When it comes to debut hits, it’s an important staple and defining moment for the artist. Luke Combs’ debut single “Hurricane” was quickly a No.1 hit. It doesn’t get much better than that in terms of a successful debut.
“This One’s For You” is his first album. Prior to signing with Columbia Nashville, Combs wrote the hit. He wrote the song with Thomas Archer and Taylor Philips.
Like many other talented songwriters, Comb relies to some degree on his notes app on his phone. According to The Boot, Combs said that throughout the day he’ll plug words or phrases into his phone. While he was writing “Hurricane,” he had typed that single word in.
Behind the ‘Hurricane’ Hit
The inspiration for the song came from a friend of his. The friend had mentioned that he had just broken up with his girlfriend and he was afraid of any chance to see her out.
“I guess it was a Nashville thing — and Nashville is a big small town — he was like, ‘I want to go out, but I can’t see her out. I know I’m going to see her out. It might not be today. It might not be tomorrow. So I don’t go out as much. We should write something about that,'” Combs told The Boot.
Suddenly, the song became a metaphor for the experience of feeling destroyed by someone else. It’s about the feeling of knowing that someone who entered your life just made a huge impact, but not the good kind.
“Thunder ‘n lightning / You wrecked my whole world when you came / And hit me like a hurricane.”
Combs’ song would go on to be nominated for awards like Breakthrough Video of the Year and Country Song of the Year. He ended up winning the iHeartRadio Music New Country Artist of the Year in 2018. He also won New Artist of the Year from the CMAs in 2018.
His award streak has not ended. At the 2020 CMAs his new album “What You See Is What You Got” received Album of the Year. He also won Male Vocalist of the Year.
Luke Combs Blown Away
For Combs, his song “Hurricane” blew him away. Right as he was writing the song, he had spent all his money trying to make it happen in music.
“I was just writing songs every day, for seven or eight months. I was down to my last 200 bucks, and my producer Scott [Moffatt] was like, ‘Hey man, we’ve gotta master these songs.’ I said, ‘Listen, this song ‘Hurricane’ is the only song that we could possibly use the vocal on, and put out.’ So I spent my last 200 bucks, mastered that. Sold 15,000 copies the first week,'” Combs said on “Sunday Today.”
Luke Combs was studying criminal justice at Appalachian State University and was a semester away from graduating when he dropped out.
Combs told “Sunday Today” that everything he does is about the music. This means he doesn’t want people to get distracted by his looks or clothing. He wanted fans based on his music and his personality.
With 240 million views on his video for “Hurricane” and a growing list of top-tier awards after only a few years in the business, he is certainly wowing the country music community.
