Luke Bryan has a Top 5 single with "Country Song Came On." But the Georgia native reveals that, while the song seems perfect for him, it was actually written for his good friend, Blake Shelton, instead.
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"When I got the demo, the guy's voice on the demo had a lot of similarities to Blake's voice," Bryan tells Taste of Country of the song, which was written by Ryan Beaver, Dan Alley, and Neil Medley.
To this day, Bryan doesn't know if Shelton ever actually heard the song before Bryan decided to cut it.
"I'm not sure if it had got to Blake, but it was something that I really rolled around in my truck and loved and fell in love with," Bryan shares. He adds that he wasn't willing to take a chance of Shelton hearing it before he claimed it as his own.
"Had it been something that it wasn't for me, I probably would have texted Blake and said, 'Hey man, I hear a song that really feels like something special for you,'" Bryan says, adding a jab that is typical of their friendship.
"It'd sound like barely a Top 20 [hit] with Blake," he remarks.
The Story Behind The Luke Bryan Hit, "Country Song Came On"
"Country Song Came On" is from Bryan's Mind of a Country Boy album, out last year. Bryan may not have written the song, but it is as true to his own life as if he wrote it himself.
"It's just a classic country song," the Georgia native explains. "It's a song that I've always really - I used to cover songs like this, from Brooks & Dunn to Clint Black. All the honky tonk songs, and this is my version of that. The first time I heard it, I was like, 'That says everything I wanted to say.'"
Unfortunately for Shelton, Bryan knew from the first listen that he wanted to record the song.
"'Country Song Came On' is like a honky tonk gem for me," Bryan says (via Backstage Country). "When I heard it, I was like, it brings me back to the days when I was playing a lot of honky tonks early in my career. And the fact that I was able to put ETC, which is a nod to Earl Thomas Conley, one of my favorite artists ever, just makes me smile every time I hear it. And this song will definitely make you want to drink a draft beer."
Luke Bryan loved the song so much, he named his current tour his Country Song Came On Tour.
