Georgia-born singer/songwriter Brantley Gilbert emerged in the early 2010s with a new-fashioned style of traditional country, one that was rooted in the country-pop and arena rock fusions of the '90s and receptive to sly modern R&B and electronic elements. Not long after his churning, minor-key rocker "Country Must Be Country Wide" made it to number one, two of his earlier songs -- "Dirt Road Anthem" and "My Kinda Party" -- became monster hits for Jason Aldean, further establishing Gilbert's own rise to stardom. Led by its career-making hit "Bottoms Up," 2014's platinum-selling Just as I Am topped the country charts, a feat he repeated on each of his next two albums. Along the way, he continued to rack up hits like 2016's "The Weekend" and the Lindsay Ell duet "What Happens in a Small Town" from his 2019 album Fire & Brimstone. Heading into the next decade, Gilbert focused on high-profile collaborations with artists like Toby Keith, Blake Shelton, Vince Gill, and Aldean, all of whom appeared on the singer/songwriter's 2022 album So Help Me God.

Gilbert was born in the small town of Jefferson, Georgia, just outside of Athens. He grew up hearing country music, but he also listened to a lot of Athens rock bands like R.E.M. and the B-52's, plus the swaggering Southern rock of bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd; at his best, Gilbert blends all of these various strains together in his music. It was a near-fatal car accident when he was 19 years old that spurred him to give music his all, and he started writing songs in earnest, playing mostly solo acoustic gigs before forming a band that could bring his vision of a hard-stomping country/rock/soul show to fruition.

Moving to Nashville, he signed with Warner Chappell Publishing and began working toward completing an album. Modern Day Prodigal Son finally appeared in 2009 from Average Joe's, which also released the follow-up, Halfway to Heaven, in 2010. Gilbert signed with Big Machine's Valory Music imprint in 2011 and the label reissued Halfway to Heaven. With Valory's support, the album took off: "Country Must Be Country Wide" and "You Don't Know Her Like I Do" both topped the U.S. country chart on their way to being certified platinum. Around this same time Jason Aldean plucked the song "My Kinda Party" from Gilbert's debut and turned it into the title track of his chart-topping fourth album. Aldean also scored big with "Dirt Road Anthem," a country rap song Gilbert co-wrote with Colt Ford; Gilbert's own version was included on Halfway to Heaven. By late 2013, he had completed sessions for his next record with producer Dann Huff. Released in December, the single "Bottoms Up" became Gilbert's biggest hit to date in reaching number one on the charts on its way to selling over a million copies. Its success whetted the appetite for Just as I Am, which saw release in May 2014. Just as I Am went to number one on the Billboard country chart and number two on the Top 200, eventually getting certified platinum thanks to a bevy of hit singles "Small Town Throwdown," "One Hell of an Amen," and "Stone Cold Sober." In the summer of 2016, he released "The Weekend," the first taste from his fourth outing, The Devil Don't Sleep. The song was another Top Ten hit and the album, released in January 2017, became Gilbert's second consecutive number one, yielding another hit in "The Ones That Like Me." In early 2019, Gilbert paired with Canadian country artist Lindsay Ell for "What Happens in a Small Town." Another Top Ten hit, it helped his fifth album Fire & Brimstone to yet another number one berth.

In the 2020s, Gilbert leaned even harder into his collaborations, teaming up with Hardy and Toby Keith for the churning country anthem "The Worst Country Song of All Time" which was followed by "Heaven by Then" featuring Blake Shelton and Vince Gill. These songs, along with another Aldean collaboration, "Rolex® on a Redneck," and "Son of the Dirty South" featuring Jelly Roll, were all featured on Gilbert's sixth studio album, 2022's So Help Me God.~ Steve Leggett & Timothy Monger