Luke Combs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Luke Combs |
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Combs in a Special Olympics PSA, April 2021
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Luke Albert Combs |
| Born | March 2, 1990 Huntersville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Genres | Country |
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| Years active | 2014–present |
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| Awards: Full list | |
Luke Albert Combs (born March 2, 1990) is a popular American country singer and songwriter. He grew up in North Carolina and started performing when he was young. After college, he moved to Nashville to follow his dream of making music. He released his first collection of songs, called an EP, The Way She Rides, in 2014.
In 2017, Luke Combs released his first big album, This One's for You. It quickly became very popular, reaching number four on the Billboard 200 chart. His second album, What You See Is What You Get, came out in November 2019. This album was a huge success, topping music charts in many places around the world. Luke has won many awards, including six Country Music Association Awards. He was even named Entertainer of the Year in both 2021 and 2022, which is a very high honor in country music.
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Early life and beginnings
Luke Combs was born in Huntersville, North Carolina, which is a town near Charlotte. He was the only child of Rhonda and Chester Combs. His family later moved to Asheville, North Carolina in the western part of the state. When he was a kid, Luke loved to sing. He performed in school chorus classes and many school musicals. He also joined his church choir, which even got to sing at the famous Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Luke went to Appalachian State University to study business. He later changed his major to criminal justice, thinking he might become a detective. While in college, he worked as a bouncer at a bar. Soon, he was performing on stage at that same bar! His very first country music show was at the Parthenon Cafe in Boone, North Carolina. After five years of college, with only a few classes left, he decided to leave and focus completely on his country music career. He then moved to Nashville, a big city for music, to find more opportunities.
Music career highlights
First steps and big success (2014–2019)
Luke Combs released his first EP, The Way She Rides, in February 2014. Later that year, he put out another EP called Can I Get an Outlaw. In November 2015, he released his third EP, This One's for You. Music experts started to notice him, and in late 2016, he was named one of "Artists to Watch" by Sounds Like Nashville.
In 2016, his song "Hurricane" sold many copies in its first week. It quickly became popular on country music charts. He then signed a record deal with Sony Music Nashville. "Hurricane" was re-released and became a number one hit on country radio in May 2017, staying at the top for two weeks.
In June 2017, Luke released his first major album, also called This One's for You. It quickly reached number one on the country albums chart and number five on the overall Billboard 200 chart. More hit songs came from this album, like "When It Rains It Pours" and "One Number Away". In June 2018, he released a special version of the album with five new songs. Two of these, "She Got the Best of Me" and "Beautiful Crazy", also became number one hits. "Beautiful Crazy" was especially popular, reaching number one on several country charts in February 2019. This meant Luke had five number one songs from his first five singles!
More chart-topping albums (2019–2021)
Luke Combs was invited to become a member of the famous Grand Ole Opry in June 2019. This is a big honor for country music artists. In August 2019, his album This One's for You set a record. It spent 44 weeks at number one on the Top Country Albums chart, which was the longest time for a male artist.
His second album, What You See Is What You Get, was released on November 8, 2019. This album had many hit singles, including "Beer Never Broke My Heart", "Even Though I'm Leaving", "Does to Me" (which he sang with Eric Church), and "Lovin' on You". All of these songs reached number one on the country charts.
In May 2020, he released "Six Feet Apart". This song quickly became popular because it talked about the challenges people faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2020, Luke released a deluxe version of What You See Is What You Get with five new songs. One of these, "Forever After All", broke streaming records for country music on Apple Music and Spotify.
New music and collaborations (2022–present)
Luke's third album, Growin' Up, came out on June 24, 2022. It featured popular songs like "Doin' This", "The Kind of Love We Make" (which was a number one country hit and reached number eight on the overall Hot 100 chart), and "Going, Going, Gone". In May 2023, Luke worked with English singer Ed Sheeran on a song called "Life Goes On".
His fourth album, Gettin' Old, was released on March 24, 2023. Before the album came out, he released songs like "Growin' Up and Gettin' Old" and "Love You Anyway". A very popular song from this album was his cover of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car". This version was streamed over 65 million times on Spotify in less than two months! Luke's "Fast Car" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, which was even higher than the original song. It also hit number one on several country charts. At the 57th Annual Country Music Association Awards in November 2023, "Fast Car" won the Single of the Year award. Luke even performed the song with Tracy Chapman herself at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2024. He has said that "Fast Car" was his first favorite song and had a big impact on him when he was a child.
In May 2024, Luke released "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" for the soundtrack of the movie Twisters. On June 6, 2024, he announced his fifth album, Fathers & Sons, which was released on June 14, 2024. He also released the song "The Man He Sees in Me" from this album.
Luke Combs and Eric Church held a special "Concert for Carolina" on October 26, 2024, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. This concert raised over $24 million to help people affected by Hurricane Helene.
Personal life
Luke Combs started dating Nicole Hocking in early 2016. They got engaged in November 2018 and were married in Florida on August 1, 2020. They welcomed their first son on June 19, 2022, and their second son was born on August 15, 2023.
Luke has shared that he experienced anxiety and obsessive thoughts when he was younger and in college. He has learned ways to manage these thoughts, but he still works on it from time to time.
In 2023, there was a legal issue involving Luke and a fan named Nicol Harness who was selling tumblers with his image. Luke later apologized, sent her money to help with her medical bills, and even offered to sell the tumblers through his official merchandise store to help her out.
Albums
- This One's for You (2017)
- What You See Is What You Get (2019)
- Growin' Up (2022)
- Gettin' Old (2023)
- Fathers & Sons (2024)
Concert tours
Headlining tours
- Don't Tempt Me with a Good Time Tour (2017–18)
- Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour (2019)
- What You See Is What You Get Tour (2020–21)
- Luke Combs World Tour (2023)
- Growin' Up and Gettin' Old Tour (2024)
Supporting tours
- The Devil Don't Sleep Tour (2017) with Brantley Gilbert
- High Noon Neon Tour (2018) with Jason Aldean
- Here on Earth Tour (2020) with Tim McGraw (two dates)
Awards and nominations
Luke Combs has won many awards for his music. Here are some of his notable achievements:
- 2018: Won New Country Artist of the Year at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
- 2018: Won New Artist of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards.
- 2019: Won New Male Artist of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
- 2019: Won Country Artist of the Year at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
- 2019: Won Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist, and Top Country Album (for This One's For You) at the Billboard Music Awards.
- 2019: Won Male Vocalist of the Year and Song of the Year (for "Beautiful Crazy") at the Country Music Association Awards.
- 2020: Won Male Artist of the Year and Album of the Year (for What You See Is What You Get) at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
- 2020: Won Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year (for What You See Is What You Get) at the Country Music Association Awards.
- 2020: Won Top Country Artist, Top Country Male, and Top Country Album (for What You See Is What You Get) at the Billboard Music Awards.
- 2021: Won Songwriter-Artist of the Year at the Nashville Songwriter Awards.
- 2021: Won Entertainer of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards.
- 2022: Won Entertainer of the Year and Album of the Year (for Growin' Up) at the Country Music Association Awards.
- 2023: Won Country Writer of the Year from Broadcast Music, Inc..
- 2023: Won Single of the Year (for "Fast Car") at the Country Music Association Awards.
See also
In Spanish: Luke Combs para niños
