Heavy/Getty Country star and "American Idol" judge Luke Bryan
From the outside looking in, the fun never seems to stop for country music superstar Luke Bryan, who’s known for his booty-shaking, goofball antics on and off the stage. But in a new interview, the “American Idol” judge revealed he does, indeed, have “down days” and deals with anxiety about his career.
Bryan told CMT on January 12, 2024, that he feels like he was “born to do this,” he still worries about other people’s reactions and interest in him and his music — even after nabbing his 30th Number One hit in 2023. Bryan even revealed that he struggled with anxiety as he became a judge on “American Idol.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Luke Bryan Says He Still Worries About People Not Showing Up at Concerts
GettyLuke Bryan in 2008
After growing up on a peanut farm in Georgia, playing music at local bars at night, Bryan moved to Nashville and released his first album in 2007.
He told CMT, “When I moved to Nashville, I moved for all the right reasons — just because I loved country music and I loved being on stage. From the second I got here … it just felt like I’d finally found the place for me to be. I never really looked back.”
His first hit came in 2009, with “Do I,” and the hits just keep on coming. According to CMT, Bryan has sold more than 14 million concert tickets and his songs have been streamed 22 billion times. For the most part, Bryan has had a blast — but all that success hasn’t made him immune to anxiety.
For him, the biggest worry is that fans will stop loving his music and showing up to see him play.
“I keep having anxiety about the crowds not showing up at the concerts,” he said, “but all of our numbers (in 2023) touring-wise have been 20 – 30 percent better than ever.”
Bryan said he’s still haunted by his early days in Nashville, when the second song he released, “We Rode In Trucks,” stalled in 35th place on the country charts.
“It was probably the darkest artist headspace I’ve ever been in because I thought ‘We Rode In Trucks’ was going to propel my career onto a fast track,” he said. “I was pretty upset about it.”
Though his third single, “Country Man,” was a Top 10 hit, CMT said that Bryan’s record label rejected the next batch of songs he wrote and recorded. That caused Bryan to spiral a bit, he said.
“I had a lot of bad news,” he recalled. “At some point, I just kind of told myself, ‘Don’t be like that.’ I have my down days, and sometimes I get a little mad … but that’s neither here nor there. For the most part, I think I just love doing this. I didn’t ask to be born to do it, but I think I was born to do it.”
In May 2023, Bryan spoke about anxiety and depression during Audacy’s “I’m Listening” mental health project, encouraging anyone listening to find people they can talk to when they have difficult days.
He said, “I think when you understand you’re not alone in that world of depression or the ups and downs of life… when you understand everybody else deals with that too… Then you’re able to talk more freely about it, which helps you navigate all the things this world can throw you.”
Luke Bryan Reveals He Was Nervous During First Season of ‘American Idol’
Photo Credit: ABC – Eric LiebowitzABC’s “American Idol” judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan with host Ryan Seacrest.
Another source of worry for Bryan came before he began his gig judging “American Idol,” he told CMT. Bryan was nervous to step out of his comfort zone — and so was his wife, Caroline, who admitted in 2023 that she was very reticent about him taking the job.
“Well, anytime you involve the whole L.A. stuff, you just get a little … I mean, I was scared,” she said on the “Got It From My Momma” podcast. “But it’s gone smoother than I ever thought. But you know, I was scared, I was. But then, it’s been fine.”
About to kick off his seventh season of the show on February 18, Bryan told CMT that after all this time, he no longer worries about his role on the show.
“I’m comfortable with all of that now,” he said. “I think my first year at ‘American Idol,’ there was a lot of things I need to get comfortable with. Now I’m comfortable with ‘Idol’ and doing the TV spots and the commercials and some of the fun acting bits, and I’m comfortable letting my emotions out on TV.”
Of course, Bryan has dealt with far worse circumstances, including the deaths of his siblings. He was 20 when his older brother Chris died in a 1996 car accident. Then, in 2007, his sister Kelly died suddenly. Seven years later, when Kelly’s husband Lee died of a heart attack, Bryan and his wife took in the late couple’s three children.
“I’ve had so many tragedies in my life,” Bryan told People in 2021. “It’s almost like you don’t want to tell the story because you don’t want to feel like you’re out there craving sympathy.”
“You truly never get over it,” he added. “You truly never settle in your mind that it’s happened. I mean, it’s always there.”