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."