Brantley Gilbert Celebrates Success of ‘Country Must Be Country Wide’ in Nashville

Brantley Gilbert is no stranger to celebrating the success of a No. 1 single as a songwriter, but Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 17) in Nashville, all eyes were on him as the artist who took 'Country Must Be Country Wide' straight to the top.

Gilbert, along with his co-writers on the tune -- Colt Ford and Mike Dekel -- gathered at Nashville's Cabana restaurant, where partygoers munched on pizza while plaques were passed around for the song that claimed the top spot on the charts back in November.

"When it got into the Top 10, I really started getting excited," Gilbert told Taste of Country of the moment when the possibility that he had a chart-topper in his near future hit him. "All the people from the label were calling and telling me how real the situation was ... that we might make a run for No. 1. I didn't believe them at first [laughs]! My little pessimistic attitude! [The song] started marching, and when it got into the Top 5, I really got excited. When it did [hit No. 1], I was jumping up and down on the bus [laughs]!"

Both Gilbert and Ford have been honored in the past few months for another No. 1 song that they were the writers on: Jason Aldean's 'Dirt Road Anthem.' Gilbert was also the sole writer behind Aldean's 'My Kinda Party,' which peaked at No. 2 on the country singles chart.

"It's interesting ... they're both kind of bittersweet," says Gilbert. "It's still a lot of fun. It's a lot more fun being the singer [of a No. 1 song], I can tell you that much!"

Gilbert's second single from his 'Halfway to Heaven' album is 'You Don't Know Her Like I Do.' The song, like all of the tracks on Gilbert's album, was penned by the singer as well as Jim McCormick.

Watch the Brantley Gilbert 'Country Must Be Country Wide' Video