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.”

RELATED: Luke Bryan Explains His Frequent Butt Shaking

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.”

17 Songs That Made Luke Bryan A True Superstar

• 17. “Rain Is a Good Thing” (2010)

  Share

  Okay, the lyrics to this song are quite simple and give a simple recipe for making whiskey, but it’s a catchy tune and infectious. Luke also released the song during Nashville’s huge 2010 flood. At the flood relief concert Bryan told the press, “Okay, rain is a good thing but maybe not 17 inches of it.”

• 16. “Drink a Beer” (2013)

  Share

  Written by Jim Beavers and Chris Stapleton, the song tells the story of a character who honors the recent passing of a loved one by watching the sunset on the edge of a pier; he drinks a beer, which is something they would have done together. Luke lost two siblings, who each passed away at a tragically young age. So Luke brings a lot of gravitas to this song.

• 15. “Kick the Dust Up” (2015)

  Share

  Another party song for Bryan and it is also his thirteenth number-one single and his tenth consecutive chart-topper.
• 14. “What She Wants Tonight” (2019)

  Share

  Luke was a co-writer on this song, which he felt would appeal to female listeners because the girl in the song “controls the dynamic of the situation." He added, "I've been wanting to get a big, rocking tempo out for some time, and this is certainly it."

• 13. “The Only Way I Know” with Jason Aldean and Eric Church (2012)

  Share

  This collaborative song is about hard work, loyalty, small-town values, and southern work ethic. The singers explain that they were raised in a small-town southern atmosphere and were taught to work hard to earn a living.

• 12. “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day” (2015)

  Share

  This song reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, giving Bryan his fourteenth number-one hit on that chart. Thematically, the song is about a rural lifestyle in Luke's home state of Georgia.
• 11. “This Is How We Roll” (2014)

  Share

  A great collaboration. The final single from Florida Georgia Line's debut album. The video of the song shows a biker named Kenny losing a bet and having to jump a tree. He fails, resulting in his dirt bike being stuck in the tree. When he, Travis Pastrana (a professional motorsports competitor), and some other guys are found stranded by Hubbard, Kelley, and Bryan as a result of the failed dirt bike trick, Kelley invites them to a party in the back of their semi-truck, which is revealed throughout the video to consist of dancing women and beer.

• 10. “Crash My Party” (2013)

  Share

  Luke debuted the song at the Academy of Country Music Awards in April 2013, which he hosted with Blake Shelton. It was released the same month as the first single and title track from Bryan's fourth studio album of the same name.

• 9. “All My Friends Say” (2007)

  Share

  Our introduction to Luke when it was released in January 2007 as his debut single and the first for his 2007 debut album ‘I'll Stay Me.’ The song became Bryan's first chart entry, spending more than 30 weeks on US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, where it reached number 5.
• 8. “Someone Else Calling You Baby” (2010)

  Share

  In the song, the male narrator sees his lover in someone else's truck and wonders if she has left him for someone else. The song became Bryan's second number one hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in February 2011.

• 7. “Drunk on You” (2012)

  Share

  It was released in February 2012 as the third single from his album ‘Tailgates & Tanlines.’ It was also his first single that Luke did not have a hand in writing.

• 6. “Most People Are Good” (2017)

  Share

  In the song, Bryan sings about making "uplifting" statements about positive things in the world. At the time, Luke said that he was "captivated" the first time he heard the song, and that "It was something that I felt like that people always need to be reassured that there's way more good going on than negative."
• 5. “One Margarita” (2020)

  Share

  The song we all needed to hear during quarantine and what fun it brought to so many. Bryan’s wife Caroline and mother appeared with him in the video.

• 4. “Home Alone Tonight” with Karen Fairchild (2015)

  Share

  Bryan and Karen Fairchild performed the song live at the 2015 American Music Awards. The song was a groovy kind of ballad in which a man and woman meet in a bar and plot revenge on their former lovers together.

• 3. “That’s My Kind of Night” (2013)

  Share

  This tune is all about the beat and has a great one talking about catfish dinners, the Flint River, and where the corn rows grow. Oh, and love.
• 2. “Play It Again” (2014)

  Share

  In the song, Luke sings about approaching a girl at a tailgate party. Suddenly, the girl's favorite song comes on, causing her to ask the protagonist to dance with her, and they both exclaim "play it again" when the song is finished. He drives her home that night, when the song comes on the radio, triggering a similar reaction."

• 1.”Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” (2011)

  Share

  Roy Acuff (Grand Ole Opry star and considered one of the fathers of country music) had a saying, “Dance with the one who brought ya.” Acuff told many artists on the Grand Ole Opry to do just that when they performed. And like it or hate this catchy song is the one that brought Luke to the country music dance.

Sign me up for the XTU Nation email newsletter!

Join XTU Nation and get the latest music and local news, exclusive presales, contests, and more straight to your inbox!

First Name *

Last Name

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.