Country singer Luke Bryan temporarily stopped his performance during a recent concert after forgetting the lyrics to one of his songs—again.
While seated at the piano playing his 2015 hit Strip It Down, Bryan abruptly stopped and told the crowd, “I totally forgot all the words.” Moments later, he recovered and resumed the show, saying, “I got it!”
Far from being confused or outraged, audience members laughed and cheered, having grown accustomed to the singer’s penchant for forgetting the lyrics of his songs.
“He gets hate, but I love how realistic he is and not fake. It’s more relatable,” one commenter wrote. “When I saw him, he forgot the words so bad, he made us Google them.”
Footage of Country singer Luke Bryan goes viral after he forgets lyrics to one of his songs, pausing his concert
For longtime fans, the incident came as no surprise. Luke Bryan has developed a reputation over the years for forgetting the lyrics to his own material—a tendency that made him the butt of the joke on national television.
For instance, during a 2021 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Bryan admitted he often struggles to remember the words during performances and joked that he needed to do extra prep before going on tour.
“I’ve done a couple Zoom concerts, and I’m, like, forgetting the words to my songs quite a bit,” he said, “So I’m going to have to sit in my music room and do a little extra prep.”
Fallon laughed and called him “a little rusty,” as Bryan confessed he was out of practice and needed to re-learn his own material before heading out on tour.
That same year, the singer had a similar on-stage lapse when he paused before singing his hit Crash My Party, during a Houston concert.
“I forgot the words. Y’all help me out.” He said, glancing at a closed captioned monitor before adding, “Hold on, I gotta read ‘em.”
“He is only human,” one of his fans wrote. “Remember, these guys go from city to city with only a little sleep. Still the best performer around!”
For Bryan’s fans, his easygoing charm and lighthearted attitude are exactly what made him famous
@ariana.wh “i got it☝️” #fyp #lukebryan #concert @Luke Bryan ♬ original sound – ari
Bryan’s tendency to laugh off mistakes and connect with his audience is, according to his fans, part of what’s helped him carve out a decades-long career in country music.
Despite being one of the genre’s most commercially successful stars, fans have never seen him as untouchable or overly polished. They see him as the same guy who’d rather joke with the crowd than fake his way through a song.
“That’s why people keep buying tickets. You never feel like you’re watching someone fake it,” a fan wrote.
Bryan’s breakthrough came in 2007 with the release of his debut album I’ll Stay Me, which he co-wrote almost entirely himself.
The Georgia native had already been behind the scenes as a songwriter—penning Travis Tritt’s My Honky Tonk History and co-writing Billy Currington’s Good Directions. But once Bryan stepped into the spotlight, his career exploded.
Bryan has turned personal tragedies into opportunities for growth and charity work
Bryan’s easygoing charm stems from something far more serious: a long string of personal tragedies.
For instance, his older brother Chris lost his life in a car accident just before Bryan moved to Nashville.
In 2007, his only sister Kelly passed away unexpectedly. And in 2014, Kelly’s husband died, too, leaving Bryan and his wife to raise their nephew and care for their nieces.
The grief found its way into his music, particularly his 2013 hit Drink a Beer. The experiences made the artist stronger and more resilient, making small lyrical mistakes or on-stage errors seem small in comparison.
In the wake of his family’s losses, Bryan and his wife threw themselves into philanthropic work.
Caroline launched Brett’s Barn, a sanctuary on their Tennessee farm named after their late niece, where sick children can spend time with rescued animals in a peaceful, joyful environment.
The couple also co-founded the Brett Boyer Foundation, which raises awareness and funding for children with congenital heart disease and Down syndrome.
“At least he’s not lip syncing.” Fans praised the singer for his authenticity
