When Luke Bryan was in Chicago last month, we talked about how it felt to be wrapping up his tour for the year. His biggest one yet, quite literally.

According to Billboard, the attendance count at Bryan’s shows this year was up around 1,014,822.

I asked the reigning CMA entertainer of the year what it was like for him to know that so many people had paid money to come hear him sing.

“It’s super flattering. But while you’re out in the midst of performing, you don’t really think about what you’re racking up as far as street cred,” Bryan told me.

“It is so surreal. And every little moment around every curve is surreal. I remember I spent five years just dreaming of getting a bumper on an awards show,” he said about those slots that give a new artist about 15 seconds to perform before or after a commercial break. “I told myself if I could ever get showcased in that type of arena, then that would just be one more way I could prove myself.”

But those bragging rights, though.

Bryan admits that he loves being able to put his rockstar status into a perspective that his sons can understand.

“The neatest thing about it, really, is on a Sunday afternoon when I’m watching football with my boys at home, and I can look at them and go, ‘Hey boys, your daddy played that stadium three weeks ago,’” he said. “Now they understand.”