“I worked my butt off”
Luke Bryan says he’s found success “the old-fashioned way” by working hard.
An integral part of the country music scene, Bryan reveals how his career has prospered over the past two decades.
“I was up there for most of my career to prove myself. So it’s really liberating and satisfying to just go, I am what I am,” Bryan told People magazine.
“I earned it the old fashioned way by working my butt off. A lot of people have supported me and helped me along the way and I hope they can enjoy the ride too.”
Bryan, a two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year, started his career a little later than he would have liked in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Looking back, I’m proud of all the rise that has come here. I had planned to move to Nashville when I was 20 when my brother died, and I think by 20 I would have dealt with it all very differently, with a lot less maturity. And I think when I moved to Nashville at 25, I got better at reading people and navigating the seedy crowd,” he shared.
“I can take memories from college with me, from spring break to frat parties and football games that I can incorporate into my work,” he explained of having more life experience before starting his career, admitting that he ” a broad perspective on life, from hard work to huge losses.”
“I don’t think you’ll ever get into the music business without making some immature mistakes… Especially if you drink a lot of beer,” he also joked.
“It’s not acting,” Bryan clarified that he still enjoys being on stage. “I’m not up there and I’m like, ‘Oh, I need to spice it up or turn it on for these people.’ It’s simple – I’m in the moment, I’m having fun and I feed on their energy and the more they give me the more I try to give back.
The most important thing for me is that when I had 100 people in the room I had a lot of fun and loved it. I was trying to get 100 people to join me and tonight it will be the same,” he said of loving his job no matter the size of the crowd.
“The day you stop loving it and it becomes something you just dread, then it’s time to move on. Luckily I never had those feelings. It’s pretty hard to grow old in front of 20,000 people.”
Bryan, now a judge on American Idol, knows the recipe for his own success. “I think the most important thing you can do as an artist is connect with your fans. Be happy. Smile with your fans.
And be yourself. And on your good days, your fans will have your back, and if there are days when you’re not doing well and you haven’t put on your best show, they will be there for you on the bad days too to be there.”
“Try to do your best to tell your story in the most authentic and believable way – in the most relatable way.”
