In 2025 Luke Combs surpassed Garth Brooks to become the bestselling country artist of all time, according to the RIAA. He’s also in the running for entertainer, male vocalist and single of the year for “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” at Wednesday’s CMA Awards.
They’re all major accolades the “Back in the Saddle” hitmaker takes in stride.
“It’s all very unexpected, I think,” Luke says. “You can’t plan to get to this point, you know. And obviously when I moved here, I just wanted to be able to make a living doing music, whatever that looked like. So it’s all kinda extra to me, like in a good [way]. … It’s all been a blessing, and I’m very fortunate and I’m just thankful, man, for the fans. I mean, it’s all them.”
It’s a sentiment that’s all the more believable coming from a man who’s determined not to let success change him.
“I mean, I’m very grounded,” he reflects, “and I’ve had the same basically band and crew. Ninety-nine percent of my guys have been with me for nine years now, you know, and so I’m just around the same people, and my assistant’s my best friend from high school.”
“And I just hang out at home with my kids and my wife and, you know, they don’t treat me any different than anybody else,” he continues. “And I go to the grocery store and cook dinner every night, and then I go to work and it’s like, you know, I just can’t really be any different. It would just be weird to me to be any different.”
Luke’s set to play his latest #1, “Back in the Saddle,” during the 59th CMA Awards, airing live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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