Luke Bryan has had an epic 16-year music career, from scoring his 31st number one country song in October 2024 with “Love You, Miss You, Mean It” to his upcoming 10th annual Crash My Playa music festival in Mexico, per Music Row. But in interviews at the turn of the new year, the “American Idol” judge revealed that his focus moving forward is more about cultivating happiness than scoring hits.
“I want to be happy,” Bryan told “Taste of Country Nights” in an interview published on January 3, 2025. “Really try to harness and enjoy what’s happened in my career.”
Bryan won’t be hanging up his guitar anytime soon, though, assuring reporters he still loves writing songs and performing, but he does plan to turn down more commitments and invitations than he did in the past.
Luke Bryan Says His Newest Goal is to ‘Say No’ More Often
At 48, Bryan is thinking more about aging gracefully and joyfully, prioritizing enjoying the fruits of his labor and down time with friends and family — including his wife Caroline and their sons, 16-year-old Bo and 14-year-old Tate.
“Thank God I’ve had a lot of amazing years,” he told BunnieXo, wife of fellow country star and season 22 “Idol” mentor Jelly Roll, in a video she posted on December 28.
“I love to stay busy, but I also love to kick back and have fun with friends and family,” he told her, emphasizing the need to prioritize more down time moving forward. Though his success has come with all kinds of great opportunities, Bryan told Bunnie Xo that his resolution in 2025 is to “learn to say no a little bit more.”
“I gotta learn how to say no and I gotta play golf with Jelly,” he quipped.
Luke Bryan Doesn’t Want to Become an ‘Old Curmudgeon’
Crash My PlayaOne of the reasons Bryan wants to start prioritizing happiness more is that he doesn’t want to wind up a grumpy old man, he told Taste of Country Nights.
“You know, you’ve heard the stories of becoming an old curmudgeon as you get older,” he told the outlet. “I don’t wanna be that. I wanna have fun and have fun with this career and look back and say, ‘Damn, that was fun!'”
To achieve that, Bryan said, “Don’t be bitter about any of the ups and downs and just make sure I wake up everyday and try to become a little bit better singer and songwriter … and spend a little more time with the family.”
One other resolution Bryan said he’s made before and can’t seem to keep up with is to “cuss less.”
“As long as you golf, and fish a lot and hunt, it’s really hard,” he admitted.
Bryan’s next big commitment is judging the 23rd season of “American Idol,” which is set to premiere on ABC on March 9.
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Luke Bryan is Making Changes in 2025: ‘I Want to Be Happy’