Luke Bryan's moving up the charts

Luke Bryan's moving up the charts

Sometimes it's difficult to determine exactly when you have arrived. Moving along life's highway, there aren't any big road signs that say for certain that you've reached a particular destination.

#But if there were, we'd venture a guess that Luke Bryan has hit the city limits of Big Time.

#The Lee County country music artist has built a solid career, one that has seen his music gain in popularity. After winning the Country Music Association's best new artist award, Bryan has built on that with solid work that has endeared him to his fans.

#On Wednesday, Bryan, filling in for Lady Antebellum, announced some of the top nominations with his friend Jason Aldean on "Good Morning America." Bryan found out he's up for two major prizes in this November's CMA Awards -- male vocalist of the year and album of the year.

#It's safe to say that with those two nominations, Bryan has arrived.

#The fact is, Bryan's already been in the top-star tier for a while now, but these nominations cinch it. It's not so much winning -- he has stiff competition in both categories -- as it is the company he's keeping.

#In the competition for male vocalist, Bryan's facing Eric Church, Aldean, Blake Shelton and Keith Urban. For album of the year, his "Tailgates & Tanlines" is up against Church's "Chief," Miranda Lambert's "Four the Record," Dierks Bentley's "Home" and Lady A's "Own the Night." Perennial nominee and multiple winner Brad Paisley didn't make the cut this year, which makes it even more remarkable.

#"Those are just really, really important categories and stuff that really anytime I get nominated and I look at the company that I'm in it's pretty amazing," Bryan said.

#Indeed. Bryan's hanging out with some heady company and he's showing he belongs.

#And while we're not given to making predictions, particularly when it comes to the entertainment business, we will venture this observation from the crystal ball: It won't be long before some new music star finds himself mentioned in the company of Luke Bryan and suddenly realizes that he, too, has arrived.

Luke Bryan, country music product

Luke Bryan is fine with this. "You want women to think of you in a sexy manner," says Bryan, phoning in from the road. "It's all part of the business. It drives ticket sales. It's all a part of it. My focus is trying to make great music and putting on great shows, and whatever happens beyond that is a bonus to me."
Country music may not have seen such a "himbo" since the early days of Tim McGraw, though McGraw never had it this rough: The anonymity of the Internet, the post-"Magic Mike" permanent bachelorette party culture and the willingness of women to objectify someone else for once are all converging, making things kind of crazy out there.
"Women are getting more and more comfortable where they can have a little fun too. I'm happy about that," Bryan says. Wife Caroline "laughs about it. She enjoys it too. She understands that it's all a part of the game."
Bryan, 36, is well-spoken and affable and always on message. What he really thinks about his journey from respected songwriter (before becoming famous, he co-wrote songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington) to musical beefcake, what he really thinks about anything, is impossible to say. There's an interesting person in there somewhere, behind an impenetrable wall of politeness, but unlike rock stars or rappers, for whom controversy is currency, country singers tend to take their media training very seriously. They're terrified to offend. They need you to know how grateful they are for what's happening to them, how humble. How they prayed on it. They tend to give stock answers like:
A) Yes, ma'am
B) It's the culmination of a lot of prayers
C) My focus is trying to make great music and putting on great shows, and whatever happens beyond that is a bonus to me.
Bryan's father owns a fertilizer company, and the younger Bryan worked for him before making it big. Ask him what he learned about spreading fertilizer that might have helped him in the entertainment industry — the journalistic equivalent of setting up an easy layup — and Bryan doesn't budge. "From my dad I learned to be good to people, to always be honest and straightforward. I learned hard work and perseverance."
Bryan didn't truly break out until his third full-length album, last year's "Tailgates & Tanlines." It recently went platinum, thanks in large part to the crossover hit "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)," one of those songs that doesn't just blur the lines between pop, rock and country, it obliterates them with dynamite.
"I think 'Country Girl' is one song that can veer into country or hip-hop or rap. You can listen to it and enjoy the humor and the fun in it," says Bryan, who claims not to have worried about the song's uncountrylike grooviness or its PG-rated not-quite sexism. "I knew it was gonna be a song (where) some women or older ladies probably didn't like me saying that. But I also knew it was going to be something fun and very light and about a good time. I've had a few older ladies out at shows who really don't appreciate it, and I get it. But there's nothing negative about it at all.

