Luke Combs: ‘Been A Hell of A Year’

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

June 22nd, 2023 1:57 PM

Luke Combs was feeling pretty good when he posted several photos to Instagram of his life lately. He’s been on his stadium tour and getting some hunting in between shows. And his son Tex just turned one.

Luke posted a sweet image of Tex wearing a cowboy hat in a highchair, with the hat covering the boy’s face. He also posted a photo holding the baby boy at home, some images of his shows, a picture of himself with football great Patrick Mahomes, a shot of him with Ed Sheeran, and a handful of hunting photos decked out in camo with some friends.

Combs wrote in the post, “Been living a lot of life lately. I probably don’t post on here as much as I should, and maybe that’s a good thing, but I wanted to share a look into how things have been going. Family, Friends, Music, Hunting, and Golf. Been a hell of a year on the road and at home, and I’ve got you, the fans, to thank for that. Love y’all, and see ya out there soon! P.S. The weight loss gummies ain’t workin’.”

See that post here.

RELATED: Luke Combs And Wife Celebrate Tex's First Birthday

Combs’ wife Nicole took some fan questions on her Insta stories recently. Nicole is expecting the couple’s second baby, a son, in September, and fans often ask her for details about the upcoming bundle of joy. The couple already has one-year-old Tex.

One fan asked her if she and Luke plan on having more kids after baby number two arrives in the fall. Nicole replied, “Maybe, but I’m gonna need a slightly bigger age gap and house. lol.”

Another asked her about the couple’s infertility problems at the beginning of their marriage in 2020. She replied to how long it took them to get pregnant with Tex, “1.5 years of unexplained infertility, but you just chalk it up to the right timing for our lives.”

Nicole said recently that she and Combs have a tough time picking a name for the new baby but love one-syllable names like Tex. When asked what names she was not using for the new bundle of joy, she noted, “Love these names, but we won’t be using them: Banks, Brooks, and James.”

16 Luke Combs Songs That We Sing Every Word To

Luke Combs is getting ready to release his latest album, Growing Old, later this month (3/24), and then he kicks off his world tour, which will play stadiums all over the world. That is not bad for a guy who studied criminal justice in college just over ten years ago.

As his country star continues to rise, Luke became a new dad in July of last year (2022) and has been busy helping out his wife Nicole take care of his son Tex. He also performed as a multiple nominee at the Grammy Awards show in February (2/5).

Combs celebrates his 33rd birthday today (3/2), and to honor him; we rank his 16 biggest and best songs.

RELATED: Luke Combs Career Was Criminal Justice Until He Picked Up A Guitar

16. “Does to Me” (featuring Eric Church) (2020)
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A collaboration between Luke and Eric Church, who he cites as a musical hero. It was the third single from Combs's 2019 album What You See Is What You Get.
15. “Cold Beer Calling My Name” (featuring Jameson Rodgers) (2020)
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Another collaboration, this time with new artist Jameson Rodgers. Rodgers served as an opening act for Combs during Luke’s 2019 "Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour."
14. “One Number Away” (2018)
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This song is a ballad about a man conflicted with not wanting to break down and call his ex-girlfriend. "One Number Away" reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, giving Combs his third No. 1 country hit overall.
13. “Brand New Man” (with Brooks and Dunn) (2019)
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A remake of a Brooks & Dunn classic on the Country Music Hall of Fame duo’s ‘Reboot’ album. Luke is a huge fan of the duo, and when this writer interviewed him at the start of his career, one of his main goals was to meet Kix and Ronnie. Well, he did, and the rest is history.
12. “Better Together” (2020)
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Combs performed the song on October 15, 2020, on the telecast of the Billboard Music Awards. During the performance, he appeared in a suit, and without his trademark baseball cap and was accompanied solely by a piano player.
11. “When It Rains It Pours” (2017)
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The song's music video features Luke encountering his ex-girlfriend, and then driving, celebrating with his friends, getting a phone number from a waitress (played by his then-girlfriend, now wife, Nicole Hocking), and celebrating over winning money on a lottery ticket. It was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2018 CMT Music Awards.
10. “She Got the Best of Me” (2018)
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Combs said that he wrote this song four years prior to its recording, at a bar in Nashville, Tennessee called the Tin Roof. It was added to his debut album This One's for You as a bonus track due to fan demand.
9. “Even Though I’m Leaving” (2019)
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In the song’s first verse, Luke sings of a child who is afraid of monsters under his bed, while the second features the son as a young adult going off to serve in the military and the final verse features the son becoming emotional over his father's death.
8. “Cold as You” (2021)
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Combs uploaded an acoustic rendition of "Cold as You" in October of 2020 and dedicated it to his parents, wife, and fans. The tune told the story of a broken-hearted guy finding his way to a barstool.
7. “Doin’ This” (2021)
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This song was inspired by interviewers asking Luke what he would do as a career if his country music career didn’t take off. His answer is in this song saying that if he didn’t make it big, he’d still be “doin’ this.” He debuted the song at the 2021 CMA Awards.
6. “Six Feet Apart” (2020)
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This song only charted in the top ten, but most of us related to it, as It perfectly describes what so many of us were feeling at the beginning of the pandemic.
5. “Lovin’ on You” (2020)
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The video for this song is epic as it portrays Luke and his wife Nicole meeting at a skating center as kids. Combs performed the song on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in July 2020.
4. “Hurricane” (2016)
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This is the song that started it all for Luke in Nashville. The song reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Its second week atop that position gave Combs two distinctions: the first artist to have a multi-week number one debut single chart since Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise" in 2012 and the first male solo artist to accomplish that since Darius Rucker's "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" in 2008.
3. “Beautiful Crazy” (2019)
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A beautiful love song. Luke first posted videos to Facebook of himself performing the song. In 2018, he re-issued his debut album This One's for You (titled This One's for You Too) with a studio version as a bonus track.
2. “Forever After All” (2021)
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A song that tells the tale of his love for wife Nicole. The video of the song features footage from Combs’ August 2020 wedding. The song is a continuance of "Beautiful Crazy" and "Better Together," which were both dedicated to his wife.
1. “Beer Never Broke My Heart” (2019)
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This is Luke’s signature song, and what a great concept for a song. The fun song hit No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart dated August 4, 2019, which made this Combs' sixth number one on the chart. The song was certified Platinum by the RIAA on October 24, 2019.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.

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Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

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Recent Posts

Luke Combs: ‘Been A Hell of A Year’

16 Luke Combs Songs That We Sing Every Word To

16. “Does to Me” (featuring Eric Church) (2020)

15. “Cold Beer Calling My Name” (featuring Jameson Rodgers) (2020)

14. “One Number Away” (2018)

13. “Brand New Man” (with Brooks and Dunn) (2019)

12. “Better Together” (2020)

11. “When It Rains It Pours” (2017)

10. “She Got the Best of Me” (2018)

9. “Even Though I’m Leaving” (2019)

8. “Cold as You” (2021)

7. “Doin’ This” (2021)

6. “Six Feet Apart” (2020)

5. “Lovin’ on You” (2020)

4. “Hurricane” (2016)

3. “Beautiful Crazy” (2019)

2. “Forever After All” (2021)

1. “Beer Never Broke My Heart” (2019)

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