City, Florida, attracting hundreds of thousands of party-hearty fans. Despite the concerts' success, Bryan decided to call it quits in 2015. The reason: he'd turned 38, and felt he'd outgrown that kind of scene. "It's kind of sad that it is the last one," he told the "Today" show. "But somehow I was able have an excuse to be at spring break all through my 30s. It's probably time to shut 'er all down."
Luke Bryan set a country music record
By 2015, Luke Bryan had established himself as one of country music's biggest stars. With his 2013 release "Crash My Party," however, Bryan not only had another hit album, he made it into the history books as well. When the single "I See You" hit No. 1, it was the sixth single from "Crash My Party" to top both the Mediabase Country chart and Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Bryan became the only current country music artist to produce six No. 1 hits from a single album, also hitting No. 1 with previous singles "That's My Kind of Night," "Roller Coaster," "Drink a Beer," "Play It Again" and the title track.
While that kind of success would seem impossible to repeat, that's precisely what Bryan did with the release of his 2015 album "Kill the Lights." That album also landed six singles in the No. 1 spot.
In late 2022, Bryan hit another milestone with the release of his single "Country On," which became his 30th song to hit No. 1. He commemorated the occasion with an Instagram post, writing, "30 #1 songs at country radio is really crazy to hear. I'm blessed to have this career and can't thank everyone involved enough for supporting my dreams." The following September, Bryan was honored in style with a special celebration at Brooklyn Bowl, in which several of his contemporaries performed some of his 30 hits to mark that amazing chart achievement.
He and wife Caroline adopted his nieces and nephew after unexpected tragedies
In 2007, Luke Bryan was hit by another family tragedy. Bryan had just made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry, with his older sister, Kelly, on hand to watch the momentous occasion. She passed away a month later, from a strange illness that doctors were unable to identify. Her death left her husband, Ben Lee Cheshire, to raise the couple's three children.
In late 2014, tragedy struck again when Cheshire died suddenly, leaving the children orphans. Without hesitation, Bryan and wife Caroline — who were already raising two sons of their own — stepped in to adopt all three kids: Jordan (20), Kris (16), and Til (13). "Now we have three children that have lost both their parents, so that becomes our new focus, to try to navigate and guide them through this life," Bryan told interviewer Robin Roberts during a 2017 "Nightline" interview, as reported by ETOnline. As Bryan's wife pointed out, their decision came immediately. "We never thought twice about it," she added. "We just did it."
Speaking with People in 2020, Bryan gushed about his unusual family situation — and suddenly finding himself parenting a teenage boy. "We woke up and had a teenager in our midst, but we love it," Bryan said of nephew Til. "It's nothing but positive. Til is having a blast and I think he's finally settled in being in Nashville."
He made his debut as award show host
By the 2010s, it was clear that Luke Bryan had conquered the music world. He set his sights on developing a whole other skill set when he took on a new role, hosting the 2013 edition of the ACM Awards. Co-hosting the festivities alongside Blake Shelton, the duo went on to co-host the show two more times, in 2014, and in 2015. During the latter show, Bryan also wound up receiving the night's biggest honor when he won the entertainer of the year award. Bryan returned for the 2016 ceremony, this time co-hosting with Dierks Bentley (the duo returned for the 2017 show).
He put all that hosting experience to use for his first gig as solo host, when he acted as emcee for the 2021 CMA Awards, a much bigger deal than the ACMs. "Being asked to host the CMA Awards was definitely something I put a lot of thought into before answering," he said in a statement to Deadline, adding, "I knew it was something I couldn't turn down."
Bryan was asked back to host the CMAs in 2022 — this time not solo, but alongside former NFL great Peyton Manning. "When I was asked if Peyton Manning was someone I would consider co-hosting with I didn't hesitate," Bryan said after announcing the news while co-hosting an episode of "Live! with Kelly and Ryan," as reported by CNN. The duo reunited to co-host for the 2023 CMAs.
He apologized for controversial comments about some country legends
Luke Bryan has been credited for being the architect of the "bro country" sub-genre, but there's another more-established form of country music of which he's not a fan: outlaw country, popularized in the 1970s by the legendary likes of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard. Bryan shared his views on outlaw country during a 2015 interview with Hits Daily Double. "I'm not big on looking back on the past. I'm not an outlaw country singer. I don't do cocaine and run around. So I'm not going to sing outlaw country," he said, explaining he's more likely to be hunting and fishing than getting up to the kind of drug-fueled shenanigans that characterized the outlaw country movement back in the day. "I don't know about laying in the gutter, strung out on drugs," he added.
His words raised the ire of Kathy Pinkerman Jennings, wife of the late country icon's son, Buddy. In a video she shared on YouTube, Jennings issued a scathing response to Bryan's diss of her late father-in-law. "You, Luke Bryan, are a platinum, disrespecting, no singing, whining, grasping for media attention, a**hole," she said.
