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Luke Combs Covers Morgan Wallen’s Song

Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen were both named BMI Country Songwriter of the Year at the BMI Awards in Nashville last Tuesday (11/7). During the show, which took place at…

Morgan Wallen in a black shirt and blazer on stage with Luke Combs in a black shirt and gray suit
Erika Goldring/Getty Images

Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen were both named BMI Country Songwriter of the Year at the BMI Awards in Nashville last Tuesday (11/7). During the show, which took place at the BMI building in Nashville, Luke paid tribute to Morgan from the stage as both men sat on stools in front of the packed music industry crowd.

Combs posted a video clip of the moment on his Instagram last night (11/14). In the video, Luke looks back at his buddy on stage and says, "By the way, I love this song a whole lot, man. Congrats again." He then gestures to the guitar player and says, "James, take it away, pal," before singing Wallen's "Thought You Should Know."

He captioned the post, "Honored to be @bmi Songwriter of the Year alongside my buddy @morganwallen. Here's a cover of 'Thought You Should Know.'"

Many fans reacted to the post, including one who wrote, "The collab album needs to happen." Another fan said, "You look so young here, @lukecombs; good job, sounds amazing!" One more fan said, "Omg beautiful."

See that post here.

Morgan wrote the song "Thought You Should Know" with Miranda Lambert and Nicolle Galyon, and it went all the way to number one on the country charts.

Lambert told Southern Living's Biscuits & Jam podcast about the song. She said that she and songwriter Nicolle Galyon were hanging out and drinking rosé wine one day. She said, "She called me the next day and was like, 'Hey, I have a write with Morgan today, and somebody backed out. Do you wanna come?' And I was like, 'Sure.'"

Miranda continued that they had "the best day." She recalled that they sat on her porch and, made a couple of drinks and talked. She said that she "got to know Morgan" and he is "a sweetheart." She noted that he's a "little East Tennessee boy" and a new artist and that she tries to "be there" for new artists of any kind because she knows the "road ahead" and that it can be "bumpy."

She added, "And it was really cool for Morgan to let down his guard and write with two girls about somebody that's so special to him. I'm glad that he felt comfortable enough to open up to us and let us sort of tell that story for her (his mom)." Lambert added that she wanted to "give her (Morgan's mom) a hug round her neck" because she is "very proud" to be part of a song that's about her.

Country music fans are some of the biggest football fans in the world, so when they announced Usher was going to be playing the 2024 Super Bowl Halftime show, no doubt many country die-hard fans were disappointed. I'm sure many wondered: Why, once again, will we not see a country superstar on the halftime show? Especially when country superstars today have been selling out multiple nights at many football stadiums all over the country in 2023.

In 2003, Shania Twain played the Halftime show at the Super Bowl, and since then, country music has not been part of the event. While many country stars, including Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Eric Church, and Luke Bryan, have performed the National Anthem at the Super Bowl, the Halftime show has excluded country stars for the most part.

No one can forget the reaction to Chris Stapleton's 2023 Super Bowl National Anthem that had some people on social media quipping, "I hear there was a football game at the Chris Stapleton National Anthem performance."

As we wrote in February, Stapleton did not disappoint with his version of the National Anthem before Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, near Phoenix. Wearing all black and sunglasses, Chris played a soulful guitar without his trademark hat as he sang. During his performance, the camera shot went to many of both teams' players, some of whom were brought to tears. Philadelphia Eagles' head coach Nick Sirianni was visibly crying while Stapleton sang.

And Dolly Parton, well her halftime performance at the Dallas Cowboys Red Kettle Kickoff game on Thanksgiving Day was epic and in advance of the performance, she surprised Dallas Cowboys' Charlotte Jones with a donation of $1 million dollars to the Salvation Army. Parton's appearance in the game helped it become the third most-viewed regular-season game in NFL history, with a 44 million viewership peak.

So, in 2024, it would have been great to see country music shine at the big game. Here are five country superstars who we believe should be a Super Bowl Halftime show sometime in the near future.

Luke Bryan

Luke is all about having a good time on stage, and his energy and hit songs make for a great show for his double-booked sold-out arena shows. He has also become a Las Vegas performer in the last couple of years, which helps. When we interviewed Bryan recently, he shared his thoughts on if he ever got asked to play a Super Bowl halftime show. He told us, "I think I would certainly love the opportunity to do a Super Bowl Halftime show. I think the beauty of someone in that role, if it were me, I would bring everybody to the party. A lot of special guests, a lot of surprises. If I got asked, certainly Jason Aldean would be my first call."

Keith Urban

This journalist has loved Keith Urban for his music and the generally lovely and considerate guy he is since the day I met him at an interview before he became a superstar in the early 2000s. So, yes, I am biased when it comes to Urban. That being said, his shows are legendary, and with his guitar skills, Keith would make country music proud at the Super Bowl halftime show. His Las Vegas residency sells out every year, and imagine, with an Oscar-winning wife (Nicole Kidman) to cheer him on, how Hollywood would come out to support a Keith Urban halftime show.

Blake Shelton

One of country music's biggest stars and personalities, Blake would be great at the Super Bowl halftime show, especially if his wife, Gwen Stefani, took the stage with her man. Shelton is one of country music's biggest NFL fans; specifically, he is a die-hard Arizona Cardinals fan.

Morgan Wallen

Morgan's star is getting so big in country music, and this guy keeps fans screaming for more in multiple nights of stadium shows in big cities all over the country. If Wallen played the Super Bowl halftime show, you can bet he would more than likely have his buddies HARDY, Ernest, and Bailey Zimmerman also on the show.

Luke Combs

Luke knows how to keep a stadium of fans hanging on his every word at his double night booked stadium shows all over the country, so he is a natural to play the Super Bowl halftime show. Just a handful of years into his massive career and three CMA Entertainer of the Year awards already under his belt, he is a no-brainer for the halftime show. Can you imagine the excitement of the Super Bowl crowd when he plays his wild "Beer Never Broke My Heart" encore?

Carrie Underwood -

With her ties to Sunday Night Football and her love of the game and the players, Carrie would be great at the Super Bowl Halftime show. Her energetic performance would undoubtedly include some of her big rocker friends like Axl Rose and Joan Jett. Underwood would more than likely also have some serious aerial moves like she did when she performed on her Denim & Rhinestone tour.

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.