Bryan is touring as the opening act for Jason Aldean, his friend and probably the only recently arrived hat act more popular than he. They toured together two years ago, playing venues that have gotten bigger in a hurry.
"When I had a birthday party a few weeks ago, Jason and (his wife) Jessica came," Bryan says. "We try to get together during the off-season. Jason and I hunt a lot together."
Aldean is likely one of the few people who can relate to the difficulties of life at Bryan's level, not that Bryan would ever publicly admit to any difficulties.
"People don't want to hear you bellyaching about this and that, about (your) taxes and stuff like that, and I get it," he says. "My main thing is, I truly love what I do. I think you have to love this to be able to live up to what it requires. Every day I wake up and I lay in bed counting my blessings and saying my prayers for how fortunate I am to have great fans and health and family. ... It didn't come easy for me, and therefore I appreciate it a thousand times more. Looking back, I wouldn't have wanted it to go any other way."

 

Family travels 900 miles to visit Luke Bryan's hometown

Family travels 900 miles to visit Luke Bryan's hometown

While a lot of 11 year old girls would chose the beach or Disney world for summer vacation, one little girl from Illinois chose Leesburg, Georgia.
The reason? She's a HUGE Luke Bryan fan and begged her parents to take her to Luke's hometown.
So they packed up the car and drove 900 miles and she got quite a surprise when she got her.
WALB News 10's Stephanie Springer met her today and tells us how it went.
Holley Horrell says she's Luke Bryan's biggest fan. Today she visited some of the spots he sings about in his songs like the Flint River and the Muckalee Creek. She even got to meet Luke's parents.
11-year old Holly Horrell says she's Luke Bryan's biggest fan. "I watch LBTV every week, I watch the videos over and over again and I have tons of pictures," she said.
She can tell you just about anything you'd want to know about him. "He has two Broncos, a black and a yellow one and a black truck," she said.
She's already met him so this year she wanted to visit his hometown. "I've always dreamed of coming here and seeing where he grew up," she said.
Thursday, her dream came true. She and her family packed up the car and drove 900 miles from Illinois. "Last year we went to Minnesota, the year before we went to Disney and this tops Disney," she said.
She and her family got an unexpected surprise when officials at city hall contacted Luke's parents. "I've never had anyone do like Holly's done she has hit the top of the chart," said Luke's mom LaClair.
His Dad took the family on a tour of Leesburg. First stop on the list? The Muckalee creek and Flint River. "I went and put my feet in the water because he sings about it," she said.
And Luke's mom, LaClair, met the family for lunch
It was a long trip but a worthwhile one. Her dad says they plan to leave tomorrow but says she would move to Leesburg if she could.
The family also stopped in Nashville just in case they
The city of Leesburg was more than happy to accommodate the family. Having a hometown country superstar is, after all, a great marketing tool.

 

