LUKE COMBS on Living with OCD, His Marriage & the Moment That Changed His Life Forever

1. 0:00 – 1:27

   Intro

   1. LCLuke Combs0:00

      The guy that says he's always gonna be there and that will do anything to be there is the only guy that's not there. I'm in Australia when Beau is born. My whole identity is that no matter what, I'm gonna prioritize my wife and my children over my job. I dread the conversation with my son.

   2. JSJay Shetty0:18

      What do you think you'd say? Hey, everyone. Welcome back to On Purpose, the place you come to become happier, healthier, and more healed. Today's guest is someone that I've been so excited to have on the show. I'm speaking about Luke Combs, Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum country artist, and one of the most successful musicians of his generation. His music is known for its honesty, heart, and relatability, and has reached millions around the world. Beyond the success, Luke is known for his humility, his deep commitment to his family, and especially his fans. Today, he joins me to talk about fatherhood, mental health, and how he stays grounded through it all. Please welcome to On Purpose, Luke Combs. Luke.

   3. LCLuke Combs1:01

      Oh. Yeah. Thank you for having me, man. That was a, that was a heck of an intro. I got a lot to live up to, I feel like, you know?

   4. JSJay Shetty1:07

      You did all of it.

   5. LCLuke Combs1:07

      Yeah. [laughs]

   6. JSJay Shetty1:07

      You lived all of it. You're, you're doing all of it.

   7. LCLuke Combs1:10

      Well, I-

   8. JSJay Shetty1:10

      I mean, it's, it's amazing when... You know, I just met your team, and they're wonderful, and the way they speak about you-

   9. LCLuke Combs1:16

      Thank you. Thank you

   10. JSJay Shetty1:16

       ... is wonderful, but it's genuine, and I'm like, when I hear about your reputation, your reputation precedes you.

   11. LCLuke Combs1:22

       Sure.

   12. JSJay Shetty1:22

       Before this interview, I'm hearing-

   13. LCLuke Combs1:23

       Sure

   14. JSJay Shetty1:23

       ... Luke's the nicest guy. Is, um, you know, it's-

   15. LCLuke Combs1:26

       I like hearing that. Yeah.

   16. JSJay Shetty1:26

       Has

2. 1:27 – 3:56

   Staying Grounded in the Face of Fame

   1. JSJay Shetty1:27

      that been work? Has it been hard to stay grounded, or is it just who you are?

   2. LCLuke Combs1:32

      Yeah, I think, I think it's both, you know? Um, I think, and, you know, I, I've always thought that, you know, um, when you reach a certain level of, of success or... Well, I hate fame. I hate the word celebrity. I hate those words. They're weird, and they, they make me uncomfortable a little bit. But it's reality. Like, I also accept it, and it's just weird to like say it. I don't want it to ever sound like a braggadocious thing. Um, but I think when you get to a certain point, like the fame or the success or the influence, like it just kind of accentuates and exacerbates the inherent person that you are, right? Like if you're, I think if you were a great guy and you become rich and successful and famous or whatever, like it gives you the opportunity to be more of who you already are. It gives you a chance to be more giving or more passionate or more, um, I don't know, more narcissistic if that was your... You know, if that's already, like if you have a proclivity to be that way anyways, it just, it, it just kind of inflates that. It makes like the super version of who you already are, you know? Um, but it does take a lot of work too. I mean, me and my team are, are really close. Um, you know, every- everybody's like, "Oh, you know, we're a family out here," or what... You know, it's like I hear that all the time, and I truly believe it and, and I hope that everyone else that says that believes that too, but that's really the way that we try to operate. You know, it's kind of like, you know, it's, it's a, you know, one for all kind of mentality, um, on the road with us. And, um, I think you, you know... I mean, it's not hard, in my opinion, to be kind to people. Um, and maybe that's just because that's the way that I am, you know? Um, and that's down to the doorman at the hotel or my manager. You know what I mean? Or, you know, it's like i- in my opinion, it's not, it's not a difficult thing to do to just choose to be kind and be grateful for the s- even if I'm having a tough day. You know what I mean? I'm still go out of my way to be kind to people, um, because I think, you know, it's, it's an important thing to do. You know, it's, it's every interaction that I have with someone from a random fan I meet at the grocery store to my kids, like every impression makes an impression, whether it's a small one or a huge one, you know? Um, and so I always just try to be really mindful of that in my interactions with, with anyone.

3. 3:56 – 6:51

   The Life He Never Imagined

   1. JSJay Shetty3:56

      Did you ever believe this would be your life?

   2. LCLuke Combs3:58

      Never. Never.

   3. JSJay Shetty3:59

      What, what did you think-

   4. LCLuke Combs4:00

      Yeah

   5. JSJay Shetty4:00

      ... life was gonna look like?

   6. LCLuke Combs4:02

      You know, I was a, a, a... You know, if you would've asked me 10 years ago or 12 years ago, I would've been really afraid of the answer, you know, 'cause I, I had no idea. I feel like I was kind of aimlessly floating. I felt like I was kind of checking boxes that were like I felt like I was supposed to be checking, which was like, like I graduated high school, and it was like, "Okay, well, what now?" And it was like, "Well, you go to college. That's just what happens. You know, it's what you're supposed to do," you know? And so I went and did that, and I had a great time in school. I really... I, I didn't like school. I liked being at the school, but [laughs] I didn't like be- in being in school-

   7. JSJay Shetty4:40

      [laughs]

   8. LCLuke Combs4:40

      ... if that makes sense, you know? So I was doing a lot of that, and I, I would spend a lot of time, you know, like I was majoring in business at the very beginning, and then I switched to criminal justice, and I enjoyed criminal justice a lot more than I enjoyed business. I'd, I'd had, I just liked that, like studying that. It was interesting to me. Um, and then, but it was still like it just never felt quite right.

   9. JSJay Shetty5:03

      Mm.

   10. LCLuke Combs5:03

       You know, it was like it just doesn't feel like... And I would get scared as every year would tick by in college. It was like, "Oh, I'm a year closer to having to make this like really important life decision that I'm like don't feel prepared to make in any way or don't feel good about making." Like, and I didn't really, I guess, maybe understand or have the ability to process that at the time. It was just like time keeps going whether you want it to or not. And so you're just kind of like sitting, like the light at the end of the tunnel gets closer, but it was almost the opposite effect. Like it felt like I was in this great place. Like I'm in school. I love my friends. I love the social aspect. I enjoy being around people my age that are, you know, like-minded and having the activities I love to do. It was almost the opposite. It was almost like the darkness at the end of the tunnel was like-

   11. JSJay Shetty5:54

       Mm

   12. LCLuke Combs5:54

       ... this idea of like being a real adult, and then college ends, and then you're like, you basically just go into the workforce, and then you're miserable for 30 years, and then you retire.

   13. JSJay Shetty6:05

       [laughs]

   14. LCLuke Combs6:05

       And it was like I- it was so scary, that-

   15. JSJay Shetty6:07

       Yeah

   16. LCLuke Combs6:07

       ... like idea of that because I hadn't found like-It's something I was passionate about at that time, and so it was a scary proposition to go like, "When this ends, what now?" You know what I mean? Um, so that was kinda my experience there, and that, that was the, the way that I was living my life at that time. And then when I found, you know, when I picked the guitar up, you know, towards the end of my college career, it was, like, immediately all made sense. It, like, flipped. Like, the whole script just flipped. It was like, then it was like, "Oh, like, I'm almost out. Like, now I can go do the thing I wanna go do," and it all made sense. But if I hadn't found that passion, I, you know, I don't know what I would be doing right now, to be quite honest.

4. 6:51 – 8:07

   Finding the Calling That Changed Everything

   1. JSJay Shetty6:51

      And is that what it felt like? It felt like discovering a passion? Like, it felt like-

   2. LCLuke Combs6:54

      Oh, definitely. It, it, it al- it almost felt like discovering what I was meant to do. It was almost, like, beyond a passion. It was like, well, this is what I was, like, meant to do. Like, this is what I was, like, put on Earth to do is this thing. Um, just because I'd loved singing my whole life, man, it was like, it was a big part of m-my, my self-worth was derived from, like, my identity I derived from, like, this is the thing that I'm good at. Like, I'm not good at anything else. Um, as far as from a skill standpoint, I thought, "Oh, okay, well, I'm a good friend," like, "I'm a good son." Like, I-- That stuff wasn't kind of... I felt confident in those things, but I didn't feel fulfilled in, like, what will my role be in the world?

   3. JSJay Shetty7:36

      Hmm.

   4. LCLuke Combs7:37

      Like, what will I contribute to the world? And it never had to be some big thing. Like, my idea of it wasn't, well, there's some... But I feel like if you're good at something and you have a passion for it, you have this inherent sense of, like, I can contribute or make the world a better place in some way by doing the thing that I'm good at.

   5. JSJay Shetty7:55

      Yeah.

   6. LCLuke Combs7:55

      I can positively impact people's lives by doing something that I love to do and being great at it, and that can benefit other people in other ways.

   7. JSJay Shetty8:04

      Yeah.

   8. LCLuke Combs8:04

      And music was my way of doing that.

   9. JSJay Shetty8:06

      Yeah.

5. 8:07 – 10:45

   Growing Up with Undiagnosed OCD

   1. JSJay Shetty8:07

      What, what's, like, a childhood memory that you have that you feel defines who you are today?

   2. LCLuke Combs8:12

      I think [chuckles] I have a tremendous ability to suffer-

   3. JSJay Shetty8:17

      Wow

   4. LCLuke Combs8:17

      ... because of the OCD things that I've dealt with. I've, I've talked about that stuff a lot, um, almost ad nauseam some. Not in a negative way, but I'm, I'm very open about it. I'm not afraid to speak about it. But that was very defining for me. I had a great childhood. My parents were great, great home, hardworking. My parents are still married. They're still around. So I worry sometimes when I talk about, like, how tough it was being younger for me, and, like, I worry when my parents see these things that they think that that has some reflection of, like, them as parents. It doesn't at all.

   5. JSJay Shetty8:49

      Mm-hmm.

   6. LCLuke Combs8:49

      You know? Like, they went above and beyond for me as parents, and becoming a parent myself has made me... I'm more thankful for them every day as I raise my kids because I realize how difficult it is.

   7. JSJay Shetty9:01

      That's beautiful.

   8. LCLuke Combs9:01

      And I realize how hard it was, and I've gained this great appreciation even more so for them as I raise my own children. So I don't want them to ever get the idea that it was, it was anything to do with them. But the whole nature of that kind of OCD, there's a lot of, like, suffering in silence, right? And it's given me a, this really great outlook on, well, I know what bad is, is, dude. Like, I've been to the bottom i-in here, and it's like n-I'm, I'm not there, you know? I still have a proclivity to be able to go there if certain things line up and, you know, I were to have an OCD moment or something, but those moments are few and far between, and they're a lot shorter-lived than they used to be, and I'm not afraid of those moments anymore. I lived my life, um, when I was younger in fear of, like, when is this gonna come back, and why does it... I don't even know what it is at that time. It's like I wasn't, like, a diagnosed, you know?

   9. JSJay Shetty9:57

      Mm-hmm.

