Luke Bryan Opens Up About Missing Out On Morgan Wallen Hit And Feeling ‘Overlooked’

Luke Bryan has had a lot of success in his career, but like any other artist, he’s experienced moments of doubt along the way that led to him making decisions he now regrets. In a candid interview with Bobby Bones, Bryan opens up about one of those decisions, which found him passing on the chance to cut a song that’s since become a major hit for Morgan Wallen.

While reflecting on the different chapters of his musical journey, Bones posed the question, “are you now at times picking songs that you wouldn’t have cut five years ago because of what the song’s about?” The first thought that came to Bryan’s mind was the time he turned away a song penned by HARDY, Josh Osborne and Ashley Gorley called “Sand In My Boots.”

After Bryan passed on it, Morgan Wallen picked up the tune for his record-breaking project of 2021, Dangerous: The Double Album. His recording earned him his fifth No. 1 hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart and was certified 2X Platinum.

Bryan cited that the reason he chose to pass on the song wasn’t because he didn’t think it was worth of claiming a spot in his catalog, but rather he was making a conscious effort to stay away from any songs that mentioned a truck at the time. “Sand In My Boots” is a heartbreak anthem that clearly mentions a Chevrolet Silverado in the chorus, meaning it was exactly the kind of song Bryan was trying to avoid because he felt he had exhausted his catalog of truck songs. He also recalled the negativity he began receiving online and being dubbed a “one trick pony.”

“I mean there was one point in my career I had sang about trucks enough to where, I mean I passed stupidly on the Morgan’s ‘Sand In My boots’ because it had Chevrolet in it,” he admitted. “I just went through two years of my life where I was like, man, I sing about trucks a lot. I sing about tailgates, and I think I got in my head a little bit.”

Rising To Fame With Spring Break Anthems

This decision is one he’s since come to regret, but this moment of reflection also brought up a deeper issue Bryan has struggled with, and that’s feeling overlooked within the industry despite his success among country music fans.

The Georgia native has always been known for making music that gets people to their feet and will keep them dancing and singing all night long. However, he got a bit of a later start in his career due to tragically losing his brother to a car accident in 1996. He ended up staying home a few extra years and then made the move to Nashville at the age of 25. Once he finally got his footing in Music City, Bryan saw a rapid rise to fame when he leaned into his summertime party anthems across albums such as Tailgates & Tanlines, Spring Break…Here To Party, Crash My Party and Spring Break…Checkin’ Out.

“I was 34, 35, 36, 37, making Spring Break albums appealing to 20-year-olds…It didn’t get weird. It just felt like, you know, it’s time to move on from maybe the spring break me trying to sing college songs. But it was fun for me, and it was awesome, and it totally told the world that that’s my personality.”

Finding Success In Authenticity

Despite any moments of doubt he may have had, Bryan has always remained his unapologetic self through his music. So releasing song that captured his fun, easy going personality allowed him to create a space for himself in country music that authentically resonates with his fans and has them coming back to his live shows time and time again.

“I think people generally think my personality is let’s have some fun. And if I’m known for that, if I don’t get a male vocalist of the year and Grammys or whatever, because I may be known as the guy that has had fun through his career and put out a lot of fun songs, I’m cool with that.”

He admits that while his vocals may not be up to par with greats like Chris Stapleton or Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn, he feels that his talent has been downplayed as a result of the playful, unserious nature of his personality.

“Listen, I think vocally, I may have been overlooked for that. I think there’s stuff out there that I’ve done vocally that certainly, it’s not Chris Stapleton vocals and Ronnie Dunn vocals and the guys that are really, really known as vocalists, but I think I might’ve gotten overlooked in that a little bit, which is fine,” he admitted. “Every time somebody introduces me as ‘Country Music superstar, Luke Bryan,’ it still freaks me out. I’m still like, how in the hell did I pull that title off?”

He continued, “When you look at somebody that goes from climbing, digging, digging, digging, one hit, two hit, three, four, then next thing you know they blow up to be a superstar, there’s something about ’em that made that happen. And with me, I think it was my personality and my willingness on stage to just go for whatever, to dance and cut up…I think that was different enough to set me apart.”

Snubbed At Major Country Award Shows

The American Idol judge is not afraid to admit that there have been plenty of moments in his career when he felt disappointed in the fact that some of his major fan-favorites like “Country Girl (Shake it For Me)” and “Most People Are Good” didn’t land him a win at any major country award shows. However, in the current chapter of his career, he’s found peace in knowing that he might not have the most awards under his belt, but he makes music that is true to him and that never fails to make people happy.

“I think the most important song I ever, obviously ever did was ‘Country Girl (Shake It For Me).” I think when I look at the most, maybe when I look at ‘Drink A Beer’ or ‘Most People Are Good,’ those were my opportunities,” he explained. “It’s songs that I thought would be up for Song of the Year, and I never got a Song of the Year, which that’s when I was like, man, I really thought those would at least get nominated for something. And they never did. And then I was like, well, at this point in my career, I just need to be free with what I do.”

Looking ahead to the next year or two, Luke Bryan is hoping to lean back into that side of his artistry by dropping another “big old fun summer anthem” that goes on to become the “song of the summer.”

“I got to go write it or I got to go find it and I hope I can find it. And I hope that it can be kind of coined ‘Song of the Summer’ and people can be like, ‘oh, that’s Luke with one of his party songs.’ But either way, I mean, it’s so fun where I’m at in my career, I can just build my set list with my songs to create the vibe that I want to create. And just the fact that I can do that is a dream come true.”

This summer, Bryan will embark on his brand-new 30+ city tour dubbed the “Country Song Came On Tour.” His next run kicks off May 29 and is scheduled to make stops in major markets all over the U.S. and Canada with a star-studded list of up-and-coming artists as special guests.

Before heading back on the road, fans can watch him guide aspiring artists on American Idol every Sunday night on ABC.