''I'll Stay Me'' is the debut studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

artist

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country singer, songwriter, and television personality. He began his music career writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington before signing with Capitol Nashville in 2007 ...

. The album was released on August 14, 2007 via

Capitol Records Nashville Capitol Records Nashville is a major United States-based record label located in Nashville, Tennessee operating as part of the Universal Music Group Nashville. From 1991 to 1995, Capitol Nashville was known as Liberty Records, before returning ...

. The album produced three singles with "

All My Friends Say "All My Friends Say" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Luke Bryan. It originally appeared on his 2006 self-titled EP, and was released in January 2007 as his debut single and the first for his 2007 debut album '' I' ...

", " We Rode in Trucks", and "

Country Man "Country Man" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Luke Bryan. It originally appeared on his 2006 self-titled EP, and was released in March 2008 as the third single from his debut album '' I'll Stay Me''. The song, l ...

". The album has been certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA).

Content

Prior to signing with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

as a recording artist, Luke Bryan co-wrote

Billy Currington William Matthew Currington (born November 19, 1973) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Mercury Records Nashville in 2003, he has released seven studio albums for the label: his self-titled debut (2003), '' Doin' Somet ...

's late 2006-early 2007 single "

Good Directions "Good Directions" is a song written by Luke Bryan and Rachel Thibodeau and recorded by American country music artist Billy Currington. It was released in September 2006 as the third and final single from Currington’s 2005 album '' Doin' Somethin' ...

". Bryan made his debut as a singer with the single "

". Released in 2007, it peaked at number five on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' country music charts. Bryan co-wrote the song with

Lonnie Wilson Lonnie Wilson is an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer, known primarily for his work in country music. Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Wilson was originally the lead singer of the band Bandana, which charted ten singles on the Hot C ...

and Jeff Stevens, the latter of whom also produced the album. Following as singles were " We Rode in Trucks" and "

". "We Rode in Trucks" is Bryan's lowest-charting single, reaching number 33 on Hot Country Songs. "Country Man" peaked at number ten.

Critical reception

Thom Jurek of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

rated the album three stars out of five, stating that "Despite the calculating, swing for the fences nature of Bryan's debut, he is genuinely gifted, and executes nearly flawlessly." Michael Sudhalter of

Country Standard Time ''Country Standard Time'' is a website dedicated to country music and related genres including Americana, bluegrass and rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1993 by Jeffrey B. Remz as a ...

gave the album a mostly positive review, stating that Bryan "proves his versatility on an album that combines twangy vocals and fiddles with catchy melodies."

Track listing

Personnel

*Mike Brignardello – bass guitar,

tic tac bass The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schec ...

*Luke Bryan – lead vocals *

J. T. Corenflos Jerry Troy "J. T." Corenflos (November 6, 1963 – October 24, 2020), was an American session musician and country guitarist, who played on an estimated 75 Number One hit records as well as hundreds of other recordings and hits. He received 14 n ...

– electric guitar,

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Sch ...

John Barlow Jarvis John Barlow Jarvis (born January 2, 1954 in Pasadena, California)Paul Kingsbury, editor"The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music" 2004 is an American songwriter, composer, session pianist and recording artist. Before mo ...

– piano, organ *Jeff King – electric guitar *

Paul Leim Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

– drums, percussion *B. James Lowry – acoustic guitar *

Gordon Mote Gordon James Mote (born October 25, 1970) is an American Christian country/southern gospel singer, piano virtuoso, and worship leader. He was born blind. He has released eight studio albums. His album ''Don't Let Me Miss the Glory'' (2007) was h ...

– piano, organ *Mike Rojas – piano, organ,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

*Joe Spivey – fiddle,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

Content

Critical reception

Track listing

Personnel

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Certifications

References