   10. LCLuke Combs9:58

       It was something I felt like I even, even had a hard time explaining to my parents. Like, what-- They're like, "What do you, what do you mean?" You know, like, they're not... I mean, they weren't, you know, they're not clinical psychologists, so they don't really understand, you know? And so I can't imagine how afraid they were at the time of like, "Well, I wish we could help our child." You know, I can't imagine how helpless you would feel if my kids came to me with something that I didn't understand. I would be like, "Gosh, I don't even know how to explain. Like, who, where do I even take them?"

   11. JSJay Shetty10:24

       Hmm.

   12. LCLuke Combs10:24

       You know? Um, and so that was a really defining part of, of, like, my childhood, you know? It's not the only memory, but it's the one that kind of sticks out as, like, this common theme. Like, every couple of years, I would go through these really brutal OCD stints without even knowing what was going on.

   13. JSJay Shetty10:44

       Wow.

6. 10:45 – 17:49

   Inside the Battle with Intrusive Thoughts

   1. JSJay Shetty10:45

      Do you feel comfortable talking about some of those days and what-

   2. LCLuke Combs10:47

      Oh, certainly.

   3. JSJay Shetty10:48

      What... Yeah.

   4. LCLuke Combs10:48

      Certainly. I mean, fill- like, days, like, filled with, like, rumination, you know? Like, a lot of, like... You know, people ask me a-about it and what the experience is like, and I try to describe it to people, and it's almost, like, indescribable sometimes. Like, I think they think, and not, this is not a, a slight to anyone that may think this. If you haven't experienced it, you almost can't understand it to some extent. And they're like, "Well, how, how often?" It's like, I'm talking about, you know, 95% of the day from opening your eyes to closing them at night, you are thinking about this thing, and it's causing you a tremendous amount of anxiety and, like, mental anguish to try to, like, find the answer to this, like, unanswerable question. It's, it's scary [chuckles] 'cause it's like you're so... I think it's helped my songwriting, and I think it's helped my ability to be creative. I think the creativity can be a blessing and a curse in that way.

   5. JSJay Shetty11:45

      Mm-hmm.

   6. LCLuke Combs11:45

      It can help me create scenarios in my mind that really don't have a leg to stand on.

   7. JSJay Shetty11:49

      Yeah.

   8. LCLuke Combs11:50

      And I can build them into, you know, one world trade in my mind from nothing. Um, and that can be really great in a songwriting sense. It can be really dangerous in, like, a mental health sense.

   9. JSJay Shetty12:01

      Mm-hmm.

   10. LCLuke Combs12:01

       Um, so those days would be go to bed, you close your eyes and you go, "Gosh, like, I just hope in the morning I'm not thinking about this thing." And the second you open your eyes, it's the first thing you think of, and then you spend the entire day either thinking about it or trying not to think about it and hoping that it would go away and feeling hopeless and saying, "Why me? Why am I like this? What did I do to deserve this?" Like, almost having some-Like, almost like there's almost like an anger to it

   11. JSJay Shetty12:30

       A shame and guilt as well.

   12. LCLuke Combs12:32

       Yeah. And you're just like, what... Like this, like, because outwardly, like, the world around me was so great. I have this great, you know, these great parents that go out of their way to take care of me. I have great friends. We have a nice home. It's safe. I have food to eat. I'm in a great school. I have great friends. I have a great life. I have talent. I have drive, you know? But that would just, it would just sh- I mean, it's like basically, if everything in the room was so great, and there was one pile of dog shit on the floor, and all the lights went off, and they just shined on the pile of dog shit, it was like that was the only thing I could focus on.

   13. JSJay Shetty13:11

       Mm.

   14. LCLuke Combs13:11

       You know? I hate to put it in such a crude way, but like-

   15. JSJay Shetty13:14

       It's a great, it's a great way to view that, yeah

   16. LCLuke Combs13:15

       ... it's like the room is perfect, but the dog pooped on the floor, and all you have to do is clean it up. But you don't know how to clean it up, and you can't get rid of it, and it becomes the only thing you think about, and it's like all you focus on. And like, you don't have the ability to focus on all the good or even the mental capacity to be appreciative of the good, 'cause you spend so much mental energy on the negative thing, the one negative thing.

   17. JSJay Shetty13:36

       And what were those thoughts as a kid that kept-

   18. LCLuke Combs13:38

       Um

   19. JSJay Shetty13:39

       ... taking over like that?

   20. LCLuke Combs13:40

       So those themes, you know, they change every time. So like if you go through, let's say you go through a theme, you know, I, I'm sure you're aware of OCD stuff. It, it all is theme-based, right? And you basically only have one theme at a time. It's funny, like let's say I was worried about, uh, like if I was having intrusive thoughts about, like, committing violence against someone or something, and they're causing me all this stress, and I'm like, "Well, what does that mean about me? What does that say about me?"

   21. JSJay Shetty14:06

       Mm.

   22. LCLuke Combs14:07

       And then if I switch, like if my theme were to switch to... The next day I'm like, "Well, what if I was a schizophrenic and I didn't know it?"

   23. JSJay Shetty14:15

       Mm.

   24. LCLuke Combs14:15

       And you're like, and you're panicked, and you're completely panicked, and you're all consumed by that. I'm talking in an instant. Like, uh, let's say I've been worrying about all this violent stuff, all these horrible thoughts and things that you don't want going through your head. The second I have that new thought of like, what if I, what if I'm schizophrenic, right?

   25. JSJay Shetty14:34

       Yeah.

   26. LCLuke Combs14:34

       And then you go, instantly you can think on all the violent stuff and go, "Well, that was dumb. I'm not even worried about that at all." It doesn't even seem like something you ever-

   27. JSJay Shetty14:43

       Yeah

   28. LCLuke Combs14:43

       ... would have even worried about. You're like, "That was so stupid. Why did I waste three months of my life stressing about that thing?"

   29. JSJay Shetty14:48

       Mm.

   30. LCLuke Combs14:49

       But when you're in it, it's not, like you don't have the capability of, to turn it off, you know? I remember my dad would say, and this is no slight to him. This is, you know, this is classic, like, dad stuff.
7. 17:49 – 21:00

   When You Don’t Know Who You Are Yet

   1. JSJay Shetty17:49

      Which relationship was most negatively impacted in your life at that time because of it?

   2. LCLuke Combs17:54

      My relationship with myself. I didn't really have a lot of time to figure out who I was because I d- I, I couldn't think about anything else. And maybe I would've picked up guitar in seventh grade when my parents bought it for me, because I would've had time to focus on that. You know? Um, I can't do anything about that now.

   3. JSJay Shetty18:12

      Mm.

   4. LCLuke Combs18:12

      And things worked out the way they were supposed to work out. I mean, obviously, you know, uh, I mean, here I am, you know? Um, and it's... That, that was the one that was tough, is like you don't get any time to like do all these like l- this kinda like... My childhood was great. It was idyllic, really, uh, besides this. I don't wanna sound like it was like constant dread and doom, and like there were certainly spells of that, and it was like those were kinda like the definingthings along the way and, but there was a lot of good too.

   5. JSJay Shetty18:43

      Mm-hmm. Mm.

   6. LCLuke Combs18:43

      You know, I don't want to make it sound like I had the worst life ever 'cause I didn't. But it was, it was very, very hard at times, and it was very isolating and made you feel very alone and, like, very vulnerable and very confused. You know, what is going on? Like, I c- don't imagine my friends are dealing with, with this.

   7. JSJay Shetty19:01

      Mm-hmm. Mm.

   8. LCLuke Combs19:01

      You know, and if they are... I would talk to my friends about it. I m- I mean, Austin, who I'm sure you met, is my best friend from childhood really, and I talked to him about it. You know, he knew. I mean, it's like, but they, you know, they don't have any answers, but they're like, "Bro, you're, it's, it's all good," you know? Like, they were always very supportive. No one was like, "You're weird. I can't believe you're doing this." Like, I'm lucky that everyone in my life was supportive of my struggles, and I'm s- glad that I was open about them and felt the ability to be open about them. That in and itself is a blessing, you know? I can't imagine a kid out there right now whose family's like, "Listen, you better stop talking about this. I'm sick of hearing about it." You know what I mean? It's like that would just crushes my soul, you know?

   9. JSJay Shetty19:42

      Yeah.

   10. LCLuke Combs19:43

       It's already so hard even if everyone is open to the whole thing. Um, so that would say that that was the relationship-

   11. JSJay Shetty19:49

       Yeah

   12. LCLuke Combs19:49

       ... it honestly affected the most because if I didn't tell you, if you would've met me at 13 years old or 14 years old, like, you wouldn't have even known.

   13. JSJay Shetty19:57

       Mm. Yeah, it's inside.

   14. LCLuke Combs19:58

       It's not something you can see.

   15. JSJay Shetty19:59

       Totally.

   16. LCLuke Combs19:59

       It's all in here. Like, that's why they call it purely obsessional because the, only because that's a bit of a misnomer in my opinion. Dear medical people, it's a misnomer. But there are tons of compulsions. They're just all mental compulsions. They're not outward. So they call it purely obsessional because all the compul- it's not like I'm like, "Oh gosh, this glass, I better get it," you know?

   17. JSJay Shetty20:22

       Yeah.

   18. LCLuke Combs20:23

       The, this thing, this moving this glass around and getting it to feel right is all happening in here instead of out here.

   19. JSJay Shetty20:30

       Yeah.

   20. LCLuke Combs20:30

       You know? To, like, checking the stove 100 times to make sure it's off, I'm doing that up here-

   21. JSJay Shetty20:35

       Mm-hmm

   22. LCLuke Combs20:36

       ... instead of doing it.

   23. JSJay Shetty20:37

       Yeah, yeah.

   24. LCLuke Combs20:37

       There's no physical manifestation of the compulsions.

   25. JSJay Shetty20:40

       Mm.

   26. LCLuke Combs20:40

       Um, so yeah, huge, huge part of my life.

   27. JSJay Shetty20:44

       Yeah. No, I appreciate you saying it. I mean-

   28. LCLuke Combs20:45

       Yeah, of course

   29. JSJay Shetty20:46

       ... you sharing it is helping so many other people, as you said, listening, learning-

   30. LCLuke Combs20:50

       Sure
8. 21:00 – 25:58

   The Power of Being Deeply Understood

   1. JSJay Shetty21:00

      does OCD look like now in your life?

   2. LCLuke Combs21:02

      What happens is not any different. Um, I think now when it does happen, I'm just so much more aware of it, you know? Um, and it's g- it's good 'cause when it happens, I can just, I straight up tell her, like, when I'm like, "Hey, this is going on. Like, just so you know, like, if I seem a little absent-minded or if I'm like, if you say something and I didn't quite pay enough attention to it, like, it's not just me being aloof. It's like I'm, I'm kinda going through this." And so she understands that, so I don't have to worry about that. Like, I don't have to worry about her, "Why are you being weird?" Like it's just an honest thing.

   3. JSJay Shetty21:39

      Mm-hmm.

   4. LCLuke Combs21:40

      And she feels for me, which is nice to know that there's someone that understands what I'm going through, that's supportive of it, and doesn't judge me for it at all. Um, and you know, I mean, again, she's no therapist either, so, um, but I, I'm so well-equipped now.

   5. JSJay Shetty21:56

      What, what has been that equipped? What's actually helped-

   6. LCLuke Combs21:58

      Yeah. I mean, I mean it's-

   7. JSJay Shetty21:58

      ... the people who are struggling?

