As one of the largest American country singers in the spotlight, Luke Combs continues to push out his personalized yet relatable style of music to devoted listeners and fanatics. Released on March 20, Combs’ latest album, “The Way I Am,” promotes living life however you choose to, and reflects on his desire of happiness over fame.
Being his sixth album through his career, Combs has strived for quality in his songs while spreading positive, emotional and personal messages in his music. While many think country music consists of all similar themes, some relate to the personal messages that he spreads.
“His album before [the latest album] about his sons since I have a son, it resonates [with me],” said Teresa Reed. “The sound [of his music] is really good and upbeat, but then some of the lyrics will make you think about your own perspectives of family and things like that … They’re catchy. They make you sing along; they make you feel good.”
As one of the bigger and most recent upcoming country artists, fans enjoy his message, lyrics and voice that makes him unique when compared to other artists. Over his career, Combs has released multiple hits among listeners: “The Way She Rides” and his cover of “Fast Car” being some of the most popular, boosting his listeners by the millions.
“I’ve listened to [Luke Combs] for the last couple of years,” Reed said. “He’s a fun artist and puts out good music that makes you feel good, want to dance or just have a good time listening to him.”
Combs describes this album as “The biggest album I’ve ever done,” with the release being long awaited among listeners and fans. For most artists, an album as long as 22 songs would lack quality, but for Combs, it lives up to his words both in musicality and length.
Currently, Combs’s “Sleepless In A Hotel Room” sits at 21st place on the Billboard Hot 100, being one of the fan favorites off the bat. The song was born before the COVID-19 shutdown, reflecting on missing his wife, Nicole Hocking, before the 2020 Billboard Music Awards. After releasing an acoustic version on social media, Combs decided to record and release it as a part of the album he was currently working on. He utilizes lyrics and vocals that capture listeners in the moment, like “The morning light can’t come too soon / Lying here not next to you,” and “Wide awake I dream of you / Sleepless in a hotel room.”
His second most popular release, “Be By You,” ranks 24th on the Billboard Hot 100, being a close second to “Sleepless In A Hotel Room.” Similarly, the topic of this song is also his wife and desiring to be with her, regardless of the place. In this song, Combs applies well-thought poeticality in the form of imagery and similes to convey his profound love for his wife. “I’m stuck to ya like glue on your hip like a pistol,” sings Combs, “Kinda like that breeze that blows through a sweet home holler.”
As listeners devour Combs’s new album, he further solidifies his stance as a generational country singer amongst the crowd. Currently, no future projects are known of, although singles and EPs are bound to be released in the meantime, due to the mass of the latest album.
