As country star and longtime American Idol judge Luke Bryan promotes the release of his ninth album, Signs, his publicity tour will include many high-profile media appearances, from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to Good Morning America. But one stop has caught many fans by surprise.
On Monday, September 21, a new episode of Usha Vance‘s Storytime with the Second Lady podcast dropped, featuring Bryan as her special guest, there to chitchat and read aloud from a children’s book. His selection? A Spidey and His Amazing Friends Golden Book called The Lost Web-Shooter.
Vance, who is married to Vice President J.D. Vance and welcomed their fourth baby in July, launched her YouTube and Spotify podcast in late March, reading stories aloud from children’s books and listening to her guests do the same. Those guests have included her husband as well as President Donald Trump, actress Cheryl Hines (who’s married to Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) and former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, who’s been vocal about her support of the Trump administration.
Bryan is the first music star to appear on Usha’s series, with a clip released via social media on September 20 in which Vance tells him that her one-month-old baby, Alec, loves music and was “extra cranky” that morning. Vance started playing Bryan’s greatest hits album and baby Alec “passed right out,” she laughed.
After the One Margarita hitmaker read aloud, he and Vance talked about the theme of teamwork in the book, and Bryan shared how he has to work with a team to pull together a new album.
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It appears Bryan filmed his session with Vance on August 20, when he and his country music BFF, Jason Aldean, were filmed goofing off in the White House Briefing Room and seen talking with President Trump while in Washington D.C. for a concert. Bryan was wearing the same white button-down shirt, jeans and silver belt buckle then as he is seen wearing in the new podcast episode. Bryan was also at the White House two months earlier, in June, for the UFC fight Trump hosted on the front lawn.
Although comments are turned off on the YouTube video of Bryan’s appearance (as is the case with all of Vance’s Storytime with the Second Lady episodes), social media users were happy to weigh in on the country star’s appearance elsewhere.
Some were thrilled to see him, including one who wrote, “Luke is a true family man, so I can totally see him doing this 🩵” and another who gushed, “Luke is amazing musically and a great Patriot! Him and Jason Aldean @jasonaldean are the best! Oh, I can’t forget to give @brittanyaldean a shout out too!”
But others were clearly frustrated by Bryan’s appearance, dropping sarcastic quips on Instagram, from “Let me know when you have a guest read the Epstein files” to “Headline! Middle aged white male can read. Thank you for highlighting such talent! #readbannedbooks“
Some even vowed to stop supporting Bryan’s music, including one who wrote, “Welp I used to like Luke in the 2000’s, liked him less due to his recent music, now he’s completely done to me. Bye Luke 👋 #fdrump“
Bryan sparked controversy in 2022 when he handed out Ron DeSantis campaign hats with the Governor at a concert in Florida, later insisting it wasn’t a political endorsement but a show of support for Florida hurricane victims. His fellow American Idol judge Carrie Underwood also faced backlash in early 2025, when she sang at Trump’s inauguration.