Bryan was forced to do some damage control. Jennings' son, musician Shooter Jennings, told the Los Angeles Times that Bryan called his mother, Jessi Colter, to apologize. "Luke Bryan called my mom today to clarify that he would never disrespect my dad or me or any of us," he said.
He took center stage at Super Bowl LI
Luke Bryan has performed in front of some big crowds over the years. However, it's fair to say that he performed for the largest audience ever when he was tapped to sing America's national anthem at Super Bowl LI in February 2017. Ahead of the big game — which attracted 111 million viewers — he told The Washington Post he'd been practicing relentlessly to avoid screwing it up. "I've kind of just been hanging around the house, singing. Singing in the stairwell, singing in the shower, singing for my boys. I just tried to get a lot of — I know it sounds like a sports reference — but get a lot of reps in," he explained.
During a subsequent appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Bryan admitted when he was first approached about singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl, he was immediately apprehensive. "When I got the call, you're like, 'Do you really want to put yourself through this mental torture?'" he recalled. "You either get the anthem right, or you don't ..."
After taking the job, what he hadn't counted on was that his friends would place bets on whether his rendition would come in over or under the standard run time of two minutes and 11 seconds. "They're like, 'Are you gonna be 2:12 or 2:13? I'm like, 'Guys, I don't know. I'm walking my ass out there and singing the national anthem,'" he quipped.
TV fame with Katy Perry and Lionel Richie on American Idol
After Fox cancelled "American Idol" in 2016, the following year ABC revealed plans to revive the TV singing competition. With Katy Perry and Lionel Richie already hired as judges, the panel was one judge short when auditions were set to begin in the fall of 2017. Finally, a week before the auditions, the network announced Luke Bryan was the show's third judge.
While Bryan had achieved massive success within the country music milieu, "Idol" brought him into the mainstream of American pop culture. Bryan and his fellow judges quickly jelled; unlike the constantly changing array of judges that characterized the previous iteration of "Idol," this judging panel has remained intact. In 2020, during his third season on the show, Bryan told People that he'd come to appreciate the experience more than he ever had before. "I feel like, with the show, it seems like we're catching a good stride, and I'm just excited to be a part of it," he said.
For Bryan, "Idol" offered an opportunity to contribute to the success of deserving young singers. "My thing is I remember the joy of when my career really started to take off, I remember that feeling and how special that feeling is and how much fun it is," he told Parade. "So, anytime I can help someone have that feeling and feel that rise to stardom, I really, really enjoy that role."
He launched his own record label
While being an "American Idol" judge allowed Luke Bryan to help launch the careers of future stars, in 2018 he decided to do the same thing by starting his own record label. As a press release explained, Bryan was heading up 32 Bridge Entertainment, a new label that would operate under the auspices of his current label, UMG Nashville. In conjunction with the announcement, Bryan revealed he'd already signed his first artist to the new imprint, Georgia-based singer-songwriter Jon Langston.
"The ability to start a record label through my record label is such a dream come true for me," Bryan said in a statement. "It allows me to see an artist like Jon Langston, trust my heart and sign him. I've been watching Jon and hearing about his fan following for some time. More important is that he is in it for the right reasons — he loves making music, he loves the fans and he's out there working his tail off."
The first release from Bryan's new label was Langston's single, "When It Comes to Loving You." According to Bryan, he was planning to take a hands-off approach to Langston's music, but confirmed that he'd always be available in a mentoring capacity. "I want him to blaze his own trail," Bryan added, "but if he's having a bad day or he doesn't know how an angle of the business works, I want to be there to give him advice or just go fishing."
He opened his own Nashville hotspot and got into the beer business
The same year that Luke Bryan launched his own label, he also opened up a similarly named venture in the heart of Nashville. Dubbed Luke's 32 Bridge Food + Drink, the massive 30,000-square-foot live-entertainment complex spanned six levels, including six bars, two restaurants (one serving sushi), and four music stages.
On the opening day in 2018, Bryan christened the joint with a free concert on the street. As he told The Tennessean, he had big plans for the place. "But I'm really excited that we can use the 32 Bridge brand as the epicenter of launching a lot of really cool stuff," he explained. "This is just the top of the first inning for me." As fans came to realize, Bryan would occasionally pop in and jump onstage for an impromptu performance.
That wasn't Bryan's only business venture set within the food-and-beverage arena. In 2020, Bryan launched his own brand of beer, Two Lane American Golden Lager. A collaboration with Constellation Brands, the rollout was paused due to the pandemic. "Our marketing was focused on the lifestyle myself, and my fans like, people on boats having fun, partying, and all that," Bryan told Forbes of the delay. "You know, it just didn't really tie in with the times at that moment, so we decided it was time to take a pause." The brand was then relaunched in 2021, with the lager joined by a hard seltzer.