   8. LCLuke Combs21:59

      Honestly, the, [chuckles] the interesting thing about it is, like, not, like, not giving any, like, any credibility or attention to the thoughts is ultimately the thing that makes it go away, right? But the years and years and years of not knowing that, your go-to is, like, think about the thoughts and try to figure it out and try to solve it. So when you do that, like, I didn't find out what I had till I was probably, like, 19 or 20 really. Like, I didn't find Pure O OCD until then. I'd been dealing with it for seven or eight years at that time. And once I found it, naturally enough, I obsessed about it, trying to figure it out. Like, what does this mean? And, and a lot of that not, not from... I don't wanna try to, like, I'm not trying to say, like, "Oh, I was really great, and I figured it out." It was basically, like, one of the big no-nos of OCD is seeking reassurance that whatever the thought you have is not founded in any fact or reality, right? Like, that's the trap. It's like trying to solve the problem. So when you're, when you're young and you're in it, you're constantly seeking reassurance in your own mind to, like, discredit the thoughts that you're having. And so I would use that diagnosis. I would go and study this. I would go study what's Pure O and what's, you know, understand the way that people that have it think and the tools and, like, I was looking that stuff up to try to alleviate the anxiety from the thoughts.

   9. JSJay Shetty23:34

      Mm-hmm.

   10. LCLuke Combs23:35

       Little did I know, and not that anyone should do this, I would not suggest it, but little did I know I was basically teaching myself to be an expert on the disease that I had or the mental illness that I had. And so now I'm so well-versed and studied in it, and again, not a therapist, don't claim to be. Now I j- I know the thought patterns, and I'm so familiar with, like, I can feel it coming on. I know when it's happening. I know why it happens, and I know... I, I just have the entire tool belt of, like, getting rid of it if I need to, and, uh, I think that is... I mean, it's a blessing and a curse. You know, it was a curse the way I got to it, but it's a blessing now. You know, having that knowledge, it keeps me from, from, you know, slipping into that state a lot, a lot, you know? And when I talk about OCD, I mean, that's the most interaction I get from people.Reaching out to me a lot.

   11. JSJay Shetty24:33

       Really?

   12. LCLuke Combs24:33

       It's like, "Hey man, like you're the only guy I know that's ever talked about this."

   13. JSJay Shetty24:37

       Yeah.

   14. LCLuke Combs24:37

       'Cause it's kind of like an obscure variant of OCD. It's not as common as like stereotypical-

   15. JSJay Shetty24:45

       Sure

   16. LCLuke Combs24:46

       ... you know, like-

   17. JSJay Shetty24:46

       You're hearing about it more and more now though because of-

   18. LCLuke Combs24:48

       Certainly.

   19. JSJay Shetty24:48

       Yeah.

   20. LCLuke Combs24:49

       Certainly, it's like, it's definitely an understudied... See, I mean, there was a time even 10 or 12 years ago, I was looking it up, that some OCD doctors were like, "That's not a real thing."

   21. JSJay Shetty24:58

       Yeah.

   22. LCLuke Combs24:59

       And I'm like, "Wow, what a dangerous thing to like say in a public... Like what an arrogant thing to say." Like if you've never had it-

   23. JSJay Shetty25:07

       Totally

   24. LCLuke Combs25:07

       ... to s- even though you're an expert, regardless, and I'll probably get roasted for this online, like, it, how, like how dare you say it if you've never like... You, like saying someone's mental c-condition like doesn't exist is an incredibly damaging thing, especially given the nature of the one that you're talking about. Because that in and o- that statement in and of itself could send someone into a six-month spiral. Like, that statement could kick off an entire another episode of like life-crippling OCD for someone with OCD. Because then they would read it and go, "Oh my God, it's not real. I really am a murderer."

   25. JSJay Shetty25:48

       Yeah.

   26. LCLuke Combs25:48

       Or, "I really am gonna crash my car into a [censored] school." You know what I mean? Like-

   27. JSJay Shetty25:53

       Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. It can be that-

   28. LCLuke Combs25:53

       It's like that, and it's, it just makes people like-

   29. JSJay Shetty25:56

       Yeah

   30. LCLuke Combs25:56

       ... so panicked, you know?
9. 25:58 – 26:46

   Why Avoidance Makes It Worse

   1. LCLuke Combs25:58

      And-

   2. JSJay Shetty25:58

      I had a friend who just constantly kept thinking she was gonna do something bad to her kids, and so she had to be away from them for weeks.

   3. LCLuke Combs26:06

      Oh, it's horrible.

   4. JSJay Shetty26:06

      Yeah, it's... I get it. Yeah, yeah.

   5. LCLuke Combs26:07

      Avoidance behavior, another terrible thing. One of the worst things you can do because then you're giving the thoughts like the power of like-

   6. JSJay Shetty26:15

      Yeah. Yeah, that's what she had to do

   7. LCLuke Combs26:15

      ... well, there really is an issue. So now you're isolating yourself from your kids, so there really is a problem now. It gives the thoughts more credibility. So you're taking action and telling yourself, "These thoughts are important, so I need to remove myself."

   8. JSJay Shetty26:28

      Yeah.

   9. LCLuke Combs26:28

      You know? It's, it's crazy, man. It's a vicious-

   10. JSJay Shetty26:30

       Yeah.

   11. LCLuke Combs26:31

       It's like a rip current in your mind.

   12. JSJay Shetty26:32

       Yeah, yeah. For sure.

   13. LCLuke Combs26:33

       Like your instinct is to, you know, swim this way, and really you should just-

   14. JSJay Shetty26:39

       Do the opposite

   15. LCLuke Combs26:39

       ... not struggle and just swim this way. [laughs] You know what I mean?

   16. JSJay Shetty26:41

       Yeah.

   17. LCLuke Combs26:42

       Like you just wanna swim that way is all you wanna do, you know?

   18. JSJay Shetty26:44

       Yeah.

   19. LCLuke Combs26:45

       It's crazy. It's a crazy

10. 26:46 – 30:36

    The Work Ethic That Shaped Him

    1. LCLuke Combs26:46

       spiral.

    2. JSJay Shetty26:46

       You've spoken so beautifully about your parents. What's something that your parents did for you? What's a lesson they taught you that you're trying to pass on to your children?

    3. LCLuke Combs26:55

       Yeah, I mean, I think really just work ethic, you know? I mean, my parents... I mean, they taught me a lot of things, you know? Um, my mom was just, you know, she's like wonderful, you know? And my dad's, was wonderful, and, um, my dad wasn't like, he wasn't like my buddy growing up. Like, he was like, he was my dad. You know what I mean?

    4. JSJay Shetty27:12

       Yeah.

    5. LCLuke Combs27:12

       Like, he was like-

    6. JSJay Shetty27:13

       Discipline and-

    7. LCLuke Combs27:13

       He was a maintenance man at the bank, and it was like he worked 40 hours, and he came home, and he mowed the grass, and he drank beer with his buddies and like... Not that I was neglected in any way, but like we weren't like palling around a lot because there wasn't time. He was constantly working to provide me with food and provide Mom with, you know... Mom was working too, you know? So it was a very, very working class home, and that's what our life centered around was Mom and Dad have shit to do, and they're gonna do it, and that's, you know, that's just the way it is. And, you know, obviously that provided me with a lot of things, and, and I'm, I'm grateful for that. I never had to wonder what, you know, clothes I was gonna wear to school or what food I was gonna eat when I got home. Like, those worries were gone. Um, and so, you know, nothing but gratefulness for that. And my, you know... [sighs] It, it was like they... I learned so much from seeing that, you know? Luckily, I'm in a position now where it doesn't have to be that way. It had to be that way for them. There was no other option. Um, it was either, you know, it was work and provide or, or don't provide. You know, those were the two options they were presented with. My life now is obviously a lot different than that. It's, I have the ability to do both. I have the ability to do it on my own schedule when I want to and where I want to. Um, I ha- I spend, you know... I have conversations with people that, you know, everyone wants to know what's it like to be, you know, a musician and, you know, being when, or you're touring, and, "Well, do you miss your family?" And it's like, well, obviously I miss them when I'm gone, but I'm not gone, like, that much now. Like, I s- guarantee I spend more time with my kids than 90% of people probably because they're not in school, and if I'm not here with you, I'm there.

    8. JSJay Shetty29:06

       Mm.

    9. LCLuke Combs29:06

       Like, they're... I'm nowhere else basically, except for deer season.

    10. JSJay Shetty29:09

        [laughs]

    11. LCLuke Combs29:10

        But other than that, I'm not anywhere else, you know?

    12. JSJay Shetty29:12

        Yeah.

    13. LCLuke Combs29:13

        Um, like I'm there, and, you know, in a couple years they'll be at deer season too. You know what I mean? So I get to, you know, like when I'm home, man, like I'm home, and I'm not, I'm not splitting my time at home between, okay, well, I've gotta do 50 work things today, and, you know, the kids are at school, and I don't ever see them, and then I leave, and they're, you know, begging me to, you know, play with them for five minutes. It's like when I come home, dude, like I'm cooking breakfast, I'm cooking lunch, I'm cooking dinner. Like I'm changing diapers. I'm giving baths. Like I'm the-- Like I'm in it. You know what I mean? Like I'm hands-on. I want to be. I want them to n- to know that, you know, at the most critical stages of my career, that they were still the top priority for me. And my parents showed me that in a different way. It was like, "Hey, we're going to go work these jobs that we don't like so that you can have the best life that you can have." And so I learned that from them. I just get to manifest it in a different way for my kids.

    14. JSJay Shetty30:16

        Yeah. I like the way you put that.

    15. LCLuke Combs30:18

        Yep.

    16. JSJay Shetty30:19

        Yeah. That for you, it... For, for them, it was doing something they didn't like.

    17. LCLuke Combs30:23

        Out of love

    18. JSJay Shetty30:23

        ... to show you that they're number one out of love

    19. LCLuke Combs30:25

        Right

    20. JSJay Shetty30:25

        And yours is almost like, I'm actually gonna put aside something that I like-

    21. LCLuke Combs30:29

        To show you that I-

    22. JSJay Shetty30:29

        ... to show you how important you are.

    23. LCLuke Combs30:31

        Exactly.

    24. JSJay Shetty30:31

        Yeah.

    25. LCLuke Combs30:32

        It's a, it's a, it's a-

    26. JSJay Shetty30:32

        Yeah

    27. LCLuke Combs30:32

        ... different version of the same sacrifice-

    28. JSJay Shetty30:34

        Yeah

    29. LCLuke Combs30:34

        ... for sure.

    30. JSJay Shetty30:35

        Absolutely.

11. 30:36 – 36:27

    The Hustle Before the Breakthrough

    1. JSJay Shetty30:36

       From the outside, I'm always fascinated by how things look from the outside and the inside. From the outside, your career had this, like-

    2. LCLuke Combs30:42

       Oh, yeah

    3. JSJay Shetty30:42

       ... meteoric rise.

    4. LCLuke Combs30:43

       Sure.

    5. JSJay Shetty30:43

       It just... What was it like for you? What was the feeling that was actually happening? [laughs]

    6. LCLuke Combs30:47

       Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it, it was certainly, but it also felt like, it feels like I've been doing it for a year, and it feels like I've been doing it for 100 years-

    7. JSJay Shetty30:55

       [laughs]

    8. LCLuke Combs30:55

       ... at the same time, if that makes any sense. [laughs]

    9. JSJay Shetty30:57

       Yeah.

    10. LCLuke Combs30:57

        You know?

    11. JSJay Shetty30:57

        Tell me about that.

