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These days it’s not a stretch to call Luke Combs one of country’s biggest stars, but it wasn’t long ago that the North Carolina native was a “baby act” – the somewhat-diminutive term applied to Music Row’s fledgling artists.
Well, six years and three albums later, Combs is all grow’d up; he just hasn’t lost the blunt honesty of youth. The 2021 CMA Entertainer of the Year, with a record breaking 13 Number Ones to start his career, Combs released his Growin’ Up album on June 24, and its title is fitting for the freshly minted full-blown superstar. Yet despite his success, Combs remains famously un-starlike. Never a great fit for the mainstream mold – too honest, too transparent, too realistic – Combs is perhaps the most relatable country artist since Alan Jackson ... maybe ever. And on Growin’ Up, he’s more genuine than ever.
As a case in point, Combs began with a debut single that can only be described as “meta-country,” proclaiming he’d still be “Doin’ This” music thing without the fame and fortune. It was interesting because it broke the “fourth wall” of country stardom, self-referentially revealing how much his life has changed but at the same time promising he hasn’t changed at all. And while becoming another (unusual) Number One hit, it showcased a habit. Overall, country stars usually skip the tacit admission that they live in a separate reality, and just make a point of their “still country-ness” instead. But Combs does the thing you’re not supposed to do, and it just makes him more likable.
Elsewhere on Growin’ Up, he takes the honesty further, using broken hearts, buddy anthems, and boyhood triumphs to continue telling it like it is. “Middle of Somewhere” captures hometown pride without the aggressive culture war undertones. And “Better Back When” points out the way we delude ourselves about the greatness of the good-old days, while still reminiscing with rose-tinted romanticism.
Eventually the formula gives us “Used to Wish I Was,” and as Combs puts a new spin on the age old am-what-I-am country jam, he creates a feel-good masterpiece for a time of identity anxiety. An uptempo tailgate anthem with an enlightened easiness, it’s both a typical chest thumper and much more, with Combs calling B.S. on the drive to be something you’re not. Take one look at the burly singer-songwriter and you can tell he doesn’t suffer that hang-up. Onstage, there are no designer clothes or gym- sculpted muscles. On his records, the sound is simple and straightforward, with clear influences and a consistent feel. And “Used to Wish I Was,” with its crunchy, Collective-Soul style guitars and comfort in its own skin, is the theme song of a different kind of star.
“I couldn’t be anybody but me / Even if I tried,” Combs sings in the chorus. “I used to wish I was/ But I’m glad I’m not.”
Country fans are glad, too.