That said, his idea of what defines "outlaw country" may be different from yours and mine. "I'm not an outlaw country singer," Bryan said. "I don't do cocaine and run around. So I'm not going to sing outlaw country."

Wait a second: cocaine and 'running around'? Is that the criteria? In Bryan's universe it's a key factor in what separates his music from that of legendary artists like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, the two chief figureheads of country's so-called 'outlaw' movement of the 1970s.

"I like to hunt, fish, ride around on my farm, build a big bonfire and drink some beers--and that's what I sing about," the country singer, whose new album Kill the Lights comes next month, said. "It's what I know. I don't know about laying in the gutter, strung out on drugs. I don't really want to do that."