Luke Combs Surpasses Garth Brooks With New Album And Global Tour

Fourteen years ago, a then-unknown Luke Combs took to the small stage at the Parthenon Cafe in Boone, North Carolina, for his very first country music gig. It was February 2012, and few in the crowd—or in Combs’ own family—could have imagined the whirlwind of success that would follow. Fast forward to 2026, and Combs is not only selling out stadiums across continents, but he’s also eclipsed some of country music’s most legendary names. As reported by American Songwriter, Combs recently commemorated his humble beginnings with a nostalgic throwback photo, a nod to how far he’s come since those early days.

Combs’ journey to the top of country music has been anything but predictable. In a candid Sunday Sitdown interview with Willie Geist, previewed by People magazine, Combs recalled his parents’ pragmatic approach to his dreams. “My parents always encouraged me to sing, and they were very proud that I was doing those things,” he said. “But it wasn’t like my dad was like, ‘Hey slugger, you’ll be Garth Brooks one day, man.’ It just didn’t happen! You know what I mean? He was like, ‘You’ll never be Garth Brooks.’” Combs, now 35, laughed off the memory, adding, “How often does that happen? It doesn’t happen. And damn, it happened though.”

Indeed, it did. In 2016, Combs’ debut single “Hurricane” sold an impressive 15,000 copies in its first week, debuting at No. 46 on the Hot Country Songs chart. The buzz surrounding the track landed him a deal with Sony Music Nashville, and a re-release with Columbia Records propelled “Hurricane” all the way to No. 1. “You can’t be afraid to bet on yourself,” Combs told Geist, reflecting on his leap of faith in moving to Nashville in 2014 to pursue music full-time. “It can happen, man. I’m proof positive that it can happen. The goal is not the destination, it’s the journey. Getting there is the fun part.”

But it wasn’t always music at the forefront of Combs’ dreams. During the same interview with Geist, the country superstar revealed a surprising childhood ambition: “That’s what I wanted to be,” Combs said of his early desire to become a detective. “I would have nailed the donut part for sure,” he joked, showing his trademark humor. Despite always singing, Combs admitted, “All I did was sing all the time and never one time was I like, ‘maybe I could sing for a living.’”

Combs’ career has since soared to heights few could have predicted. Nearly a decade after his debut, he became the highest-certified country music artist in history, surpassing none other than Garth Brooks, who had held the top spot for two decades. “When my team first told me about this, my initial reaction was, ‘Are you sure? There’s no way,’” Combs recounted, still sounding incredulous at his own meteoric rise, according to American Songwriter.

With his sixth LP, The Way I Am, set for release on March 20, 2026, Combs shows no signs of slowing down. The following day, he’ll kick off his My Kinda Saturday Night Tour at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The ambitious tour will span the United States, Canada, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, culminating in a grand finale at London’s Wembley Stadium on August 1. As Parade notes, that’s more than a dozen shows across eight countries—a schedule that would daunt even the most seasoned performers.

But behind the headlines and sold-out arenas lies a deeply personal journey. Combs has been remarkably open about his struggles with weight and health, framing his transformation as a matter of longevity and family rather than appearance. In a June 2022 appearance on The Zane Lowe Show for Apple Music, he spoke candidly about his fears for the future. “I want to be around ... I’m fine right now, my cholesterol and my blood pressure [are] fine because I’m a younger guy, but by the time I’m 45, [they’re] not going to be because of the shape that I’m in,” he said.

Combs compared his relationship with food to addiction, a challenge that has made weight loss a lifelong battle. “I don’t need a cigarette to be alive. But I need food to be alive,” he told Lowe. “It’s like, you would literally die without food. And so that’s what makes it such a difficult thing.” On The Joe Rogan Experience in March 2023, he expanded on this struggle, sharing, “I think my physical fitness and my appearance and my size has always been something that I struggled with, from the time I was a child. And it’s this mountain that I’ve always been standing at the bottom of, trying to run up, but then inherently slipping down every time.”

Fatherhood has been a powerful motivator for Combs’ health journey. He told Lowe, “This having a kid thing has really messed up my head on this thing in the best way. I want to be around, dude.” A year later, on Rogan’s show, he reinforced this, saying, “I wanna be runnin’ around the yard with my children. I wanna take my son on an elk hunt when he’s 16 years old and hike up a mountain when I’m in my late 40s. I wanna do that with him.”

Combs’ approach to health has been gradual and grounded. In November 2024, he told ABC News that going gluten-free for mental health reasons brought unexpected benefits. “Surprisingly, this is the least country thing I’ve ever said: [I’m] gluten-free now. Ever since eliminating that, man, it’s changed my life mentally. There was no intent of, like, man, I should try to lose some weight.” By early 2026, he shared via Instagram Stories, “Kid’s down 30 lbs. Lot of hard work. Lot of missed cakes on birthdays.”

Despite the progress, Combs remains realistic about the road ahead. “Longevity is the goal,” he told ABC News. “Every day you get to spend with those guys is really fun and tough, and you need to be your best self to take care of them the way that you feel like they deserve to be taken care of. It’s a long process, man. It’s a long road. It’s tough. It’s a challenge, man. I struggle with it every day.”

Even as he juggles career and family, Combs has continued to connect with fans in new ways. On February 1, 2026, he appeared in a Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist, discussing not only his rapid rise but also the story behind his celebrated duet of “Fast Car” with Tracy Chapman. He spoke about the ongoing balancing act between career ambitions and family responsibilities, a theme that resonates deeply with his growing audience.

From small-town gigs to global tours, from personal struggles to public triumphs, Luke Combs’ story is one of resilience, authenticity, and relentless pursuit of his passions. As he prepares to release The Way I Am and take his music around the world, fans and newcomers alike will be watching—eager to see what the next chapter holds for this country music phenomenon.