    12. LCLuke Combs30:58

        Those early years, man, were really hard, you know? I mean, the music industry has changed so much in the last 11 years. Um, I, I mean, really have been in it, in a, in, like, an official, like, I've got a record deal, like I'm promoting my music in, in the, in the grand way that it's done now. That's only been going on for, I mean, I guess n- like, this would be year 10-

    13. JSJay Shetty31:23

        Hmm

    14. LCLuke Combs31:23

        ... for me probably. Year nine maybe.

    15. JSJay Shetty31:26

        Mm-hmm.

    16. LCLuke Combs31:27

        Yeah, year nine, 'cause of 2017 was my first number one. Signed my record deal in the fall of '16-

    17. JSJay Shetty31:34

        Mm-hmm

    18. LCLuke Combs31:34

        ... and then didn't really ramp it up until, like, the beginning of '17. Um, but had been doing stuff on my own for a long time before that. Um-

    19. JSJay Shetty31:42

        Yeah

    20. LCLuke Combs31:42

        ... and, you know, you, uh, you almost learn more doing that stuff, like doing it on your own and... You know, I w- I wonder if people miss that a little bit now because it's like you, you know, you almost get invited to the table when it's time to be there, you know, instead of like fighting for the spot at the table, like in town. Like, I don't know i-if as many people are, like, moving to Nashville now. Like, y-you almost know if you're gonna make it or not now because of social media.

    21. JSJay Shetty32:13

        Mm-hmm.

    22. LCLuke Combs32:13

        And I was one of the first people that did that, not intentionally. I don't wanna make myself sound like a genius, 'cause I'm not. It's like that I just got l- I just lucked into that. Like I had Vine came out. I'm on this big platform. I'm prom- s- just singing on there and playing little six-second covers, and then Instagram comes out. I'm doing that. And I used that as a marketing tool for myself. Again, not in like any way of like, "This is the future." I don't wanna be like, "I predict it." You know, I'm not trying to Steve Jobs it-

    23. JSJay Shetty32:42

        [laughs]

    24. LCLuke Combs32:42

        ... and say I invented iTunes. That's not the case.

    25. JSJay Shetty32:45

        Yeah.

    26. LCLuke Combs32:45

        I just lucked into it. It happened to be the perfect time for that, for people to be receptive to that, and now that has become the model.

    27. JSJay Shetty32:54

        Mm-hmm.

    28. LCLuke Combs32:54

        That is the way you do it. So I was just one of, if not the first guy to do that. Um, I wish I could say it was intentional.

    29. JSJay Shetty33:03

        Yeah.

    30. LCLuke Combs33:03

        I just, I just lucked into that really. And so I, when I moved to town, I had all these sales numbers, ticket sales, that to me, I was like, "Well, this is normal." Like, this is just how could people not be doing it this way? This is the way it goes.
12. 36:27 – 38:29

    Making Music That Truly Connects

    1. LCLuke Combs36:27

       that they are.

    2. JSJay Shetty36:27

       Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I, I can relate to a lot what you're saying because my work, kind of around the same time, 2016 was the year I, again, just like you, no strategy, no techniqueJust started sharing what I believed and what I cared about on social media.

    3. LCLuke Combs36:43

       Right.

    4. JSJay Shetty36:43

       And it took off-

    5. LCLuke Combs36:44

       So you were 28 at that time?

    6. JSJay Shetty36:45

       Yeah, yeah.

    7. LCLuke Combs36:45

       Yeah.

    8. JSJay Shetty36:45

       And it took off or-

    9. LCLuke Combs36:46

       Yeah.

    10. JSJay Shetty36:46

        It took off organically.

    11. LCLuke Combs36:48

        Right.

    12. JSJay Shetty36:48

        The-- I didn't know where it was going. I didn't have a plan for-

    13. LCLuke Combs36:51

        Yeah

    14. JSJay Shetty36:51

        ... where it was going.

    15. LCLuke Combs36:51

        Yeah.

    16. JSJay Shetty36:52

        And so I can totally relate to what you're saying about this idea of just putting something out there, and you weren't doing it because the pl- you thought the platform was gonna get you somewhere else.

    17. LCLuke Combs37:01

        Exactly.

    18. JSJay Shetty37:01

        It was-

    19. LCLuke Combs37:02

        Exactly.

    20. JSJay Shetty37:02

        It was just the platform was available.

    21. LCLuke Combs37:03

        The thing that I love about it is it creates no, like, barrier to entry.

    22. JSJay Shetty37:09

        Totally.

    23. LCLuke Combs37:10

        It's, like, purely what resonates with people. It's, like, strictly talent-based. It's, like, strictly work ethic-based. Like, it's all based on, like, how hard are you willing to work? How much do you resonate with people? What's your music? What do people think of your music?

    24. JSJay Shetty37:26

        Yeah.

    25. LCLuke Combs37:26

        Um, so it's cool in that sense, and whether it's a podcast or a music or... I don't know, and I can't even imagine, like, or a chef, like-

    26. JSJay Shetty37:34

        Yeah, yeah, yeah

    27. LCLuke Combs37:34

        ... I think of, like, you know, Joshua Weissman, who's like, he starts out putting videos on YouTube, and he's like, now he's like this one of the most influential food creators in the world.

    28. JSJay Shetty37:44

        Yeah.

    29. LCLuke Combs37:44

        You know what I mean? Like, it's just so cool that you can-

    30. JSJay Shetty37:46

        Totally
13. 38:29 – 46:24

    The Quiet Fears of Fatherhood

    1. JSJay Shetty38:29

       There was a moment in your life, you were talking about your family being a priority now.

    2. LCLuke Combs38:32

       Mm-hmm.

    3. JSJay Shetty38:32

       But there was a moment in your life that kind of shifted you back in that direction, right? That made you take a bit of a break.

    4. LCLuke Combs38:38

       I mean, I think it was, I mean, COVID was a big reason for that. Obviously, it was like my career was white hot when COVID happened, and it was kind of like, it was a bummer. It was a bummer for a lot of us. You know, um, a lot of musicians, you know, I-- There's a lot of people that didn't survive the whole COVID thing. You know, like you kinda come in, and it's like all of a sudden you're... I, you know, I can't imagine having been a new artist, like a brand-new artist when that happened 'cause then it's like you kind of only get the one shot, and then if it, if it dwindles at that time just because of the, what's happening in the world, like, well, that can be kind of it. That was tough. But my family thing, you know, I-- we have our first son, Tex, and then five months later we find out we're pregnant with our next, Beau. And so that was a whirlwind. I mean, like, you know, you're having a five-month-old, and you're figuring out how to be a parent, have a baby, and then all of a sudden you have another baby. You know, you have two babies at the same time, you know? I almost would've rather had twins, would've been an easier transition, to be quite [chuckles] honest. You know what I mean? Like, it was almost more difficult having like-

    5. JSJay Shetty39:47

       Yeah, yeah

    6. LCLuke Combs39:47

       ... 'cause then they're at two different ages, but they're both so fragile. And like, I mean, when Beau was born, like Tex couldn't even walk yet. So it was like my wife's got one on the hip and one in the cradle, and it's like I'm out. I'm in, I'm in Australia when Beau is born, and that's like crushing, like devastating things. My whole identity is that no matter what, I'm gonna prioritize my wife and my children over my job, over what I do. Like, they're my number one priority. I want them to know that. And then here I am having this moment of like, well, guess who wasn't there? Like the guy, the guy that says he's always gonna be there and that will do anything to be there is the only guy that's not there. And so it, it was a, it was a huge blow to like... It was like, man, well, you set yourself up to do everything you can to be there, and then the plan doesn't go the way that you thought it was gonna go. And it's nobody's fault, obviously. Um, it's just a way of, you know, it was the universe's decision at that point. I mean, he comes two and a half weeks early, you know, f- four days from going home, and he decides, you know, to show up. And-

    7. JSJay Shetty40:59

       [chuckles]

    8. LCLuke Combs41:00

       ... you know, and everyone's like, "Well, what are you gonna-- Will you plan the tour that close?" The tour is already planned. We fi- the tour is planned before we even find out we're pregnant with, with Beau. So there's no canceling the tour. It's sold out before we even know we're pregnant, you know? So you have this obligation to your fans to go and, and, and do that and put the shows on and, and power through. And I didn't, I didn't tell anyone that until after I got home. You know what I mean? Like, I kept it to myself because, you know, there was never this big, like, I didn't want it to be this big woe is me, like PR campaign of look how sad I am and look how hard it's been. It's, I mean, it's, it's kinda what, uh, y- you know that that could happen going in, I think. And so you have a right, uh, you have a duty to your fans to continue the show on, you know?

    9. JSJay Shetty41:52

       Mm-hmm.

    10. LCLuke Combs41:52

        Um, I mean, even if I would've left, I would've, uh, not been home.

    11. JSJay Shetty41:55

        Yeah, yeah.

    12. LCLuke Combs41:56

        I mean, I woke up-

    13. JSJay Shetty41:56

        Yeah, you wouldn't have made it in time.

    14. LCLuke Combs41:57

        Right. It's 8:00 AM-

    15. JSJay Shetty41:58

        Yeah

    16. LCLuke Combs41:58

        ... Sydney time. My wife texted me 6:00 AM Sydney time or whatever. I don't even know what that time zone's called, but 6:00 AM. So I wake up two hours after the text of like, "I'm going to the hospital." Obviously call her first thing. She's in the hospital. I mean, thank God my sister-in-law was there. My mother-in-law was flying in that day. My parents lived in town. So the support system was there, and I'm, for that I am eternally grateful, you know? Um, it brings z- serious perspective to the it takes a village-

    17. JSJay Shetty42:29

        Mm-hmm

    18. LCLuke Combs42:29

        ... kinda thing. You know, I, I can't imagine if my wife would've been alone during that thing, it would've been even more crushing.

    19. JSJay Shetty42:36

        Yeah.

    20. LCLuke Combs42:36

        But knowing that she had people that she trusted and cared about being around was a huge relief for me. It didn't make it any easier, but it was better. Um-And so that really shifted my focus of like, what happens from here?

    21. JSJay Shetty42:51

        Mm-hmm.

    22. LCLuke Combs42:51

        Like, how do I make, you know, how do I make changes based on this thing? Like, I dread the conversation with my son at some point, like, 'cause obviously he doesn't know that. He's two and a half.

    23. JSJay Shetty43:02

        [laughs]

    24. LCLuke Combs43:02

        Like, he's not maybe gonna understand that for five years.

    25. JSJay Shetty43:05

        Yeah.

    26. LCLuke Combs43:05

        You know? But I dread that conversation-

    27. JSJay Shetty43:07

        Mm

    28. LCLuke Combs43:07

        ... of being like, "You know, well, Dad, you, you know, you made this record about being such a good dad, and then you weren't there when I was born, but you were there for Tex, and you were there for the next kid, and why was I the only one that you weren't there for?" Um, so I worry about that a lot. Um-

    29. JSJay Shetty43:23

        Interesting.

    30. LCLuke Combs43:24

        And I think that it will be okay, um, but it, I haven't quite yet processed when to have that conversation. Obviously not anytime soon. But when I do have that conversation, how do I, you know, say that to a seven or eight-year-old and it be meaningful? I think it's bigger than one conversation. It's not like, "Hey, I wasn't there. Get over it. We're, that's it. We're not talking about it." You know? It's, it's more nuanced than that. I'm sure it will be a lifetime of, you know, conversations and, um, I'm hopeful that he'll be understanding. I'm, I, I'm sure that he will, um, if I do my job right and my wife does her job right-
14. 46:24 – 52:36

    What Does It Mean to Be Truly Rich?

