What Makes You Country

Luke Bryan penned this song with Dallas Davidson and Ashley Gorley. It finds the singer defending himself against critics who accuse him of not honoring a traditional country sound. "I would be foolish to say I don't get frustrated with people picking me apart about not being country when I know I'm country," Bryan admitted, before adding. "'What Makes You Country' is just about reassuring that I'm kind of stuck in my roots."

Bryan has a list of what makes him country, which includes manners and growing up in Georgia. "I think that what makes me country is where I was raised - Leesburg, Georgia - how I was brought up saying 'Yes sir,' 'No sir,' 'Yes, ma'am,' 'No, ma'am,' hopefully with manners and raised with a work ethic and raised in the outdoors fishing and hunting and playing sports," he said. "I would say definitely it starts with my small-town upbringing and how we were raised; church on Sundays as much as we could. But just enjoying life and living life in a small town."

Bryan admitted that his producer Jeff Stevens wasn't sure about the idea of him taking on his haters with a song. "I turned the song in to him," the country star remembered, "and Jeff's like, 'Luke, I don't know about it. You've never had to kind of stand up for who you are through your music.' He goes, 'You don't have to answer to your haters.'" But Bryan was determined to lay down the track. "I said, 'Well, Taylor Swift did it in "Shake It Off" and it kinda went well for her.' And it was done perfectly. When I heard that, I was like 'You go, girl!'" "So, with 'What Makes You Country,' you know, if they hear that chorus, 'I got my dirt road cred when I was 12, on a no-cab tractor hauling hay bales' - which I did and still do! And they still want to call me not country, then they're just being ignorant." he concluded.