Luke Combs knows that he shares being one of the biggest reigning country music superstars right now with Morgan Wallen. The two have swapped being in the top spot on the charts, and with record sales, for years, drawing constant comparisons between the two — not that Combs cares much.
“People always want there to be a rivalry, right?” Combs says in a conversation with Grady Smith. “So there was Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean, there was that. There was Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney … People always need the yin and yang thing. I think it’s good for music.”
Currently, both Combs and Wallen have multiple spots on the chart. In spite of their shared successes, Combs insists the two artists couldn’t be more different, and remain each other’s biggest advocates and cheerleaders.
“We see it too, I’m sure those guys see it all the time, too,” Combs says. “It’s like you’re just constantly compared, when really all three of us are insanely different to one another. … [We] couldn’t be more different in a lot of ways, musically speaking”.
Comparisons aside, Combs says in one way, Wallen is far outshining all of them, openly conceding that Wallen is the clear winner in one category.
“I think there’s no arguing Morgan is out-streaming everybody in the world by double or something. It’s insane,” Combs acknowledges. “The numbers are insane. It’s either him or Taylor Swift at the top [of the Billboard Artist 100], and it’s like I’m number four. It’s crazy.”
One of Combs’ places on the chart is with “Fast Car,” his cover of the Tracy Chapman hit. The song, one of three songs that he didn’t write for his latest Gettin’ Old album, is a nod to Combs’ childhood, reliving one of his favorite memories.
“I’ve had a million favorite songs, from the time I was born until now, at any given time,” Combs tells Sony Music Nashville. “But that was one of the first, ‘Oh, that’s like my favorite song right now.’ My dad had this old pickup truck that had a cassette player in it, and I have the actual cassette that me and my dad used to listen to, the exact one of that album. That song just always stuck out to me. That was probably one of my first experiences, subconsciously, even knowing what a hit song was, because I didn’t know at the time that that was a hit song.”
Combs might endure comparisons to Wallen and Aldean, but it’s Chris Stapleton who he says paved the way for him, and other artists as well.
“When I moved to town, it was just the sound was different,” Combs told Access. “Everybody was rocking different getups, and I just kind of did my thing. I really think a guy like Chris Stapleton knocked a lot of doors down, just for somebody different. Bigger guy, beard, a burly kind of guy. That really kicked down the door for a lot of guys, I think, myself included.”
Combs is currently on his World Tour, with Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, Flatland Cavalry, Brent Cobb, Cody Johnson and Lane Pittman serving as opening acts on select dates. Find music and tour dates at LukeCombs.com.
Read ‘Luke Combs: 11 Things To Know About the Singer’s Life and Career’ here.