BayFest 2012 adds dash of country with Luke Bryan

BayFest 2012 adds dash of country with Luke Bryan, Chris Cagle, Jerrod Niemann

Bryan will top the day’s lineup on the AT&T/Southern Ford Dealers Stage. The Georgia native’s stardom is relatively fresh: He scored his first No. 1 country hit in 2010, with “Someone Else Calling You Baby,” and his most recent with “Drunk on You” which is currently still at No. 5. “Drunk on You” also has been as high as No. 17 on Billboard’s overall pop singles chart, Bryan’s best crossover showing so far.
His biggest hits also include “I Don’t Want This Night to End,” “Rain is a Good Thing” and “Do I.”
Two other newly announced country acts also will perform on Oct. 7: Chris Cagle, whose top singles include “I Breathe In, I Breathe Out” and “Chicks Dig It,” and Jerrod Neimann, who topped the country chart in 2010 with “Lover, Lover.”
The Sunday lineup on the AT&T/Southern Ford Dealers Stage will start with Mobile-area songwriter and vocalist Elley Duhe. Duhe, 20, was born in Mobile and grew up in Vancleave, Mississippi, and has performed regularly along the Gulf Coast since her mid-teens. In February, she appeared on national TV in an audition round of the NBC show “The Voice.”
BayFest takes place Oct. 5-7 in downtown Mobile. Other acts announced so far include headliners Journey, Al Green, Bush and Pretty Lights, plus Pat Benatar, Loverboy, Buckcherry, My Darkest Days, The Campaign 1984, Mimosa and Rose Royce.
Weekend passes are $45 and are on sale with no service charge at www.bayfest.com. A group rate is available for groups of 20 or more people. Children 12 and under are admitted free with an adult ticketholder. For updates and other festival information, visit www.bayfest.com or www.facebook.com/BayFestMusicFestival.

 

Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan

Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan, contrasting styles at Merriweather Post

If Luke Bryan is the guy at the party running around persuading everyone to take another shot, then Jason Aldean is the quiet, brooding cowboy in the corner ready to jump onstage and wow everyone with an unexpected rap. Both country singers delivered deafeningly entertaining shows to thousands at a sold-out concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Sunday. But the question remained: What would have happened if they combined their strengths?
We may never know. Bryan kicked off the night, basking in the glow of his two ultra-cheesy recent hit singles, the hip-shaking “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” and the earnest “Drunk on You,” in which he croons “Girl, you make my speakers go ‘boom boom.’  ”
Bryan, who turns 36 on Tuesday, has embraced this goofy persona — he shed his guitar almost instantly during the first song, preferring a microphone so he could groove around the stage. There were hip swivels, pelvic thrusts, air kicks, muscle flexes. Soaked with sweat dripping off him, Bryan shook it no matter what the theme of the song — loving, cheating, happy to be alive and drinking — such as “Rain Is a Good Thing,” “Someone Else Calling You Baby” and “All My Friends Say.”
Sitting down at a piano, Bryan teased the first few lines of Justin Bieber’s song “Boyfriend” — but proved that even he had his limits. “No Bieber tonight,” he told the crowd.
But what Bryan lacked in deep concert “moments” with his dance party, Aldean, 35, easily made up for with intensity onstage. He started off with electric guitar-heavy, explosive “Johnny Cash,” only to immediately segue into four slowed-down songs. From “Big Green Tractor” to super-depressing break-up song “The Truth,” Aldean still managed to keep the energy level buzzing. Cowboy hat slung low over his eyes, he mainly stayed anchored to the mike.
For a show that seemed methodical, he never lost the audience, many of whom had been drenched in a rainstorm before the show. Aldean ran through his most high-energy tunes, including the rocking “Crazy Town” and “My Kinda Party,” and small-town-loving “Flyover States” and “Tattoos on This Town.” He cracked more than a few smiles when the audience roared along with his smash country rap “Dirt Road Anthem.”
As for the potential Bryan-Aldean super group, disappointingly, the singers didn’t make a joint appearance. The only duet came when former “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson appeared via giant video screen to accompany Aldean on their 2010 single, “Don’t You Wanna Stay.”

