Now eight albums, 30 number-one hits, more than 50 major music awards, and countless sold-out shows later, the country boy from Leesburg, Georgia, is doing alright.
"I'm sitting here, you know, it's a lot of work, put them out, do tours, concerts, American Idol, but I could be at my dad's peanut mill, driving a tractor, breathing in peanut dust 20 hours a day," Bryan said. "So that's why I've always been happy. I chose the route of country music."
Bryan reflected on his parents' role in his success.
"When I left college and went to work for my dad, he had a great little business down there in agriculture, and I was like, I should just probably take over the business and, you know, live my little life down there in Leesburg, Georgia," he said. "But he knew that I was struggling with the what ifs and with what might have been. So he just said, 'Hey, go, go to Nashville. Please. If you don't, I'm going to essentially fire you and force you to go' and so to have a family that has been so supportive of my dreams and careers..."
Now, Bryan is taking fans behind the music in his new Hulu show, "It's All Country."
The six-episode series pulls back the curtain on the stories behind some of country's biggest classics, with an A-list lineup of Luke Combs, Sheryl Crow, Lady A, Michey Guyton, Kane Brown, Shaboozey, and Wynonna Judd.
"We sat down, and I spent the day with iconic superstars, young artists, Hall of Famers, up-and-comers, people who are selling out stadiums," Bryan says. "This is fun getting to hang with people and pick their brains."
He said at the end of the day, it's all about connection.
"There was one moment of the show that I went to lunch with Wynonna Judd, and me and her had like, a two-and -a-half hour conversation, and she used that moment to clear up things in her life and to talk about the loss of her mother a little bit," he said. "So the on the fly, I'm kind of having to just let her get a lot of these feelings out. And it was a magical moment. And that's what the show's all about, really showcasing the heart of country music, artist, artists and performers. Because, you know, the heart of country music is really, really special."
Bryan believes the reason country music has already been such a strong force is because fans can feel the true heart in the artistry of it.
"When everybody brings their story, it really becomes something special," Bryan says. "Going out on stage live and watching the crowd react. I mean, you couldn't ask for anything more than that is like crazy. That's the beautiful side of country music."