Luke Bryan Shares the Guidance He Gave to Rising Stars Bailey Zimmerman and Ella Langley
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The five-time Entertainer of the Year is passing along his advice to some of country music’s fastest-rising stars.
Luke Bryan has been shaping his career since he was 14, when he first started performing in a band. Over decades in the music industry, he’s picked up lessons that he’s now passing along to rising country stars like Bailey Zimmerman and Ella Langley.
While co-hosting Country Countdown USA with Lon Helton, the Georgia native shared some of the advice he’s given the two artists as they work to establish themselves in the business.
Bryan recalled a difficult moment in Zimmerman’s career earlier this year. In January, during Bryan’s Crash My Playa Festival in Cancun, Mexico, Zimmerman delivered a performance he later regretted, appearing intoxicated on stage. He stumbled, forgot lyrics, struggled vocally, and even fell during the set — a moment that was quickly captured by fans on their phones and circulated online.
Bryan said he offered Zimmerman some perspective after the incident. In the era of smartphones, he noted, slip-ups are almost always recorded, but the key is to treat them as lessons.
“When I was his age, you didn’t have cameras recording everything,” Bryan said. “I told him, ‘Learn from it, do better, and remember you’re only human.’ Then we got on stage together, and when he came out, the crowd went crazy. We brought him in, and we got him out of there.”
Zimmerman isn’t the only newcomer to benefit from Bryan’s mentorship. He’s also shared guidance with Ella Langley, one of his recent opening acts, during an important stage of her career.
“It’s so exciting to be right on the edge of your dreams becoming reality. She’s starting to become a celebrity,” Bryan said. “She’s got all the right tools. I introduced her to KT Oslin’s music and told her, ‘You need to listen to KT Oslin.’”
Bryan praised both Langley and Lainey Wilson for embracing their “country accents” and bringing a strong female presence to the genre. “It’s so great,” he added.
Currently, Bryan is out on his A Country Song Came On tour, which kicked off in May and runs through late August, before he heads into his annual Farm Tour in September. He also hinted that fans can expect fresh music soon.
“It’s fun to step away from what people expect and give them something different,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll be ready for the next chapter of my singles, and I’ll keep them guessing while staying at the top of my game.”