Luke Bryan Recalls When He Was In A Dark ‘Artistic Headspace’

Luke Bryan is at the top of his game; he just celebrated the success of his 30th number-one country single. Times weren't always great for the country superstar. He told us that in 2007, after his career started to get momentum, it stalled a bit, and he was quite upset about it.

Luke said, "When 'We Ride in Trucks" didn't make it, that was probably the darkest artist headspace I've ever been in because I thought 'We Rode In Trucks' was going to propel my career on a fast track. And it didn't go well for me, and I was pretty upset about it." He admitted he got really down and had to pick himself back up. Bryan noted, "At some point, I just told myself, 'Don't be that.'"

Bryan continued that since then, he's been appreciative of his career. He said, "For the most part, I just love doing this. I didn't ask to be born to do it, but I think I was born to do it. I think I was born to be a carer of people."

Luke remembers his blessings when fans approach him when he's out and about. He told us, "I've always thought when somebody will come up to me, and they don't want to bother me in a restaurant, don't want to take a picture of whatever, and this is not even in Nashville, this is somewhere In Illinois, and I'm like, 'When else am I gonna be in your hometown eating a hotdog at this little beer joint. So, of course, why wouldn't you get a picture?' That's been my mentality. I think people spend the rest of their lives telling their friends about their encounter with me."

He added, "Now, all my encounters have been amazing; I'm not saying I've batted a thousand, but I've tried to be as real as I can with people because they will spend the rest of their life spreading that experience and always smiling about it."

Bryan knows that things could be very different in his life with one slight change. He said, "At any moment in my life, I could have never moved here (Nashville). One little deviation in the fork in the road or one little thing could have steered my career. I still think I would have been crazy and goofy and happy and wanting a beer every evening after a long, hard day. But I'm just so blessed, and I live every day thanking God that I made this decision."

Who has more fun than Luke Bryan? You can hear it on his songs, see it on his social media almost daily and also feel it when you see him perform live.

As Luke celebrates his 45th birthday today (7/17), we take a look at 17 songs that made him a country superstar.