Luke Bryan Would Have Leaned Into His Charm as an ‘American Idol’ Contestant

Luke Bryan is gearing up for the premiere of American Idol on March 11, and during a visit to Late Night with Seth Meyers on Tuesday (March 6), he admits that had he tried out for the show when he was a young artist himself, he might not have made it through the rounds.

"I would have been the aw shucks, gullible country boy that could sing a little bit," Bryan confesses with a big smile. "But I would have had to lean on my charming personality, my wit. I wouldn't have known who I was as an artist."

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Bryan may not have known who he was as an artists when he was getting started, but some of the Idol reboot contestants absolutely do. One in particular, he reveals, shows a lot of promise — enough to impress the country singer.

"We've got one girl that's going for the high rounds and she's 18 years old and she knows exactly who she is as an artist," he says, marveling. "If you sent her a song, the most obscure song, she would turn it into hers. She's not the best singer in the world, she's not the best musician in the world but she is such an artist. We can't get enough of her."

"I wouldn't have had that," he adds, reflecting. "I was still trying to sing like all my heroes at the time."

Lucky for Bryan, his beginnings as a hopeful artist weren't documented by television cameras. Following his chat with Meyers about the American Idol comeback, the singer performed a new song called "Hooked on It" for viewers. True to form, Bryan beamed as he rattled off things he's 'hooked on' in life: fishing, Alan Jackson songs and Southern summers.

American Idol premieres on March 11 at 8PM ET on ABC.

Watch Luke Bryan Perform an Energetic "Hooked on It" on Seth Meyers

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