Luke Bryan NRG Stadium March 22, 2K15
Luke Bryan is an unlikely sex symbol.
Yes, he's a good-looking guy and he has a good voice and he writes songs that make girls in boots swoon and he has something that resembles the ability to dance, but the fact that he's so popular and so scream-worthy is just odd.
This is a guy who is making Drake money without any of the crossover appeal. A lot of people who listen to modern country music know who Drake is; I'm not sure the average modern hip-hop fan could pick Luke Bryan out of a lineup.
But he's managed to convert his big hooks and dad charm into an extremely successful career, one that leads to 75,000-plus (just barely) packing a stadium in hopes of hearing some good songs and to see him shake his thing. And they got that, and a little more.
Would you believe me if I told you the most superstar-worthy moment of the 2015 Houston rodeo happened during this show?
There's something to admire about the confidence that Bryan hits the stage with. He's gotten better as a performer in the past year, not in terms of stage moves or strength of singing, but in that intangible known as stage presence. He's still not larger-than-life, and that's still a good thing, but it feels like he's carrying himself just a little bit stronger, a little bit bigger.
If nothing else, you get why he's the reigning Country Music Association Awards Entertainer of the Year.
Have you ever looked up the criteria for Entertainer of the Year? It is as follows:
This award is for the act displaying the greatest competence in all aspects of the entertainment field. Voter should give consideration not only to recorded performance, but also to the in-person performance, staging, public acceptance, attitude, leadership, and overall contribution to the Country Music image.
Luckily they don't take off points for ability to dance or making too many purring noises into the mike.
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