Backstage Country

LISTEN LIVE

Luke Bryan: ‘I Know How Good Life Is’

Luke Bryan is not just a country music superstar with tons of awards for his work in the genre, but he’s also a TV star on TV weekly as an…

Luke Bryan poses in a black blazer.
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

Luke Bryan is not just a country music superstar with tons of awards for his work in the genre, but he's also a TV star on TV weekly as an American Idol judge alongside Carrie Underwood and Lionel Richie.

While he is one of the hardest-working country stars in the business, he always takes time for his family, his two sons Bo and Tate, going hunting, fishing, and well, "loving every day" as his song says.

Through the years, I've chatted with Luke many times in interviews, and in an early one, he gushed about how lucky he was to have his sons. He told me, "I know how good life is, and nobody dreams of having success in the music business as much as me, and nobody dreamed of having a boy as much as me."

He added with a smile, "And I've got two boys, so it's pretty good stuff."

The country star released "Huntin', Fishin,' Lovin' Every Day" in 2015. The music video for the song features both of his sons and his wife, Caroline.

Bryan appeared on Good Mythical Morning recently and admitted the stress that comes with having to let an aspiring artist appearing on American Idol go. He said he's not always sure he made the right decision.

He offered, "I’ve kind of gotten good over the years to really try to handle the kids, where you don’t really feel like you beat them up too bad. You don’t ever want to tell somebody something that throws a roadblock in their potential dreams."

Luke also recently discussed the new judge, fellow country superstar Carrie Underwood. He said after they started to record the show together, "It’s going great. Carrie and I had always been in the business together, but we never spent much time together, so to sit behind the desk and watch her really learn how to transition out of being the winner of 'American Idol' and a superstar to being the judge at the table… she’s doing good."

Bryan is back on TV as American Idol premiered on March 9 on ABC.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.