    1. JSJay Shetty46:24

       These, you sing, "When the sky is blue and the grass is green, how much better can it be? If I got you and you got me, we got everything we need. And even if it grew on trees, well, money can't buy days like these."

    2. LCLuke Combs46:36

       Mm-hmm.

    3. JSJay Shetty46:37

       And you talk about money in that song and in Rich Man as well.

    4. LCLuke Combs46:42

       Mm-hmm.

    5. JSJay Shetty46:42

       And how money can't buy happiness. How do you define a rich life?

    6. LCLuke Combs46:48

       This is always such a tough subject for me because I think there, you know, there's no hiding, uh, there's no hiding that I, I do really well. Um, and that's something that I have some guilt around. Not guilt from, like, having money or having success. I feel like it's a question of, like, why do I deserve it more than maybe someone else? I don't deserve it more than anyone else. But you feel this guilt of like, I almost feel, it's not an imposter syndrome. It's not the same as that. But, like, you feel like, man, well, I, I just, I feel like I have more than I deserve, or I don't deserve to have been this successful, or you feel guilty for being this successful. And you kinda get this feeling like, well, I, I, maybe people, like, can't relate to me anymore. And, like, I hate that 'cause, like, I haven't changed other than the circumstances of my life now. Um, at least I think that. I would like to think that everyone around me would agree with that. Um, so I hope I'm not sounding, like, egotistical by saying that. But, like, I, I would, I would be willing to bet that a lot of the people that, that know me well would say it's the same guy with a different, different bank account. Um, and so those songs are even difficult. I find it a little bit, like, cliché for me to even say that, and I danced around putting Rich Man on this record because I was worried about sounding hypocritical, right? 'Cause the whole idea of the song is a guy in a bar who's basically supposed to, the character, his character is supposed to be a farmer, right? Like, the narrator of that song is not supposed to be me. It's supposed to just be a guy who's in a bar, and he sees two other guys having a conversation. And it's basically a guy in overalls who is supposed to, I mean, my, my eyes when we wrote it was a farmer or whatever. You know, older guy, and then a younger guy who's kind of in a suit. You know, he's doing the whole business guy thing, and he's stressed out about the stock market, and he's stressed out about work and all these things, and, you know, the farmer just kinda gives him this allegory in the song of like, you know-And hey, rich man, you know, uh, I know you didn't ask, but I'll say this, man. All the money in the world don't mean shit, man, 'cause it can't go with you when you die, buy you time, or hold your wife and kids' hands. And for me, I'm very aware of how much better my life is by having the things that I have, and I'm cognizant of that, and I'm not trying to hide that. Um, I'm very grateful for that and appreciative of it, and I'm aware of, you know, that it, it makes me, um... it can make me sound hypocritical in that sense, and I, I, I tussled with that a lot when putting this song on this record 'cause I didn't want people to be like, "Look at this big blowhard telling me how to th-you know, think about my life," or whatever. Like, I'm not trying to tell anybody how to feel, um, in any way on, on that song or on this record. And I think for me, though, there are these moments in life where I am, you know, you say the sky is blue, grass is green. I remember that day. We- Tex was a baby, and we're living in our house, like an hour from Nashville at that time. W-we've since moved, and it was just beautiful outside, and it was like my beautiful wife is there, my kid is there, and my career is going really well, and I'm just really thankful. It's almost just like there are these days to me that like-

    7. JSJay Shetty50:25

       Mm.

    8. LCLuke Combs50:25

       ... you can't put your finger on, like, why they're so great.

    9. JSJay Shetty50:29

       Mm-hmm.

    10. LCLuke Combs50:29

        You're still surrounded by the things that you have and the people that you love in the same way that you were yesterday, in the same way that you will be the next day. But it's like everything just lines up, and it's like you just-- you're almost on this, like, high of life. Like, it's the birds are singing, and the temperature, you know, it's, you know, it's like the t- weather's like that every day here, by the way.

    11. JSJay Shetty50:52

        [laughs] Yeah, yeah.

    12. LCLuke Combs50:52

        Um, you know, I forget it's January when I'm leaving.

    13. JSJay Shetty50:55

        Yeah, it's spectacular.

    14. LCLuke Combs50:56

        Yeah, it's unbelievable.

    15. JSJay Shetty50:57

        Yeah.

    16. LCLuke Combs50:57

        And it's like, you know, it's like these bluebird days, and, you know, your fam- Everything's just hitting on the same wavelength for what I don't really even know how to describe it, but that was my mindset writing "Days Like These." It wasn't about I live in a nice house, or I have this thing. It was like it wouldn't have mattered where we were or what we were doing. It was just everything in the universe lined up that day for it to be, like, these, this perfect day. And it's not the first one I've had, and it's not the last one I'll have. But damn it if they aren't few and far between, and, and damn it if I didn't wish they came around more often, you know? And you just... I love those days, and they're so rare, and they're just... That song to me totally captured that moment in time, um, so perfectly, you know? And I just love those days, and I think that there's nothing that I owned or nothing that I'd bought or nothing that I could buy or nothing that I could do that could recreate that feeling. So regardless of the situation that I'm in now, there's no doubt that, that money helps with those things. There's no doubt. I don't wanna sound like I was like, "Well, it don't matter if you got..." That's the bridge of the song "Rich Man"-

    17. JSJay Shetty52:09

        Yeah, yeah

    18. LCLuke Combs52:10

        ... is, you know, I, I say that in the bridge of that song. It's like, well, you know, it ain't no secret having money's nice, you know, but making a living don't make a life.

    19. JSJay Shetty52:19

        Mm-hmm.

    20. LCLuke Combs52:19

        You know? And I believe that, and I know that's easy for me to say, so I don't want anyone to-- out there to think that I'm, you know, discounting the fact that I have, have it way better than a lot of people. I'm, I'm painfully aware of that, and I struggle with that, to be quite honest.

15. 52:36 – 57:57

    Why Giving Back Matters

    1. JSJay Shetty52:36

       Yeah. I, I appreciate you saying that part-

    2. LCLuke Combs52:38

       Yeah

    3. JSJay Shetty52:38

       ... of just, you know, how you can walk around, especially when beautiful things happen to you, and you totally-- I couldn't agree with you more that it's not that you don't wanna have beautiful things happen to you. You just want it to happen to a lot more people.

    4. LCLuke Combs52:51

       For sure. Certainly.

    5. JSJay Shetty52:52

       And, and, and you want beautiful things to happen to everyone around you. You want beautiful things to happen to strangers that you've never met.

    6. LCLuke Combs52:58

       Absolutely. Absolutely.

    7. JSJay Shetty52:58

       Because that's, that's the joy of it. It's only beautiful if-

    8. LCLuke Combs53:02

       Right

    9. JSJay Shetty53:03

       ... more and more people get that opportunity.

    10. LCLuke Combs53:04

        100%.

    11. JSJay Shetty53:05

        Yeah.

    12. LCLuke Combs53:05

        100%.

    13. JSJay Shetty53:06

        Yeah.

    14. LCLuke Combs53:06

        You know? It is, man.

    15. JSJay Shetty53:07

        Yeah.

    16. LCLuke Combs53:07

        It's a, it's a crazy world out there, man. It's hard.

    17. JSJay Shetty53:10

        Yeah, it's hard.

    18. LCLuke Combs53:10

        It's hard, man. It's really, really hard, you know?

    19. JSJay Shetty53:13

        Absolutely.

    20. LCLuke Combs53:13

        And, uh, you, you know, when you're in, you know, the position guys like us are in, man, like, we're so lucky, you know? And you just have to, like, I do everything in my power to, to give that feeling back to other people, whether it's people that work with me or giving money to charity or whatever it may be, or volunteering, me going to sing at something. Like, any way I can give back, I always try to do that-

    21. JSJay Shetty53:36

        Yeah

    22. LCLuke Combs53:36

        ... any chance that I have because that's just something my mother instilled in me at a young age.

    23. JSJay Shetty53:41

        Yeah.

    24. LCLuke Combs53:41

        You know, we-- I grew up working at the food bank in Asheville. She would take me over there, and we would work at the food bank, and, you know, she's explaining what this is and what this place is, and, you know, that at the time made me like, "Wow, man, like, you know, this makes me really thankful for, you know, everything we got." And, you know, I can't imagine going home and opening up the cabinet and there's nothing in there.

    25. JSJay Shetty54:02

        Yeah.

    26. LCLuke Combs54:02

        You know, there's no-- there's not even a can of corn in there.

    27. JSJay Shetty54:05

        Yeah.

    28. LCLuke Combs54:05

        You know, I couldn't imagine that feeling. And, um, so she, she forced me to do that when I was younger, and I'm, I'm thankful for that, um, because, you know, she's still doing things like that. You know, she still goes out and works at the, you know, at the animal shelter, at the food bank in, in Nashville. And, um, you know, I, I got to go from that to, you know, after Helene, you know, that ravaged the part of the country that I grew up in. And when we put on the benefit concert in Charlotte, my portion of the proceeds, part of my portions of the proceeds, rebuilt the entire food bank that I worked at growing up. It was completely destroyed, like completely gone. And I got to watch my success and influence have the ability to do something that great and rebuild their entire facility, and that is like something that's, you can't even put words on, man.

    29. JSJay Shetty55:04

        Yeah.

    30. LCLuke Combs55:04

        Like, the amount of pride I have in that isimmense.
16. 57:57 – 1:04:57

    Showing Up for Fans on Your Hardest Days

    1. JSJay Shetty57:57

       And I was thinking of a good example that you didn't mention. I saw a video of you starting a concert or at one point in a concert basically saying, "Guys, I'm not feeling well today. I'm still gonna do the show, but we're gonna give you a refund on all your tickets." [both laughing]

    2. LCLuke Combs58:13

       Yeah.

    3. JSJay Shetty58:13

       And I'm like, "Dude, you did the show."

    4. LCLuke Combs58:15

       Yeah.

    5. JSJay Shetty58:15

       Like it wa-

    6. LCLuke Combs58:15

       Yeah.

    7. JSJay Shetty58:15

       Like, you showed up.

    8. LCLuke Combs58:16

       Yeah.

    9. JSJay Shetty58:16

       You did the show, but you didn't-

    10. LCLuke Combs58:18

        Yeah.

    11. JSJay Shetty58:18

        You, you were like, "I'm not gonna be my best," or something like that.

    12. LCLuke Combs58:21

        Yeah, it was-

    13. JSJay Shetty58:21

        I was like, "Wow, that's amazing." I thought. That's-

    14. LCLuke Combs58:23

        Yeah. I remember is, uh, it was, uh, it was in Maine is where it was.

    15. JSJay Shetty58:27

        That's it. That's it, yeah.

