Luke Bryan: ‘Brother’s death helped me focus on success’

Luke Bryan says the death of his brother helped him to chase his dreams. The 40-year-old singer’s sibling Chris died in a car accident in 1996, when Luke was just 19, and he admitted it helped to focus his desire for success. Speaking on NBC’s ‘Sunday TODAY With Willie Geist’, he said: “When Chris passed away I was 19 years old, fixing to chase my dream and it just totally rocked our family’s world, rocked my world. “It makes you appreciate chasing dreams, you know. You’re like, hey you get one go-round at this thing called life and it’s very fragile, so you better go after your dreams.” Meanwhile, Luke recently performed the US national anthem at the 2017 Super Bowl and called it a huge honor. Speaking before the performance, he explained: “I said, ‘Hell yes, I’ll do it!’ Is the anthem challenging? Yes. Is it nerve-wracking? Yes. But I moved to Nashville to follow my dreams and singing the national anthem on that stage doesn’t get any bigger ... I feel like this is my way of honoring my country. It’s a little chance to serve.” In 2012, he performed the anthem at the event but was forced to apologize after complaints came in thick and fast after he had lyrics from the song written on his hand. In his apology five years ago, Luke insisted that only needed “key words” scribbled down as reminders and that he was honored to have been chosen to sing the song. He wrote on Twitter: “I had a few key words written down to insure myself that I wouldn’t mess up. I just wanted to do my best. I promise it was from the heart. If I offended anyone with my approach I sincerely apologize ... Anytime I sing the anthem it is an honor and my heart beats out of my chest (sic)”.