Luke Combs
Luke Albert Combs (/koʊmz/;[3] born March 2, 1990) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Born and raised in North Carolina, he began performing as a child. After dropping out of college to pursue a career in music, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he released his debut EP, The Way She Rides, in 2014.
Luke Combs
Luke Albert Combs[1]
March 2, 1990[2]
Huntersville, North Carolina, U.S.[2]
- Singer
- songwriter
- Vocals
- guitar
2014–present
- River House Artists
- Columbia Nashville
In 2017 he released his debut album, This One's for You, which reached number four on the Billboard 200. His second album, What You See Is What You Get, was released on November 8, 2019, and topped the charts in multiple territories, becoming his first to do so. His music has earned him three Grammy Award nominations, two iHeart Radio music awards, four Academy of Country Music Awards and six Country Music Association Awards, including the 2021 and 2022 Entertainer of the Year award, their highest honor.
Early life[edit]
Combs was born in Huntersville, North Carolina, the only child of Rhonda and Chester Combs.[4] The family moved to Asheville, North Carolina, when he was 8.[5][6] As a child he performed in chorus class, multiple school musicals, and joined his church choir, which performed once at Carnegie Hall.[7]
He attended Appalachian State University where he worked as a bouncer at a bar before gaining stage time in that same bar.[8] He played his first country music show at the Parthenon Cafe in Boone. After five years and with 21 hours left on his degree he dropped out to pursue his country music career. He later moved to Nashville, Tennessee, for the same reason.[9]
Career[edit]
2014–2019: Beginnings and This One's For You[edit]
Combs released his first EP, The Way She Rides, in February 2014. Later that year, he released his second EP, Can I Get an Outlaw.[10][2] In November 2015 he released his third EP, This One's for You. In late 2016 he was named one of Sounds Like Nashville's "Artists to Watch".[11] In 2016 his first single, "Hurricane", sold 15,000 copies in its first week,[12] and debuted at number 46 on Hot Country Songs.[13] He signed a deal with Sony Music Nashville, and the debut single from This One's for You, "Hurricane", was re-released on Columbia Nashville.[12] "Hurricane" reached number one on the country radio airplay chart on May 15, 2017, holding that spot for two weeks.[14]
In June 2017 he released his major label debut album, also titled This One's for You on Columbia Nashville and River House Artists.[2] It hit number one on Billboard's Top Country Albums[15] and number five on the Billboard 200[16] in its first week. The album's second single, "When It Rains It Pours" was released to country radio on June 19, 2017.[17] It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in October 2017. The album's third single, "One Number Away" was released to country radio on January 8, 2018. In June 2018 he released a deluxe version titled This One's for You Too, with five bonus tracks, two of which ("She Got the Best of Me" and "Beautiful Crazy") were issued as singles with both reaching number-one. "Beautiful Crazy" reached number one on Country Airplay in February 2019, giving him five number-ones on the Billboard country chart with his first five singles.[18] The song reached number one on three additional country charts – Hot Country Songs, Country Streaming Songs, and Country Digital Song Sales.[18]
2019–2021: What You See Is What You Get[edit]
On June 11, 2019, he was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.[19] In August 2019, This One's for You spent its 44th week at number one on Top Country Albums, setting the record for the longest reign at the top of that chart by a male artist.[20] His second album What You See Is What You Get was released on November 8, 2019.[21] The album has charted the singles "Beer Never Broke My Heart", "Even Though I'm Leaving", "Does to Me" (a duet with Eric Church), and "Lovin' on You", all of which have reached number one on the country chart.
In May 2020, he released the single "Six Feet Apart".[22] The single quickly became popular to listeners as it illustrated the challenges of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.[23] In June 2020 he confirmed his next single would be "Lovin' on You", which was released on both his second album and the EP The Prequel, which predated the album. He announced a deluxe version of What You See Is What You Get, titled What You See Ain't Always What You Get, with five new songs; it was released on October 23, 2020.[24] The track "Forever After All" set streaming records in country music on Apple Music and Spotify.[25]
2022–present: Growin' Up and Gettin' Old[edit]
Growin' Up, his third album, was released on June 24, 2022.[26] The album has charted the singles, "Doin' This", "The Kind of Love We Make", which reached number one on the country chart and number eight on the Hot 100, and "Going, Going, Gone". In May 2023 Combs collaborated with English star Ed Sheeran on the single "Life Goes On".[27] Following the release of the single, Sheeran's solo version of the song was released on his fifth studio album - (Subtract).
His fourth album, Gettin' Old, was released on March 24, 2023.[28] A promotional single, "Growin' Up and Gettin' Old" and a single "Love You Anyway" were released ahead of the album. His cover of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" was streamed over 65 million times on Spotify in less than two months after the album was released, making it the most popular song from the album on that platform.[29] Combs' version of "Fast Car" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, higher than Chapman's original 1988 version, and No. 1 on the US Adult Top 40, US Country Airplay and US Hot Country Songs charts, as well as No. 1 on the Canada Country charts. The song garnered Combs the Single of the Year at the 57th Annual Country Music Association Awards on November 8, 2023.[30] At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024, Combs performed a duet of the song with Chapman.[31]
He counts the song as his first favorite song and having an impact on him since he was a child.[32]
Headlining
Supporting
Personal life[edit]
In early 2016, Combs started dating Nicole Hocking, and the two became engaged in November 2018.[33][34] They married in Florida on August 1, 2020.[35] On June 19, 2022, they had their first child, a son.[36] On August 15, 2023, their second son was born.[37][38]
Combs began to struggle with anxiety and primarily obsessional obsessive compulsive disorder in adolescence through his college years; he has said that while it is something he has learned to control better, he still struggles with obsessive thoughts from time to time.[39]
In 2023, Combs obtained a $250,000 SAD Scheme default judgment against Nicol Harness, a fan who had sold $380 worth of tumblers featuring a likeness of Combs.[40][41][42] Combs subsequently issued an apology, sent Harness $11,000, and offered to sell the tumblers through his official merchandise store to assist with Harness’ medical bills.[40][41][42]