The Best Singles of 2009: Luke Bryan - "Do I" (#28)

Easy to dismiss as nothing but an outgrown partyin' frat boy, Luke Bryan stunned quite a few skeptics when he released this single to country radio as the first single to Doin' My Thing.  It worked so well for us that it became our 28th favorite single of '09.

It’s easy to dismiss Luke Bryan as nothing but another handsome, Johnny come lately country singer who is capitalizing on the whole rockin’ country party trend that is all the rage these days. But to do so would be to shortchange the talented singer/songwriter.  Sure he scored hits as a singer with songs like “All My Friends Say” and “Country Man” but like fellow handsome newcomer Justin Moore, it feels authentic when Luke’s singing these fun ‘rebelicious’ songs.  He is a country boy and is proud to be one enough to sing (and write) about that lifestyle. 

In fact, the only thing many fans hadn’t heard from Luke Bryan yet was a soft, emotive ballad that showed off a tender and romantic side as the yin to his party-lovin’ yang.  With “Do I,” Luke Bryan did just that.  Written with Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum, “Do I” finds Luke firmly questioning ‘what happened to that girl I used to know, I just want us back to the way we were before.’  It’s a situation that most relationships run through at some point and it is poignantly discussed here.  While the piano version of the song worked for me more than the fiddle-drenched version on the Doin’ My Thing album, there is still enough in Luke's vocal, the lyrics and the melody of this plea for a rebirth of a romance to make the song one of 2009’s best either way.

This is a song that proved Luke Bryan was ‘in this’ for the long haul and it showed that he might be an even better ballad singer than he is at the up-tempo party tunes, which is saying a lot because Luke Bryan’s really comfortable singing those. 

Click here to watch the acoustic music video.

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