Light It Up: Luke Bryan Rakes in $42.5 Million as the Highest Paid Country Star of 2019 Per Forbes
While Taylor Swift may be at the top of Forbes’ Top 100 highest paid celebrity list, Luke Bryan is the front runner among country stars.
The list was released Wednesday, and Bryan, 42, came in at No. 78 overall, earning $42.5 million just this year alone. And it’s not surprising that he’s the highest paid country singer of the year, after all he’s been up to.
Bryan’s sixth studio album, What Makes You Country, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts, and while the album was released in December of 2017, it’s still going strong for the popular singer-songwriter.
He spent most of 2018 on the road touring, with 51 stops across the United States, Canada and Australia. Bryan loves touring in the summertime in particular because most of his songs are about the season in one way or another.
“Summertime and country music certainly go hand and hand. I love every opportunity to perform and play different venues, but when summertime rolls around, it turns into a whole different dynamic and it feels even more special. There’s a magic in the air when you’re out there on a summer night playing your music,” the singer told PEOPLE in a previous interview.
RELATED VIDEO: Luke Bryan Kicks Off His Summer Stadium Tour
Although his latest studio album tour is officially over, Bryan isn’t stopping there. He has a several more performances coming up across the country this summer, as well as an exciting few coming this fall for a good cause.
Cole Swindell, Mitchell Tenpenny, the Peach Pickers and DJ Rock will be joining Luke Bryan on his 2019 Farm Tour, which raises money in support of American farming communities. The six-stop tour kicks off on Sept. 26 in Marshall, Wisconsin.
Aside from touring and hit music, 2018 was also filled with a new endeavor that brought in some bucks for Bryan: judging American Idol.
He admits there were challenges, and that picking contestants apart was “out of my comfort zone”, but said overall, the entire thing was “a learning experience” and inspired him to want to be better himself.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2019 and 2020, Bryan has several exciting projects coming up, including his annual Crash My Playa destination concert with Jason Aldean. The 4-night music event will take place in Mexico in January 2020, and is already sold out.
As far as upcoming music, Bryan recently released his single “Knockin’ Boots,” ahead of his new music set to drop later this year. With all that’s ahead, the singer is already set up for another successful year to come.
