Luke Combs Once Suffered From Imposter Syndrome

After a handful of years of being a country superstar, Luke Combs says that he is finally comfortable in his skin. That wasn’t always the case, as Luke told us.

Combs said that he doubted himself a bit at the beginning of his career. He offered, “It was hard for a few years, to be honest. You know you just don’t feel comfortable in your own skin doing it. You’re like, ‘Man, am I really this guy that everybody thinks I am or wants me to be?'”

Luke says he isn’t alone, “I think any artist would tell you that they suffered from imposter syndrome before where they are like, ‘Maybe I’m not this guy that everybody thinks that I am.’ And I don’t think that I have put any more stock in the fact that I am that guy at all. I try not to live my life having any kind of ego about it. I try not to put too much stock in how good of a person or human being or husband or dad or friend I am. I don’t want any of that to be based on, ‘Okay, I am a good friend because I am a country singer.'”

He adds, “I just try to separate the two. I’ve done a lot of work to be able to separate who I am as a human being from who I am on stage.”

16 Luke Combs Songs That We Adore

• 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.