Luke Combs biography

 

Blending a love of classic country and Southern-fried soul - a fusion inspired equally by fellow modern mavericks Eric Church and Chris Stapleton - Luke Combs updates these traditional sounds with a hint of modern R&B. This combination, which flourished on ballads, made Combs stand apart from both slick country-pop crooners and bro-country revelers, a distinction that helped him become a hit right out of the gate. His first single, 2016's "Hurricane," launched a series of five number one Billboard Country Airplay hits in a row, including "When It Rains It Pours," "One Number Away," "She Got the Best of Me," and "Beautiful Crazy." All were pulled from his 2017 debut album, This One's for You (or its expanded reissue), a period that saw Combs become one of the biggest stars in Nashville. That status was cemented when he won the Country Music Association's Best New Artist award in 2018 and by the subsequent success of his sophomore album, 2019's What You See Is What You Get. Combs' third album, 2022's Growin' Up, was another chart-topper, and the first edition of a companion set he completed with 2023's Gettin' Old. It included his chart-topping cover of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car," which won him a Country Music Award. He followed this with 2024's Fathers & Sons, a warm and understated concept album about fatherhood. He was back in 2025 with the gritty, rock-driven "Back in the Saddle."

Luke Combs is from North Carolina, born in Charlotte and raised in Asheville, where he moved when he was eight years old. As a teenager, he played football and sang in vocal groups. While attending college at Appalachian State - the same school Eric Church went to years earlier - Combs decided to put his studies on the back burner so he could concentrate on country music. Learning how to play guitar, he amassed a catalog of original songs as he played shows on a regular basis. When he was just shy of earning his degree, he dropped out of college. After gigging regularly in North Carolina, he headed to Nashville in 2014 to pursue a musical career.

In February 2014, Combs self-released The Way She Rides EP, which was followed in July by Can I Get an Outlaw. The single "Hurricane" arrived in 2015 and generated enough buzz to secure the singer a contract with River House/Columbia Nashville. The label released the This One's for You EP in November 2015, then reworked "Hurricane" to country radio in 2016, accompanying it with a new EP, also titled This One's for You. In November 2016, "Hurricane" entered the Country Airplay charts, reaching number one in early 2017. Its success set the stage for Combs' full-length debut, This One's for You, which debuted at number one on Billboard's Country Albums chart upon its June release. "When It Rains It Pours," the singer's second number one on Country Airplay, kept the album on the charts throughout the year.Combs continued to gain momentum during the back half of 2018 thanks to the ballad "Beautiful Crazy." Originally an Internet sensation, the track became a smash on radio late in 2018, reaching number one on the Country Airplay chart in March 2019; its success was a factor in Combs receiving a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 2019. Combs teased out music from his second album with the May 2019 release of "Beer Never Broke My Heart," a single that became his sixth number one Country Airplay hit.

Another single, "Growin' Up and Gettin' Old," revealed the title of his next LP. Recorded at the same time as Growin' Up, Gettin' Old was released nine months later in March 2023 as both a follow-up and companion album. On it was a cover of Tracy Chapman's 1988 hit "Fast Car," a song he cites as one of his earliest influences. Combs' version became a major hit, topping numerous charts and reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It won him another CMA award and in February 2024 he performed it live with Chapman at the Grammy Awards. Led by the poignant "The Man He Sees in Me," Combs' next record was a concept album of sorts. Released in the middle of June to coincide with Father's Day, Fathers & Sons bore a more thoughtful, acoustic-driven sound with songs devoted to both Combs' young children and his own father. A year later, he shifted into rock mode for "Back in the Saddle," a sizzling anthem that became the first single from his sixth studio album. A further five singles paved the way for The Way I Am, which arrived in March of 2026. The LP reached number one on the Billboard Top Country, U.K. Country Albums, and Australian Country charts, and landed in the Top Ten across multiple international markets.