On Sunday night, country singer and American Idol judge, Luke Bryan took part in CBS’ special presentation, ACM Presents: Our Country — a new two-hour special hosted by the network’s own Gayle King of This Morning. Performing alongside the likes of Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert while quarantining in their homes, Bryan performed his 20th number one single, “Most People Are Good” amid the ongoing social distancing practices brought on by measures to help flatten the curve of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
With the concert featuring intimate conversations and at-home acoustic performances with some of country music’s biggest stars, Bryan’s performance was a hit among social media as many viewers of the special took to Twitter to comment about the track filled with hope and reflection for a time needed most.
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“Can we just get [Luke Bryan] to do accoustic performances from now on please?” wrote one fan on Twitter, while another chimed in, “I LOVE [Luke Bryan]! What a performance!” alongside a string of emojis.
@LukeBryanOnline I believe most people are good also 💕 great song choice #ACMOurCountry
— Valerie Carrales (@CarralesValerie) April 6, 2020
In case anyone forgot….
— Kate V (@kateevd1) April 6, 2020
I love @LukeBryanOnline so much & most people are good just like you, Luke. I hope to meet you someday
I love you, Luke. 🤩💛🤞🏻#ACMOurCountry #LukeBryan
I believe most people are good, too, Luke.
Luke Bryan: great great voice, rockin’ smokin’ hot fun onstage, and the look of someone who has true deep goodness. We’re all so lucky to have him as part of our world @LukeBryanOnline #AMCOurCountry#countrymusic #MostPeopleAreGood
— Katie Ritter Viking Writer (@ThinkKatie) April 6, 2020
In an interview with PopCulture.com and other media in 2018, Bryan reveals that the first time he heard the song, he was “so enamoured” by its message and the “whole body of the work” within the track.
“Everything it was saying and doing…” Bryan said. “That line kinda bypassed me as somebody in the LGBT community latching onto it. I mean I just heard it as just love; I kind of heard it as just a love line. I didn’t really pick it apart that way.
“And I will be truthful,” he continued. “I thought about it as even an inner-racially charged line originally. But that’s only even after I had multiple listens of the song. And then as people started asking me about it, and going into even recording it, somebody brought up, ‘Would you ever have changed that line? ‘And I would’ve been like, ‘Are you crazy? Not in a million years.’”
“I believe this world ain’t half as bad as it looks
I believe most people are good.”That’s a good perspective to keep right about now, @LukeBryanOnline. #ACMOurCountry pic.twitter.com/njSJj2NtwP
— CBS (@CBS) April 6, 2020
Bryan stands behind not only that line, but the entire message of the song. “I think that song is about just the world in general,” he said. “And I think that line certainly can and needs to be interpreted how the listener ought to. I think it can free up the Nashville community to get closer and closer of writing whatever you want to write, and stuff like that. And, I think that’s what music is about.”
During the special, Bryan’s American Idol buddy and show mentor, Bobby Bones also introduced the ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund — part of the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music. The fund helps individuals working in the country music industry who are suffering a financial crisis as a result of the pandemic. Those in need can apply for funds at ACMLiftingLives.org.
Photo credit: CBS / ACM Presents