    16. LCLuke Combs58:28

        We did two nights in Bangor, Maine, and the first night-

    17. JSJay Shetty58:31

        That's the place

    18. LCLuke Combs58:32

        ... the show was great. Run-of-the-mill show, which-- and by run-of-the-mill, I mean, we had a great time. It was great. It was fun. We got buddies in town. But the particular-- That venue is wonderful, by the way. Um, and we were backstage, and they have great, like, they have a fire pit going, and they're bringing you out food, and, like, all the employees are so nice, and it's just a great atmosphere to hang out in. And so we had some friends in town, um, and, you know, up having some cocktails, but we were all outside. I'm talking two or three times as loud as I normally was-

    19. JSJay Shetty59:05

        Yeah

    20. LCLuke Combs59:05

        ... 'cause we're playing music. We're having some drinks. We're staying up late. And the next day I wake up, and I'm like, "Man, my voice is, like, just a little, like, it's just a little rough," you know. Like, not my worst morning I've had, like, by a long shot. And I know I, I've done that enough times to know how it goes and know how it's progressing. And so as the day went on, I'm like, I'm like, "Well, man, this isn't, like, progressing the way it normally does." Like, it doesn't feel like it's getting much better. So I don't know, I guess maybe around two or three o'clock, I call my manager, and I'm like, "Hey, this ain't going so hot. I'm starting to get a little bit worried 'cause we have the show tonight." And I said, "Could you..." I-- and I've done this maybe twice ever. Once was in Australia. This was the second time. I said, I, I was like, "I need to get a steroid shot to do the show tonight." And I hate doing that. If you're s- any kind of singer, you should not get those 'cause they're f- horrible for your voice in the long run. Don't-- It's not something you should be doing a lot. Um, it should be an absolute emergency parachute situation, which it was for me 'cause I'm like, "Well, everyone's here." I get the steroid shot, and I'm like, "Okay, I'm gonna be good. I'm gonna get through this." A couple hours goes by. I go to do my warm-ups. I do my warm-ups, let's say we're on at 9:00. I'll do my warm-ups at 8:00. It's 20 minutes, 25 minutes, and then I'll join the band, and we all hang out and have some drinks, get together, whatever. And I get five minutes into my warm-up, and obviously, I mean, everyone's already played, dude. Like, the first of three is played. Direct support's already done. Like, people are just waiting for me to come out at this point. I get five minutes into my warm-up, and I call my manager. I'm like, "Dude, I'm not gonna be able to sing tonight." And he was like, "What do you mean?" I was like, "I don't know, man. Steroid shot, like, it d- it didn't work." Like, it worked the first time I got it. I was like, "It didn't work. It didn't do enough. Like, I physically am not going to be able to do it enough." And so we were having conversations, "Well, what's the options?" You know, he's like, well, he's like, "Well, we'll just cancel it. We're just, that's what we do."And I was like, "Nah, dude, that's what everyone else does. Like, we're not doing that." Like, I'm not-- These people are here, dude. Like, this is... Those concerts, man, like, concerts are expensive, and I'm aware of that. Like, I have so much respect for how hard people work and things they sacrifice to come and see me play because I used to be one of those people. You know, I would work all summer to save up to go see one concert, and it was a big event, man. It wasn't just, "Oh, this is the thing I'm doing tomorrow." It was like, "I'm building my whole summer around this one night," you know? And I know there's hundreds of people, thousands of people, you know, a thousand yards away from me that have done the same thing, and I can't live with the idea that they are going to be let down. And they're sure as hell not gonna be let down by somebody else that isn't me. So I told Cappy, I said, "Listen, dude," I said, "I'm going out there and I'm telling them." Like, and he's like, "What do you, what do you mean?" And I'm like, "I'm going out there and I'm telling them on the microphone that I, I can't do the show." And I said, "Me and the band, we'll play for an hour." I said, "We'll play all the hits. I'll sing the best I can, but, like, we're just gonna refund everybody's money." And he's like, "I'm in, dude. Like, whatever, whatever you wanna do, let's do it," you know? And he's, "Who cares about the money? Like, doesn't matter. We'll get, we'll all refund it." So go out, and usually we have, like, you know, there's the big intro song-

    21. JSJay Shetty1:02:35

        Yeah

    22. LCLuke Combs1:02:35

        ... and, like, the video and all that stuff. I'm like, "We gotta kill this, dude." Like, we're not doing the hype up video.

    23. JSJay Shetty1:02:39

        Yeah.

    24. LCLuke Combs1:02:40

        And then I'm walking out and telling them I'm not playing.

    25. JSJay Shetty1:02:42

        Yeah.

    26. LCLuke Combs1:02:42

        So I walk out, and I remember being, like, so somber, and, like, my heart rate is just through the roof. I'm, like, so nervous 'cause I've never done anything like this before. And I remember saying it like, "Hey, guys, I'm not gonna be able to do the show tonight." And it's, like, just raining down boos, man. Like, it's just people are b- brutalizing me.

    27. JSJay Shetty1:03:02

        Oh, wow. Oh, man.

    28. LCLuke Combs1:03:03

        And, like, as I feel like th- they have the right to do. Like, I would be pissed too, right? Like, Mr. Big Time comes out here and tells me he's not gonna do the thing or whatever. And I go, "But wait." I was like, "Before you guys get upset, like, I'm still, we're still gonna play the show. It's just not going to be as good as I feel like it needs to be for me to take money from you and use it for the betterment of my life or my team. Like, you deserve, you know, you spent all this money to be here, and you've got hotel rooms and babysitters, and, like, I can't make that right. So I still want to give you the show. I'm just not gonna take the money from the tickets. Like, and, and, uh, this just, so this just free show, but it's just not gonna be as good of a show as I feel like you deserve for all the sacrifices that you've made to be here." And we played for probably an hour, hour 15, and we played all the hits, and I sang the best I could, and the crowd sang, and it was a really cool night. It was really stressful. And man, I gotta give it up to my fans. Like, a lot of fans reached out to me, and they were like, "Hey, man, I donated my refund because, like-

    29. JSJay Shetty1:04:09

        Wow

    30. LCLuke Combs1:04:10

        ... we loved the show, and we thought it was still great, and we appreciate you being a stand-up guy, and we just wanted to-- we just felt like it was wrong to take the refund." Now, not everybody did that, and I can understand that. I wouldn't be mad if nobody donated their refund, you know? Um, but then we came back, I think it was two years later, we came back. Like, scheduling was crazy, but we came back and did a night there. We were, like, doing stadiums, and then we came back and did the little amphitheater in Bangor, and, uh, it was cool, man.
17. 1:04:57 – 1:09:11

    The Unexpected Way He Met His Wife

    1. JSJay Shetty1:04:57

       you know, earlier you were talking about your wife.

    2. LCLuke Combs1:04:58

       Mm-hmm.

    3. JSJay Shetty1:04:58

       You've been together for 10 years now?

    4. LCLuke Combs1:05:00

       Mm-hmm.

    5. JSJay Shetty1:05:00

       Thereabouts.

    6. LCLuke Combs1:05:01

       Yep.

    7. JSJay Shetty1:05:01

       Um, it's mine and my wife's 10-year wedding anniversary this year.

    8. LCLuke Combs1:05:04

       Oh, nice. Congrats.

    9. JSJay Shetty1:05:04

       We've been together 13 years.

    10. LCLuke Combs1:05:05

        That's awesome. Yeah.

    11. JSJay Shetty1:05:06

        And so it's fun when you've lived that life with someone. How did, how did you guys meet?

    12. LCLuke Combs1:05:11

        We met, uh, she was, she actually was living in Nashville. I was living in Nashville. We had met in passing a few times. Um, not, not many, not more than five minutes here and there. Like, but we kind of had some of the same friend group. Like, you know, think of like the Venn diagram.

    13. JSJay Shetty1:05:28

        [chuckles]

    14. LCLuke Combs1:05:28

        There's like a couple people in the middle, you know?

    15. JSJay Shetty1:05:30

        Yeah.

    16. LCLuke Combs1:05:30

        We all know a bunch of different folks and stuff. So met like that, and, uh, she worked at B, uh, BMI, which is a huge-- I'm sure you know what that is. For those of you that don't, a performance rights organization that, um, you know, just collects and distributes royalties to songwriters. Um, and that's how they get paid for the most part. Um, there's a few organizations that do it. Uh, BMI is the biggest one, and she was working there at the time. She did kinda like specialized, like, HR work there. BMI also puts on a songwriting festival in Key West. Uh, the Nashville branch puts on one in Key West, and it's called the BMI, um, Key West Songwriters Festival. It's every year, so much fun. So their whole office, like, shuts down. Like, the, I mean, it's like, I can't tell me how many people work there, probably in the hundreds, and they all just kinda go to the Keys and help out with events or just hang out or whatever, you know. It's not like a stressful work week and, you know-

    17. JSJay Shetty1:06:29

        Yeah

    18. LCLuke Combs1:06:29

        ... maybe it is for one or two people, but the rest of them are kinda chilling and having a good time. And so they invite around 200 songwriters down there, all, like, kind of in the country space. Um, and it's cool because BMI, you know, they foot the bill for your flight. They put you up in a hotel. Like, it's an all-expense kinda paid, like, trip to Key West, and you play a couple songwriters rounds, and fans come, and it's, it's really fun. It's really killer. Like, if you love country music, if you love songwriting, you have to go. Um, it's really, really great. So it was my first year going to that. I was probably the last guy picked to go.

    19. JSJay Shetty1:07:03

        [chuckles]

    20. LCLuke Combs1:07:03

        I have no publishing deal, no record deal. Um, and my buddy Channing Wilson, who, uh, is fantasticHe was going down there, and I remember me and him were having lunch, and he was like, he's like, "Man, why don't you come down to Key West, dude?" And I was like, "Well," it's like, "I didn't get invited," you know? So he called up his rep at BMI and was like, "Hey, I'm eating lunch with this Luke Combs guy." And they-- I had had a meeting over there with them. I was there, and they were like, "Yeah, man, like he can just room with you or whatever." So I was like, "Hell yeah." So I was pumped up. Get down there, run into her at an event, and kind of hung out like for the evening with friends and stuff, like spent a couple hours together, um, hanging with friends and stuff. And then once I came home, we made plans to get together like a couple weeks, like a couple weeks after I got home. Uh, we ended up staying in touch via text or whatever and made some plans to, um, made some plans to get together, and we've been dating ever since, man. Like it was just crazy.

    21. JSJay Shetty1:08:05

        [chuckles]

    22. LCLuke Combs1:08:05

        You know what I mean? Like she didn't have any reason to think I was cool at all, man. Like I was wearing a T-shirt and gym shorts when I ran into her, and it's like she was like working two jobs, like making a killing, and I got like nothing going on at all. Um, she just thought I was cool for whatever reason, so I, I thought that was pretty awesome. So, um, it worked out, man. It was great 'cause she's been there with me, you know, since the beginning, um, and, you know, seen me through a lot and, you know, we made it through the whole rise together and all the craziness together and, um, she's the best, dude. I mean, you know, I mean, she really is. Like I just can't imagine, like I, I wouldn't be here without her, you know? I'd have-- There's 10 hit songs that I wouldn't have written, you know, because I wrote them about her, you know? Um, so I'm very, very thankful for her, man, and she's a great mom, and she's a great wife and a great friend and, um, she's just a great person. So I'm, I'm very blessed to have that like connection with her, man. Like that's been a huge, huge positive light in my life. Like having her is, you know, she's one of the biggest reasons for my success, certainly.

18. 1:09:11 – 1:13:20

    Was It Love at First Sight?

    1. JSJay Shetty1:09:11

       How, how did you know she was the one?