Luke Bryan Performs, Talks National Anthem Controversy

Luke Bryan Performs, Talks National Anthem Controversy on ‘Good Morning America’

Country music reigned supreme and staged a full-scale takeover of NYC on the morning of Friday, July 13. While Zac Brown Band performed on the ‘TODAY‘ show in midtown Manhattan, Luke Bryan commandeered the stage in Central Park for the ‘Good Morning America’ summer concert series. He performed a set consisting of ‘Country Girl (Shake It for Me),’ ‘Drunk on You’ and ‘Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.’ The gregarious singer did not shy away from talking about the National Anthem controversy at the MLB All-Star Game earlier in the week, either. He wrote words on his hands to ensure that he wouldn’t flub his performance like so many musicians before him have. He was subsequently beaten up a bit for doing so.
First things first. ‘GMA’ host Robin Roberts sat down to chat with Bryan onstage and an appearance on a major breakfast TV program could not have been better timed, since Bryan’s anthem gaffe was a hot topic all week. Rather than shrug it off, he was forthright, saying, “That stage, being in that moment, was one of the biggest moments of my life. I’ve done the Anthem many times and I’ve done it at little league baseball parks. Going out there for that moment, it meant so much to me… to have a few notes, to get it right.” He pointed out how people stress out from the pressure of singing the song, saying, “You see it done wrong, and… you almost don’t want to do it.”
It’s clear that Bryan was trying to be overly respectful by writing words on his hand to prevent a mess up.
Bryan also claimed that since he can’t serve in the military, he can show his love for his country by singing the song. He apologized if anyone was offended by the fact that he wrote notes on his hand, which was met with a chorus of cheers from the crowd. That’s when Roberts called him a “true Southern gentleman.” If we didn’t know any better, we might think she was smitten with the always smiling Bryan!
Then again, how could she not be? His cheery disposition is infectious. He even said, “This whole ride for me, every day, I wake up with a big smile. Every day I feel so blessed. That is what is so rewarding about this business, to get up every day and enjoy it and to smile, play music and have the time of your life.”
There’s no mistaking Bryan’s sincerity about the Anthem. All is forgiven.
When performing ‘Country Girl,’ he was flirting with the crowd in his adorable Luke Bryan way.

Luke Bryan will help kick off Greeley Stampede

Luke Bryan will help kick off Greeley Stampede celebrations this weekend

By the time country star Luke Bryan is on stage and performing for more than 8,500 clamoring fans on Saturday, he will have just scratched the surface of a long tour away from home. But on the road, Bryan said he's carrying a piece of home with him.

It's a single peanut, on the back of his guitar pick.

“I just thought it would be cool to put it on,” Bryan said in his Georgian twang over the phone last week.

With several platinum country hits under his belt, Bryan, the son of a peanut farmer, can plan on being away from his small-town roots for a while. After his sold-out concert this weekend for the Greeley Stampede, he's scheduled for a whopping 39 more shows through October.

It makes for a full summer, but Bryan said he manages.

“My main thing is just to try to get a good night's sleep, work out, stay healthy. And at the end of the day, just enjoy being on stage,” Bryan said.

Being on the road actually helps with song writing, he said. In his latest album, Tailgates and Tanlines, Bryan co-wrote eight of 13 songs.

“Being out with fans is very inspiring for me,” Bryan said. “So I take all that inspiration and energy and maybe write a song from it.”

Bryan may always be a country boy at heart, but he said he tries to relate to everyone who comes to his concerts, even if it's just by incorporating the name of the state or city in his performance.

“I try to relate to everybody a little bit, make sure my show makes everybody smile,” he said. “I don't take anything too seriously. I just get up there and have a good ol' time.”

A good ol' time is what Bryan is all about — four of his five albums have a spring break theme. Bryan has a wife and two young boys, Bo and Tate, but he said spring breaks seem to immediately bring people back to a time in their life when they were just having fun.

“At the end of day, too, I am a family man,” Bryan said. “But I'm out there having a good time ... As long as it keeps me young at heart, and that is what half of the battle is.”

Aside from his decorated guitar pick, Bryan said he hasn't brought much else with him from the fields of Leesburg, Ga., although there's probably still some peanut dust in his ears, somewhere.

That and the memory of country girls getting down to inspire one of his major singles, “Country Girl (Shake It For Me).”