Last Friday (April 5), Luke Bryan released his new single “Love You, Miss You, Mean It.” Less than a week later, it’s already approaching a million streams on Spotify. Co-penned by Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip, Jordan Minton, and Jacob Rice, the song tells the story of a pair of high school sweethearts who drifted apart when one went on to college and the distance snuffed out their flame. Years later, though, they rekindled their love. It’s a sweet story and one that Bryan can relate to.
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Recently the country star and American Idol judge spoke to CMT about his new single. During the chat, he revealed how he relates to it and how his family reacted to hearing it for the first time.
[Luke Bryan’s Mind of a Country Boy Tour: Get Tickets]
Luke Bryan on “Love You, Miss You, Mean It”
Bryan said the song immediately resonated with him because he’s lived its story. He and his wife Caroline dated in college and broke up before getting back together and starting their life together. “How many people have had the high school sweetheart that they broke up with and wound up living the story of getting back together and stuff like that,” he said of the new single. “I think the song just spoke to me on those levels,” he added.
“The song just felt right. It felt good, and it felt that way from the first listen,” he recalled. “I heard it and it just felt like it had all the elements of a big hit song. You got to go in and record it and the rest is history,” he added. “Here we are, staring down the barrel of the next single.”
Bryan revealed that he played the song for his family and they said it sounded like songs he released early in his career. However, that isn’t what he had in mind while recording the song. “I’m not thinking about that while I’m ingesting the song. I’m just loving it for what it is. And I think that the title is so identifiable.”
Fans will likely get to hear “Love You, Miss You, Mean It” live when Bryan kicks off his Mind of a Country Boy Tour next Wednesday (April 17) with a string of dates in Canada.
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