Luke Combs’ career is on fire right now. Figuratively speaking, of course. His current single, “Forever After All,” is No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart for the fourth straight week. The tune marks Luke’s 11th consecutive chart-topper.
In case you were wondering, Luke’s 11 No. 1 singles include “Hurricane,” “When It Rains It Pours,” “One Number Away,” “She Got the Best of Me,” “Beautiful Crazy,” “Beer Never Broke My Heart,” “Even Though I’m Leaving,” “Does to Me,” “Lovin’ On You,” “Better Together,” and “Forever After All.”
While Luke’s good-timin’ tunes serve as a motley mix, including party anthems (“Beer Never Broke My Heart”) and wifely odes (“Better Together”), he recently debuted an unreleased song, “Joe,” that addresses the struggles of alcoholism.
Luke performed “Joe” during his set on the Grand Ole Opry in April.
“A while ago, my buddy Erik Dylan played me a song that he had started with a guy named James Slater,” said Luke when the video was published via YouTube in May. “I thought it was real awesome, so we finished it the other day. I guess the title of this song would be called ‘Joe.’ Let me know what you think.”
Light On the Other Side
Luke provided further insight into the song’s meaning during a recent interview on Coop’s Rockin’ Country Saturday Night via Audacy.
“I’ve got some history of that kind of thing in my family, and it’s something that I’m always cognizant of,” said Luke Combs. “We do sing about drinking beer and having a good time all the time, and I’ve had some friends go through some struggles with that, and I want them to know that’s OK too. It’s OK to have a problem, it’s OK to get better, it’s OK to be trying to get better.
“My friend Erik Dylan brought me a sketch out of that song and I was like, ‘Dude, I gotta be a part of this.’ It’s so well-written, and it just spoke to me on a personal level and I think it’s something that people should hear and people that are struggling with something like that need to know that’s alright and there is a light on the other side.”
While Luke has yet to reveal his follow-up single to “Forever After All,” “Joe” has generated a groundswell of interest. Luke’s Opry performance of “Joe” has close to 500,000 views via YouTube since May 5.
Even if Luke doesn’t release “Joe” as an official single, you can bet the farm that he’ll perform it during his upcoming Arena Tour. The 20-plus-date tour kicks off this fall, but you can catch Luke at a number of festivals this summer.
