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Jason Aldean Reveals the ‘Big’ Luke Bryan Hit That He Passed On

During a recent interview, country star Jason Aldean opened up about one particular song that he turned down, which later became a huge hit for fellow artist and friend Luke Bryan.

Aldean made an appearance on host Coop’s Rockin’ Country Saturday Night over the weekend. The weekly country music show on Audacy welcomes some of the largest names in the genre each Saturday night. While speaking with Aldean, Coop asked the musician about any regret he had during his career. Specifically, the host asked the “Big Green Tractor” singer if there were any songs he passed on that came back to haunt him.

“The one that always kind of stands out to me is a song called ‘Drunk On You,’ that Luke Bryan ended up cutting,” Aldean admitted on Rockin’ Country Saturday Night.

Luke Bryan recorded the song a decade ago in 2011. By summer 2012, “Drunk On You” had become another smash hit for the musician. Aldean remembers working on his album at the time and trying to add one more solid track for its completion. “Drunk On You” was pitched to him, but the song never made it on his album.

Yet one day down the line, Aldean was hanging out with Bryan when he played a few tracks from his upcoming record. Aldean immediately recognized “Drunk On You” and regretted giving the song up.

“Luke came over and played me, he ended up playing me some songs off his record. And that [‘Drunk On You’] was one of them and I was like ‘ughhh!’ It went on to be a big ol’ hit for him,” Aldean explained.

Additionally, just because he regrets not holding onto the song doesn’t mean there are any hard feelings between the pair.

“I truly believe songs land where they’re supposed to land,” he added.

Luke Bryan’s ‘Drunk On You’ Tops the Country Charts

Obviously, musicians don’t pass on hit songs on purpose. Until they hit the airwaves there’s no sure-fire way to tell if a song will be successful. Maybe Jason Aldean just didn’t quite connect with “Drunk On You.” But Luke Bryan clearly did. As they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Bryan released “Drunk On You” as the third single off his 2011 album Tailgates & Tanlines. His third studio album quickly became his best-selling record to date. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and also hit No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart.

Riding high off the success of the album and its first two singles, Bryan and his team chose “Drunk On You” as the album’s third single. The track released in February 2012, a little over a year after the album came out. It debuted at No. 57 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, but after a few months, it shot up the charts.

By June, “Drunk On You” became Luke Bryan’s first Top 20 hit on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. In addition, it became his fifth No. 1 single on the Hot Country Songs chart the following month in July. The song has gone on to become a staple at Bryan’s concerts, and one of the most popular songs in his hit-filled catalog.