Luke Bryan, Jake Owen Stream Live on New Facebook Platform

Luke Bryan and Jake Owen showed fans a new way to interact with their favorite stars Wednesday (Aug. 5), when they each took a turn on Facebook’s new live-streaming platform, Facebook Mentions Live.

Bryan broadcast himself to fans first, interacting with viewers live and even performing a solo acoustic version of a new song, “To the Moon and Back,” that will appear on his new record, Kill the Lights, which is out Friday (Aug. 7).

“This is the first time I’ve performed it live, so cut me some slack,” he quipped, before diving in to the love song he says could maybe even one day be a wedding song.

The artist sang with passion and a tender softness for the romantic ballad, a type of song he says he doesn’t usually play. His vocals were clear and strong, showing off his raw, unfiltered talent in the intimate setting. The video, which remains on Facebook for fans to view later after it streams live, now has more than 1.6 million views.

Owen took up a live broadcast later that night from a hotel room in Salt Lake City, garnering 50,000 viewers in less than an hour, even at 12AM. The artist was informal with the live stream, hanging out and responding to comments as they came in, which brought a whole new level of bonding between Owen and his fans.

“I gotta give Facebook a lot of credit for hoppin’ on this bandwagon, because for guys like myself and other artists that enjoy staying in contact with our fans, Facebook launched this today where we can go live with everyone. I love reading the comments on this one,” he said before launching into an impromptu interview with tour manager Greg Fowler.

Bryan is busy gearing up for the release of his new record with a promo called #LukeBox, in which he is writing personalized songs on the fly for fans via Twitter. Meanwhile, between shows, Owen is offering up his sympathies to rock icon Lenny Kravitz after a wardrobe malfunction that was all too familiar to the country artist.

See Country Stars With Their Famous Friends

How Well Do YOU Know Luke Bryan?