    2. LCLuke Combs1:09:13

       It's funny as you say this, like everyone's like, "Well, it's like, you know, like immediately, like it's love at first sight kind of thing." And, you know, I th- I think that sometimes maybe does a disservice to, to the seriousness of like a relationship of like the level that me and my wife have. We have grown together, you know. We have become adults together. We've become parents together. We've lived together. Like that's not something that happens overnight. Like sure, there are those feelings, like those inherent feelings of like lust or attraction. Like I think sometimes that people can confuse that for like this love at first sight thing, and they're like, "This is the person that I have to be with because I'm so attracted to them." And like sure, the physical connection is really necessary, but the emotional connection I think we forget sometimes in today's day and age that that is like, it's like a plant, dude. It's not something that, that grows up overnight, dude. Like it's something that takes nurturing. It takes, you know, you gotta water it. You gotta trim it. You gotta, like you have to be doing maintenance to this thing. And when you do that together, it, it, you grow better together, you know? And there is no like, "This is when I knew." Like I knew that I was very attracted to her, and I knew that she was a great person, and I knew that I wanted to spend more and more and more time with her every time I spent time with her. And so I would say that, like it just ne- there was never any moment where I was like, "Maybe this isn't the person I should be with." You know what I mean?

    3. JSJay Shetty1:10:54

       Yeah, yeah, yeah.

    4. LCLuke Combs1:10:54

       She never, she never gave me that.

    5. JSJay Shetty1:10:56

       Right.

    6. LCLuke Combs1:10:57

       There was never this thought of like, "Well, m-maybe this isn't," you know? It was like there was never any questioning it. So maybe I do, did always know, but maybe I just wasn't smart enough to, to see that at the time. But I think the connection that we've grown over the years is, is the beautiful part of it, you know? And it's like it only gets better with time. It's like wine or something, you know what I mean? Like it's probably pretty good right out of the barrel, but then when it's, you know, 10 years old, it's a whole different story, and then 20 years old, and 30 and 40, and so on and so forth. It's, it's a really cool thing, man, and it's, it's a blessing to get to, to get to experience life with somebody in that way and have somebody to share your triumphs with and your, the peaks and the valleys and all of these difficult things. Like my OCD stuff, she's very supportive of all that, and it's like she's always supporting me. She's never bringing me down, you know what I mean? Like she doesn't take no shit from me.

    7. JSJay Shetty1:11:56

       [laughs]

    8. LCLuke Combs1:11:56

       [chuckles] And that's important as well.

    9. JSJay Shetty1:11:58

       Yeah.

    10. LCLuke Combs1:11:59

        But it's like, but that's cool to me, man. Like it's, you know, I don't want somebody that's willing to just do whatever I say all the time. That's not, I don't wanna get it twisted that that's the way it is 'cause it ain't that. Like she's the boss, bro.

    11. JSJay Shetty1:12:11

        [chuckles]

    12. LCLuke Combs1:12:11

        Like she is the boss, and like that's cool to me, man. Like I like that. Like I like her being like, getting her advice on like songs or getting her advice on merch. Like she has such an eye for that, so much more so than I do. And like we've done all these cool like merch collections where it's like the Luke and Nicole thing. It's like her deal, and she does the photo shoots, and like she's doing all the merch and like letting her like... I can, I just trust her implicitly with that, like with, not just with me as a man and as a husband, but like even with my brand and like my business and like she's not someone that like I'm ever worried about like embarrassing me or like, you know what I mean? And, and not that she ever c- even could, but like it's just like having this high level of like trust and respect for her. I like to think that she has that for me too, but it's nice on my end to, to have that and feel that. It's a very comforting thing to know. It's like you know when you go home there's this person that's like, regardless of everything else, is like on your team no matter what.

    13. JSJay Shetty1:13:18

        Yeah.

    14. LCLuke Combs1:13:18

        You know?

    15. JSJay Shetty1:13:18

        Yeah.

    16. LCLuke Combs1:13:18

        And that's, that's cool.

19. 1:13:20 – 1:18:16

    When You Stop Needing All the Answers

    1. JSJay Shetty1:13:20

       What did she see in you before you saw it in yourself?

    2. LCLuke Combs1:13:23

       Brother, I got no idea.

    3. JSJay Shetty1:13:24

       [laughs]

    4. LCLuke Combs1:13:25

       [laughs] I got no idea.

    5. JSJay Shetty1:13:27

       That's so good.

    6. LCLuke Combs1:13:28

       I- if I knew I'd be selling it. How about that?

    7. JSJay Shetty1:13:30

       [laughs]

    8. LCLuke Combs1:13:31

       If I knew what it was, man, I would be bottling it up and putting it on the internet. Um, you could Amazon it right now if I knew what it was 'cause there's some magic in this.

    9. JSJay Shetty1:13:39

       That's the new thing.

    10. LCLuke Combs1:13:40

        Yeah, dude.

    11. JSJay Shetty1:13:41

        Nicole's potion or Luke's potion.

    12. LCLuke Combs1:13:42

        I mean, yeah, Luke's-

    13. JSJay Shetty1:13:43

        Luke's, yeah

    14. LCLuke Combs1:13:43

        ... whatever it was, dude, and I tell you what, it wasn't, uh, it wasn't my model-like figure by any chance, by any stretch of the imagination. Um, I don't know. You know, I, I haven't really considered that. I've thought about it a bunch of times. Like, I'm just like, "Well, gosh, I don't know." Like, I remember, I remember my dad saying to me one time, like, I think I had this crush on, like, a girl in high school or something, and I was kinda like asking my dad for, like, advice on it. And I was like, "Man," like, I just like, I'm like, "This is kinda cool or whatever," and I'm like, "Why is this going on?" He's like... [laughs] I'll never forget this. He was like, "Hey, some- sometimes, son, you just don't ask questions."

    15. JSJay Shetty1:14:20

        [laughs]

    16. LCLuke Combs1:14:22

        And it was like, I was like, "Okay." And so when it was like, when it comes to that stuff, I'm like, I maybe I don't wanna know. You know what I mean?

    17. JSJay Shetty1:14:30

        Yeah.

    18. LCLuke Combs1:14:30

        I'm just like, whatever, you know? And so I just think sometimes when things are good, you don't really have to know why.

    19. JSJay Shetty1:14:37

        Yeah.

    20. LCLuke Combs1:14:38

        Um, you know, I think you can, you know, then you can, maybe you can ruin something like that. I don't, I'm not sure. But, um, I, I don't know. I, I mean, I think that, you know, I like to think maybe that she could tell that I'm a, a good person, yeah, I think. And, um, you know, I think that, you know, now she knows that, you know, I've got her back. She's got mine. You know, she, you know, her and the kids are number one, and, like, I'm doing stuff for them. And, but obviously that wasn't happening when we met. Like, it wasn't like we had kids together, you know? But I think, you know, I think she could just tell, like, well, maybe this guy is, like, at least different than other guys that I've m- I'm not sure, you know?

    21. JSJay Shetty1:15:16

        [laughs]

    22. LCLuke Combs1:15:16

        Um, maybe she dated a bunch of losers. I, I don't know.

    23. JSJay Shetty1:15:19

        [laughs]

    24. LCLuke Combs1:15:19

        You know what I mean? It's like, I mean, I'm not sure, you know? Um, but no, she-

    25. JSJay Shetty1:15:23

        That's so good

    26. LCLuke Combs1:15:24

        ... she, she's rad, dude. But I don't know.

    27. JSJay Shetty1:15:25

        Man.

    28. LCLuke Combs1:15:25

        I couldn't-

    29. JSJay Shetty1:15:26

        Does, does she ever roast you?

    30. LCLuke Combs1:15:27

        Um, bro, all the time, dude.
20. 1:18:16 – 1:26:10

    Stepping Back and Coming Back Stronger

    1. JSJay Shetty1:18:16

       awesome.

    2. LCLuke Combs1:18:16

       Yeah.

    3. JSJay Shetty1:18:17

       You, you sing in your song, "The way I am, I'm sorry, baby, I really tried to change. It's like there's something broken in my brain. The more I try to fix it, the less I understand, but you still love me just the way I am." And I'm like-

    4. LCLuke Combs1:18:28

       [laughs] Yeah

    5. JSJay Shetty1:18:29

       ... that's like, uh-

    6. LCLuke Combs1:18:30

       Yeah, that song rips, man. Um-

    7. JSJay Shetty1:18:31

       Yeah

    8. LCLuke Combs1:18:32

       ... I, I didn't write that song, and that's why I love it so much is, like, that statement so perfectly fits, you know, a lot of the themes in my life, the, the OCD stuff, you know. Um, and that was a, a friend of mine wrote that with another, another great songwriter in, in Nashville. And, um, when I heard it, it was just, it was so sonically different than anything that's coming out of town right now.

    9. JSJay Shetty1:18:55

       Yeah.

    10. LCLuke Combs1:18:55

        I mean, there's nothing like that song coming out right now. It's a very stereotypical country sound, but probably from 40 years ago.

    11. JSJay Shetty1:19:01

        Mm.

    12. LCLuke Combs1:19:02

        And that's kinda what drew me to it is, like, it just felt like this kinda moment that was unexpected, not just from me, but from, from anyone really. Um, it's very slow. It's way too long. It's got a just straight up steel guitar solo, like old steel guitar, not like cool steel guitar, like, that's in, like, you know, uh, some, like, poppy song. Like, it is, like, straight up, like, tears, like something George Jones would be singing, you know?

    13. JSJay Shetty1:19:32

        Yeah.

    14. LCLuke Combs1:19:32

        And not that I'm that, but it's like, lyrically I resonated with it so much already, and then sonically it was just so different. It was like, I mean, it felt like an absolute, like, layup of a song to do. I just felt like-I feel like it's gonna be a big moment for people, and I think that that's why ultimately I chose that song as the title for this record is it, it just like, you know, it's just, it really does just that, that's-- I'm so okay with the way that I am now, honestly, at risk of sounding ironic, you know. Um, it's like I, I at thirty-five, I obviously don't have life all the way figured out, but I'm as comfortable, if not more comfortable in my skin than I've ever been. I feel like my mental health is way higher than it's ever been. My mindset, my outlook, um, is all so great, and I just, you know, I have so many people to thank for that. Um, you know, my wife, obviously my kids have helped a ton. Um, and just great friends, great teammates, great band members, great, you know, collaborators and great, you know, everybody just does so much for me, you know. And, and that's kind of, you know, that's made me into the way that I am, you know. And that's, uh, just that title in and of itself really I felt like encapsulated, um, you know, the message I was trying to say with this album is, you know, this is, this is where I am now, whether that's musically or as a person, and I'm just excited. I'm excited for people to hear this record. I haven't done like a commercial project in like almost four years now, and, um, it's time, and I, I just, you know, I hope it's as received as I, I want it to be. Um, and if it's not, it's okay, you know.

    15. JSJay Shetty1:21:21

        Yeah.

    16. LCLuke Combs1:21:21

        Um, but you just have to put, you know, what you feel like is your best foot forward, and, um, you just have to be willing to live with, with the results of that no matter what.

    17. JSJay Shetty1:21:29

        Absolutely. And that-

    18. LCLuke Combs1:21:30

        And I'm more okay with that now than I've ever been.

    19. JSJay Shetty1:21:32

        Yeah. And that going away for four years was important.

