Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. Bryan is a five-time "Entertainer of the Year", being awarded by both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association. In 2019, Bryan's 2013 album Crash My Party received the first Album of the Decade award from the Academy of Country Music. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with over 75 million records sold. Since 2018, Bryan has been a judge on the singing competition television show American Idol.
His first ten albums – I'll Stay Me (2007), Doin' My Thing (2009), Tailgates & Tanlines (2011), Crash My Party (2013), Spring Break...Here to Party (2013), Spring Break...Checkin' Out (2015), Kill the Lights (2015), Farm Tour... Here's to the Farmer (2016), What Makes You Country (2017), and Born Here Live Here Die Here (2020) – have included 30 number-one hits. Bryan often co-writes with Jeff Stevens.
Luke Bryan was born in Leesburg, Georgia, to LeClaire and Thomas "Tommy" Bryan, who owned a peanut farm. He had an older sister, Kelly and an older brother, Chris.
Bryan grew up in Leesburg, Georgia and was active in sports and demonstrated musical aptitude at an early age. He drew inspiration from Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and country artists such as George Strait, Alabama, and Ronnie Milsap, who inspired him to learn to play piano.
His first job was at a local grocery store. He attended Lee County District High School, where he was involved in both sports and theatre. His teachers recognized his musical ability and stage presence and encouraged him to pursue musical theatre upon graduation.
Shortly before moving to Nashville at age 19 to pursue a music career, Bryan's elder brother Chris was killed in a car accident. His mother has stated: "We knew Luke at some point would come to Nashville," his mother said. "But ... you can't leave your family, and ... I couldn't bear the thought of him being away."
Bryan instead went to college at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, where he joined the Sigma Chi fraternity and he briefly dated his future wife, Caroline Boyer. He graduated in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Bryan reconnected with Boyer several years later when he was performing at a bar in Statesboro, when she was in town, later resuming their relationship and eventually marrying.
During his undergraduate education, and following graduation, Bryan worked on his father’s peanut mill and performed local shows with a band he formed with friends called “Neyami Road.” Two years later, at his father’s encouragement, Bryan moved to Nashville to pursue a music career. He initially gained success as a songwriter, co-writing Billy Currington’s 2006 hit "Good Directions", which was a number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for three weeks. Though initially rejected by record labels, he eventually signed with Capitol Records; his first major success was "All My Friends Say".
2006–2010: I'll Stay Me and Doin' My Thing
Soon after his arrival in Nashville, Bryan joined a publishing house in the city. Among his first cuts was the title track of Travis Tritt's 2004 album My Honky Tonk History. He was later signed by Capitol Nashville to a recording contract. In the meantime, Bryan co-wrote Billy Currington's single "Good Directions", which went to number one on the Hot Country Songs chart in mid-2007. Bryan co-wrote his debut single, "All My Friends Say", with producer Jeff Stevens. This song reached a peak of number 5 on the Hot Country Songs chart. In August 2007, Capitol Nashville released Bryan's debut album, I'll Stay Me. Bryan wrote or co-wrote all but one of its 11 songs. The album's second single, "We Rode in Trucks", peaked at number 33 while "Country Man" reached number 10.
On March 10, 2009, he released an EP titled Spring Break with All My Friends that featured two new songs, "Sorority Girls" and "Take My Drunk Ass Home," plus an acoustic version of "All My Friends Say". After this EP, he released his fourth single, "Do I" in May 2009. Bryan wrote the song with Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady A, whose lead singer Hillary Scott also sings backing vocals on it. The song reached number 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
"Do I" was included on Bryan's second album, Doin' My Thing, which was released in October 2009. Also included on the album was a cover of OneRepublic's "Apologize". Bryan wrote the album's next two singles, "Rain Is a Good Thing" and "Someone Else Calling You Baby", with Dallas Davidson and Jeff Stevens, respectively. Both of these songs went to number one on the country music charts. AllMusic gave this album a positive review as well, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine considering Bryan more "relaxed" in comparison to his debut. On February 26, 2010, Bryan released a second EP, titled Spring Break 2...Hangover Edition, which featured three new songs: "Wild Weekend", "Cold Beer Drinker", and "I'm Hungover". While Bryan is mainly known as a country music singer, he has explored other genres like alternative rock with his cover of "Apologize".
Bryan appeared on the April 18, 2010, episode of Celebrity Apprentice alongside fellow country star Emily West. The task for each team was to make over an up-and-coming country star, with Bryan being selected by Team Rocksolid, led by Bill Goldberg, and West being selected by Team Tenacity, led by Cyndi Lauper. Bryan's makeover failed to impress the judges, leading to Rocksolid losing the task. Bryan's single "Rain Is a Good Thing" and West's single "Blue Sky" were both sold on iTunes, with a month's worth of sales being donated to Lauper's charity, the Stonewall Community Foundation, resulting in $25,000 being raised.
2011–2015: Tailgates & Tanlines and Crash My Party
Bryan released his third EP, Spring Break 3...It's a Shore Thing, on February 25, 2011, featuring four new songs: "In Love With the Girl," "If You Ain't Here to Party," "Shore Thing," and "Love In a College Town". This release was followed by Bryan's seventh single, "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)", which was released on March 14, 2011. Also co-written by Bryan and Davidson, it served as the lead single to his third studio album, Tailgates & Tanlines, which was released August 9, 2011. The album peaked at number one on the Top Country Albums chart and number two on the Billboard 200 chart. "Country Girl" peaked at number 4 on the country music charts and number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album's next three singles – "I Don't Want This Night to End", "Drunk on You", and "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" – all reached number one on the country music charts. Bryan, along with Eric Church, sang guest vocals on Jason Aldean's "The Only Way I Know," the second single from his 2012 album, Night Train.
On March 6, 2012, Bryan released his fourth Spring Break EP, entitled Spring Break 4...Suntan City. Along with the title track, which Bryan co-wrote with Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip, the EP includes "Spring Break-Up," "Little Bit Later On," and "Shake the Sand". On January 30, 2013, Bryan announced his first compilation album, Spring Break...Here to Party, which includes fourteen songs: twelve from his previous Spring Break EPs and two new tracks. It was released on March 5. The album debuted at number one on both the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and the Billboard 200 chart, becoming the first album of his career to top the all-genre album chart. One of the new Spring Break songs, "Buzzkill", reached the top 20 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
Luke Bryan's fourth studio album, Crash My Party, was released on August 12, 2013. The album's first single, "Crash My Party", was premiered in a performance at the 2013 ACM Awards and released on April 7, 2013. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in July 2013. The album's second single, "That's My Kind of Night", was released to country radio on August 5, 2013. It reached number one on the Hot Country Songs chart in August 2013 and peaked at number 2 on the Country Airplay chart in October 2013. The album's third single, "Drink a Beer", was released to country radio on October 24, 2013. It reached number one on the Hot Country Songs chart in January 2014 and number one on the Country Airplay chart in February 2014. During the kickoff show for his 2014 That's My Kind of Night Tour in Columbus, Ohio, Bryan announced to the crowd that "Play It Again" would become the album's fourth single. This song reached number one on both the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts in May 2014. At the same time, Bryan sang guest vocals on Florida Georgia Line's 2014 single "This Is How We Roll". On July 14, 2014, the song "Roller Coaster" was released as the album's fifth single. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in October 2014. The album's sixth single, "I See You", was released to country radio on November 3, 2014. It reached number one on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts in February 2015.