Luke Bryan Tells Country Critic: ‘Kiss My A–‘

Luke Bryan lashed out at a music critic who said he "phoned it in" during a recent concert in Minnesota.

Then, he told another country music publication to "kiss my a--."

• Bryan's show at the Xcel Energy Center in Minneapolis received an unfavorable review from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, a daily newspaper that serves the area. The article is behind a pay wall.
• His Country on Tour lasts through October.
• Taste of Country reviewed his Aug. 12 show in Nashville.

The newspaper characterized Bryan's Oct. 14 performance as "less animated," and at times, "aimless," "distracted" and "listless." The writer compared the show to others he'd seen from the hitmaker, noting that the venue was smaller than his stadium tour and there were empty seats.

"Has Luke Bryan peaked?" is how Russ Raihala begins his review.

Bryan defended his show as sold out and said the crowd had a great time.

"I’ve never received one positive review from y’all’s publication since I’ve been to the Twin Cities area in my whole career. The trend continues," the singer tweeted.

Raihala would follow up with multiple positive reviews, and in a separate thread, Bryan seemed to acknowledge that he was thinking of a different publication when he made the accusation.

The situation really escalated after that.

On Tuesday (Oct. 18), country music blog Saving Country Music wrote an article praising the review, adding that Bryan might be better served to listen to Raihala than fight back.

"You can kiss my a-- too," Bryan responded. He also acknowledged that he wasn't at his best physically before accusing SCM of trolling for followers.

"The phoned in thing got me me mad. Hell. I'm 47. Some nights my damn knees hurt. However. Y'all gotta job too do. Got get some followers. Been 10 years since my last twitter war. Peace and I love everyone."

But he still wasn't done:

Ten minutes later, Bryan explained that his show didn't have an encore because he'd already gone past the mandated end time.

"Check Pollstar numbers if you think I'm in decline saving country dude."

To close his review, Raihala called Bryan's cover of Aerosmith "Sweet Emotion" "embarrassing" and added, "It was nice knowing you, Luke."

After wrapping his tour this month, Bryan will turn his focus to hosting the 2023 CMA Awards. In December, he'll resume his residency at the Resorts World in Las Vegas.