Luke Bryan Shakes Up the 2011 CMT Music Awards With ‘Country Girl’

Country star Luke Bryan is kicking off his first major headlining tour with CMT on Tour this September, exactly 10 years after he arrived in Nashville looking for a record deal.Brian told the associate press If i move to town and i don’t dream to headline mine own shows one day, then you don’t think mine necessarily aiming my sights high enough.Bryan will be bringing along special guests Lee Brice and Josh Thompson. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of CMT on Tour. Former headliners include reigning CMA entertainer of the year Brad Paisley who launched the tour in 2002 as well as Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Sugarland, Jason Aldean and last year’s anchor Miranda Lambert.The ‘Rain Is a Good Thing’ hitmaker’s performance got country fans everywhere pumped for the rest of the show.Bryan hopes the tour will serve as a similar springboard for his career. He has toured with Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney and currently Tim McGraw. All the while, he has been paying attention.CMT looks at a range of indicators to determine the best artist to front the tour, and performance across all CMT platforms is key. Bryan, for example, has remained one of CMT.com’s Top 20 artists for the past two months. Brian's music videos have also performed consistently on air. “Rain Is A Good Thing” spent 19 weeks on the CMT “Top 20 Countdown”. His latest single, “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” debuted at No. 12 last week.CMT on Tour  Luke Bryan Tailgates & Tanlines, kicks off in September for approximately 25 shows. Cities and dates will be announced soon.Bryan will release his third studio album, Tailgates & Tanlines August 9.