Bryan ‘Our Next Big Superstar’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — If Luke Bryan had a different birthday, he might have been a star athlete instead of a music star.

He was born on July 17th. That meant he made the Georgia age cut-off to start kindergarten barely a month after his fifth birthday and was grouped in with other kids who were sometimes a year ahead of him developmentally.

“I was the youngest kid in my grade,” said Bryan. “If I would’ve been held back a year, I don’t even know if I would even be doing what I’m doing, because I think I would’ve been further down the road athletically.

“I think because I wasn’t the best baseball player at the time or whatever, I kind of focused more on music and it took me down a whole ‘nother path.”

Bryan, 35, is thankful for how things turned out. He recently released his third studio album, “Tailgates and Tanlines” and it debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s country albums chart with more than 145,000 copies sold in its first week. He’s in the middle of his first major headlining tour, and he recently garnered a CMA nomination in the new artist category.

“I think he is one of the most on-fire artists right now,” said Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood, who co-wrote Bryan’s first No. 1 hit, “Do I,” with Bryan and Lady A’s Charles Kelley. “I think he’s our next big superstar. He’s such an entertainer.”

Bryan has built on the success of his sophomore album, “Doin’ My Thing,” which produced three back-to-back No. 1 singles.

He co-wrote eight of the 13 songs on the new album, including the lead-off single, “Country Girl (Shake It For Me).” The song was a top five hit and has registered over 1 million downloads.

“I think with this one, I’ve just been able to put together a more well-rounded album I guess than the previous two,” said Bryan. “This one, I just felt like it’s got a little bit of everything that people may want on there.”

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