Luke Bryan is one of the most famous singer-songwriters of this generation.
Starting his musical career in the mid-2000s (specifically in 2007 when he released his debut album), Brian's success did not take long to gain a foothold in the music industry.
His debut was with the single "All My Friends Say", which was well received by the public.
He then released his debut studio album I'm Stay Me. After releasing a couple more albums and singles, Brian experienced worldwide success with his third studio album Tailgates & Tanlines.
It peaked at number one on many charts. This was the start of his success story, which continued with the release of his other two albums, Crash My Party and Kill the Lights.
Moreover, Brian became the only country music artist to have six singles from one album reach number 1 in the history of the Billboard Country Airplay chart.
Although Brian achieved most of his fame as a country musician and singer, it would be wrong to say that he limited himself to any one genre. Brian explored other genres as well, such as alternative rock. He often incorporated elements from other musical genres into his music.
He has currently sold over seven million albums, 27 million tracks, as well as 16 No. 1 hits and two platinum albums.
Childhood and youth
Luke Bryan was born Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan on July 17, 1976 in rural Leesburg, Georgia, USA to LeClair Watkins and Tommy Bryan.
His father was a peanut farmer. Luke had an older sister named Kelly and an older brother named Chris.
At the age of 19, Luke had to move to Nashville. However, tragedy hit his family as his older brother Chris died in a car accident.
Brian could not leave his family in such an emotional state and instead enrolled at Georgia State University at Statesboro. While in college, he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
In 1999 he graduated from the university with a degree in business administration.
Career
It wasn't until 2007 that Brian made it to Nashville after being persuaded by his father to pursue a career in music.
There he joined a local publishing house and his first release was the title track of Travis Tritt's 2004 album My Honky Tonk History.
Shortly after arriving in Nashville, Brian signed a recording contract with the Nashville Capitol. During this time, he co-wrote Billy Carrington's single "Good Directions". The song reached number one on the Hot Country Songs chart in 2007.
With producer Jeff Stevens, Brian co-wrote his debut single "All My Friends Say". The song reached number five on the Hot Country Songs chart. Following the success of his debut single, Brian released his debut studio album I'm Stay Me.
While his second single "We Rode in Trucks" reached No. 33 on the charts, a third single called "Country Man" reached No. 10.
On March 10, 2009, Brian released an EP entitled "Spring break with all my friends". The EP includes two new songs, "Sorority Girls" and "Take My Drunk Ass Home".
He also had an acoustic version of "All My Friends Say". The EP was followed by a fourth single, "Do I", in May 2009. The single became extremely popular and peaked at number two on the Hot Country Songs chart.
In October 2009, Brian released his second album Doin' My Thing.
The album consisted of his single "Do I" and the single "Apologize" by OneRepublic. It was followed by two singles "Rain Is a Good". Thing' and 'Someone Else Calling You Baby', both of which reached number one on the country charts.
On February 26, 2010, Brian released his second EP "Spring Break 2... Hangover Edition" which featured three new songs namely "Wild Weekend", "Cold Beer Drinker" and "I'm Hungover".
Exactly one year after his second EP, Brian released his third EP titled 'Spring Break 3 … It's a Shore Thing' on February 25th, 2011.
This EP included four new songs, namely 'In Love With the Girl' ', 'If You're Not Here For Parties', 'The Coastal Thing' and 'Love On The Campus'.
On March 14, 2011, Brian released his seventh single "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)", which reached number four on the country music charts and number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Third album: Tailgates & Tanlines
He released his third studio album Tailgates & Tanlines in August 2011. The album peaked at number one on the Top Country Albums chart and number two on the Billboard 200 chart.
All three new singles “I Do Not Want This Night To End,” “Drunk On You” and “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” reached number one on the country music charts.
In March 2012, Brian released his fourth EP "Spring Break", "Spring Break 4... Suntan City", which included new songs, namely "Spring Break-Up", "Little Little Later On".
In January 2013, Brian announced his first compilation "Spring Break...Here to Party", which included 14 songs, of which only two were new tracks.
The remaining 12 were from his previous "Spring Break" EPs. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums and Billboard 200 charts, becoming the first album of his career to reach number one on the all-genre albums chart.
Latest albums
In August 2013, Brian released his fourth studio album Crash My Party. Its title track reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in July 2013.
His second single "This Is My Kind Of Night" peaked at number one on Hot Songs and number two on Country Airplay.
The third and fourth singles "Drink A Beer" and "Play It Again" repeated the huge success of their predecessors and peaked at number one on both charts.
In May 2015, Brian released his fifth studio album, Kill the Lights. The album surpassed Dr. Dre's "Compton", debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.
All six of the album's singles reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, making Brian the first artist in the chart's 27-year history to have six number-one singles from a single album.
In February 2017, Luke Bryan performed the national anthem at Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
His sixth album What Makes You Country was released on December 8, 2017.
In 2019, Brian appeared as a judge on American Idol alongside Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. That same year, he also released his album Knockin' Boots.
Main works and awards
Luke Bryan's career skyrocketed with his third studio album, Tailgates & Tanlines, which was released in 2011. The album peaked at number one on the Top Country Albums chart and number two on the Billboard 200 chart.
His singles reached number one on the country music charts, starting a legacy that would continue with the release of his fourth and fifth studio albums.
His fourth album, Crash My Party, came out at a time when Brian's career was at its peak. All of the singles from the album were hugely successful, reaching number one on the Billboard "Hot Country Songs" and "Country Airplay" charts.
He also became the first country music artist to release an album of six singles that topped the Billboard "Hot Country Songs" and "Country Airplay" charts.
Brian's 2015 album Kill the Lights was also a success.
The album consisted of six new singles, all of which peaked at number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, making Brian the first artist in the chart's 27-year history to have six number-one singles from a single album.
In 2010, Luke Bryan received the Academy of Country Music Award for "Best New Solo Vocalist" and "Best New Artist".
His single "I Don't Want This Night To End" from Tailgates & Tanlines earned him several awards at the American Country Music Awards, including Best Single, Best Music Video and Most Played radio track. "Tailgates & Tanlines" was voted "Best Album of the Year".
In 2013, the Billboard Music Awards named Crash My Party the best album in the country. The title single was named "Best Country Song".
He has won the Artist of the Year award several times in various competitions, including the Country Country Countdown, American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards and so on.
Personal life and legacy
Luke Bryan married his college sweetheart Caroline Boyer on December 8, 2006. He first met her at Georgia Southern University.
The couple have children: Thomas Bo and Boyer Bryan and Tatum Christopher Bryan. He began caring for his nephew Tilden after the death of his sister and brother-in-law. He also takes care of his nieces Chris and Jordan.
He has a passion for hunting. He is the co-owner of Buck Commander, a subsidiary of Duck Commander. He even started a television show for hunting enthusiasts.
Brian supports numerous charities, including City of Hope and the Red Cross. Brian loves helping children and adults with disasters, health and human rights, and fighting HIV and cancer.