    20. LCLuke Combs1:21:35

        It was. Yeah, and it was like, you know, it's not like I retired, but it was like we really backed the touring stuff down. Like last year I didn't have my own tour for the first time in- ever since I started. Uh, and that was weird. Um, it was really fun because all we did was these big festivals, you know. And so the festivals are fun. They're a different challenge than especially the stuff we did this year. You know, we did Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Newport Folk Festival, Austin City Limits, like crowds that we would normally never step in front of. And so I was-- I really looked forward to that challenge, you know, getting with my band leader and making setlists that were different for every one of these shows and going, "Well, how do we, how do we meet this crowd in the middle?" You know what I mean? Like, as much as I-- there was to half the set I wanted to come out and kick the door down and play honky-tonk shit, like country stuff, like I wanted to do that, and we did that. But I also wanted to say, "I'm also willing to meet you where you're at a little bit and like help you understand, not just me, but that our genre in general is, is not just this stereotype of... It's, it's not some caricature of like this thing."

    21. JSJay Shetty1:22:53

        Yeah.

    22. LCLuke Combs1:22:53

        "It's like, it's like, it's something that you can love too, and maybe you don't know that, and maybe tonight is not the night that you fully understand that. But hopefully tonight makes you even be at the inception of maybe I could love country music."

    23. JSJay Shetty1:23:08

        Mm-hmm.

    24. LCLuke Combs1:23:09

        "And maybe in twenty years we're finally where I think we need to be." Not, not exclusively because of me, but that moment helps a couple people have that-

    25. JSJay Shetty1:23:18

        Yeah

    26. LCLuke Combs1:23:19

        ... epiphany or experience and, and, you know, the betterment of the genre is something that's, is really important to me. You know, and, and letting people know is like, "Hey man, like we're here. Like we're like, we're more popular than we've ever been now, and it ain't stopping anytime soon."

    27. JSJay Shetty1:23:36

        Yeah.

    28. LCLuke Combs1:23:36

        And I wanna do my part to be a part of that future and help out the genre. Like and regardless of what that means for me personally or my success, you know. I mean, a lot of those shows I, I lo- lost money doing those shows. I took a lot less money than I usually would to get the slot because I wanted to be able to go and do that.

    29. JSJay Shetty1:23:59

        Yeah.

    30. LCLuke Combs1:23:59

        Um, I hope some people felt that on those nights.
21. 1:26:10 – 1:32:25

    The "Everyday Guy" Test

    1. JSJay Shetty1:26:10

       moment 'cause we put together, because everyone said how much fun you were, we were like, "We'll put together a fun game for you."

    2. LCLuke Combs1:26:15

       Okay.

    3. JSJay Shetty1:26:15

       We do this for special guests.

    4. LCLuke Combs1:26:17

       Okay.

    5. JSJay Shetty1:26:17

       So this one was done for you.

    6. LCLuke Combs1:26:19

       Done.

    7. JSJay Shetty1:26:19

       This game is called The Everyday Guy Test.

    8. LCLuke Combs1:26:23

       [laughs] Okay.

    9. JSJay Shetty1:26:23

       So we're gonna see whether you fail or pass the test.

    10. LCLuke Combs1:26:26

        Okay.

    11. JSJay Shetty1:26:27

        Obviously, it's all for fun.

    12. LCLuke Combs1:26:27

        Okay.

    13. JSJay Shetty1:26:28

        Uh, I, I'm just putting it out there right now that I would fail this test, so there's-

    14. LCLuke Combs1:26:32

        I may-

    15. JSJay Shetty1:26:33

        Yeah

    16. LCLuke Combs1:26:33

        ... to be honest

    17. JSJay Shetty1:26:33

        So, so here we go. The Everyday Guy Test. At a restaurant, do you order tap or filter water?

    18. LCLuke Combs1:26:39

        Let me tell you what. I didn't grow up going to restaurants where they even asked what kind of...

    19. JSJay Shetty1:26:43

        [laughs]

    20. LCLuke Combs1:26:43

        There was no water choice.

    21. JSJay Shetty1:26:45

        Yeah.

    22. LCLuke Combs1:26:46

        Like, that's a, to me, that's a whole new world for me.

    23. JSJay Shetty1:26:49

        Yeah.

    24. LCLuke Combs1:26:49

        Um, but they, they're like, they'll come up and they're like, "Was it... Do... Is tap okay?" Or f- like, or bottled or still or sp... I'm like, how many choices are there?

    25. JSJay Shetty1:26:59

        Yeah, I mean, there's... Yeah

    26. LCLuke Combs1:26:59

        How many waters do you have, you know? It's like, would you like it boxed or bottled or decanted and like-

    27. JSJay Shetty1:27:06

        [laughs]

    28. LCLuke Combs1:27:06

        Like, just water would be great.

    29. JSJay Shetty1:27:08

        Yeah.

    30. LCLuke Combs1:27:08

        I usually s- my answer to that question is whatever's easiest for you.
22. 1:32:25 – 1:38:55

    Finish This Sentence...

    1. JSJay Shetty1:32:25

       finish the sentence on these ones. F- as, first thing that comes to your mind: The thing I take way too seriously is...

    2. LCLuke Combs1:32:32

       Uh, video games.

    3. JSJay Shetty1:32:34

       Which games?

    4. LCLuke Combs1:32:35

       Uh, Battlefield 6 recently has been kind of my, uh, that's kinda been my thing recently. Uh, like NCAA Football, love... I'm a big football guy. Take that way too seriously. Um, yeah, definitely video games.

    5. JSJay Shetty1:32:48

       Are you playing online, or are you playing-

    6. LCLuke Combs1:32:50

       I play onli- I'm, nah, I'm not playing NCAA online.

    7. JSJay Shetty1:32:52

       Yeah.

    8. LCLuke Combs1:32:52

       It's too sweaty.

    9. JSJay Shetty1:32:53

       Yeah.

    10. LCLuke Combs1:32:53

        Like, everybody's too good, you know?

    11. JSJay Shetty1:32:55

        [laughs]

    12. LCLuke Combs1:32:55

        There's peop- obviously I don't take it seriously enough-

    13. JSJay Shetty1:32:57

        Yeah [laughs]

    14. LCLuke Combs1:32:58

        ... because I'm, uh, god awful online. Um, but I just really playing against my buddies.

    15. JSJay Shetty1:33:03

        Yeah.

    16. LCLuke Combs1:33:03

        But, like, man, you wanna talk about... Like, I'm bad out of shape. Like, I lose, I'm, uh, it's, like, affecting my day-

    17. JSJay Shetty1:33:08

        Yeah

    18. LCLuke Combs1:33:08

        ... to some extent.

    19. JSJay Shetty1:33:09

        [laughs]

    20. LCLuke Combs1:33:10

        And I lose a lot, so I'm not very good. So maybe I probably shouldn't take it too seriously-

    21. JSJay Shetty1:33:14

        Yeah [laughs]

    22. LCLuke Combs1:33:14

        ... but I do.

    23. JSJay Shetty1:33:15

        I love it. Uh, the pettiest thing I've done recently.

    24. LCLuke Combs1:33:18

        Oh, pr- it's all gonna be practical joke, like, joke related.

    25. JSJay Shetty1:33:22

        Okay.

    26. LCLuke Combs1:33:22

        Like, um, me and my buddies are just, we just shred each other all the time. Uh, I mean, it's hard to, to pick a particular one, but, like, the jokes, like, the jokes can be... Like, uh, sometimes, like, when we have, like, me and my friends, we're so comfortable around each other, and, like, we all kind of have a similar sense of humor, and we all, like, know how it operates. Sometimes I have to forget, like, when we're around people that don't know us at all, or that have just met us, and we're in, like, full friendship, like, joking mode, that I'm like, "Maybe these people don't... Maybe we should just-

    27. JSJay Shetty1:33:59

        Yeah

    28. LCLuke Combs1:33:59

        ... a little bit dial it back, because people are gonna think we're weird, dude."

    29. JSJay Shetty1:34:03

        Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

    30. LCLuke Combs1:34:04

        Or they're gonna be like, "These guys are complete assholes to each other." So, and it's like, it's all love.
23. 1:38:55 – 1:42:24

    Luke on Final Five

    1. LCLuke Combs1:38:55

       Yeah.

    2. JSJay Shetty1:38:55

       We, we, we end every interview with a Final Five. These have to be answered in one sentence maximum.

    3. LCLuke Combs1:39:00

       Oh.

    4. JSJay Shetty1:39:00

       We ask these to every guest.

    5. LCLuke Combs1:39:01

       Okay.

    6. JSJay Shetty1:39:01

       Uh, so Luke Combs, these are your Final Five. Question one: what is the best advice you've ever heard or received?

    7. LCLuke Combs1:39:09

       Wow, what a profound question. Don't ask questions. Back to my dad. Don't ask questions.

    8. JSJay Shetty1:39:16

       Mm. Second question: what is the worst advice you've ever heard or received?

    9. LCLuke Combs1:39:21

       Don't ask questions. [laughs]

    10. JSJay Shetty1:39:24

        [laughs] That's a good one.

    11. LCLuke Combs1:39:24

        Yeah.

    12. JSJay Shetty1:39:24

        That's a good one.

    13. LCLuke Combs1:39:25

        Yeah.

    14. JSJay Shetty1:39:25

        Yeah. That's good.

    15. LCLuke Combs1:39:26

        Yeah.

    16. JSJay Shetty1:39:27

        That's good. Uh, question number three: describe what it felt like performing Fast Car with Tracy Chapman.

    17. LCLuke Combs1:39:34

        Uh, Mount Everest. Like, M- like, undeniable. Like, just, like, it's, like, almost, like, out of body.

    18. JSJay Shetty1:39:42

        Yeah. I love that. In the future when your kids are asked about you, how would you hope the first sentence goes?

    19. LCLuke Combs1:39:48

        He was the best dad.

    20. JSJay Shetty1:39:50

        Nice. And fifth and final question, we ask this to every guest who's ever been on the show, if you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?

    21. LCLuke Combs1:39:59

        Man, that's wild. I hadn't considered that. I'm sure you get some funny answers. I'm sure you get some serious answers. I would feel like it would, it would be, um, like, don't, don't pee on the seat.

    22. JSJay Shetty1:40:12

        [laughs]

    23. LCLuke Combs1:40:13

        Like, the airport, like, it already sucks enough, dude. Like, and then when I sit down and you're old piss on the toilet, like, it is just [laughs] that's the end for me. Like, just come on, dude. Like, don't pee on the seat, and I won't pee on the seat, and we all just... We're adults. It's not that [laughs] hard to not piss on the seat at the airport. It's already gross to be in there. You know? And don't, like, uh, it's like why are we audibly farting in, like, in, like, at the urinal? Like, in the, like-

    24. JSJay Shetty1:40:47

        [laughs]

    25. LCLuke Combs1:40:48

        You don't have to. You know? It's f- hey, listen, if my buddies fart in front of me, it's funny, dude. I think it's really funny. My kids fart, it's really funny. When a stranger farts next to me, like, just r- pulls the Jake brake at the urinal beside me, I'm like, "This guy's an animal." And I respect him.

    26. JSJay Shetty1:41:07

        [laughs]

    27. LCLuke Combs1:41:08

        But I'm also l- uh, almost afraid of what he will do.

    28. JSJay Shetty1:41:13

        Yeah.

    29. LCLuke Combs1:41:13

        A- a- and if, if he's willing to do this, he's willing to do anything. Yeah.

    30. JSJay Shetty1:41:17

        [laughs] That is, that has to be one of my favorite answers of all time.

Episode duration: 1:42:24