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Luke Combs delivered his highly-anticipated sixth studio record on Friday (March 20).
The two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year opened a fresh chapter with a 22-track collection that blends amped-up, honky tonk-worthy anthems with deeply vulnerable ballads. Combs recently spoke about the title track — including the reason it resonated with him in a meaningful way — during an appearance on On Purpose with Jay Shetty.
“That song rips, man,” Combs said of “The Way I Am,” written by Chris Gelbuda and Rob Snyder. “I didn't write that song, and that's why I love it so much, is like that statement so perfectly fits a lot of the themes of my life, (including) the OCD stuff, you know. ...When I heard it, it was just it was so sonically different than anything that's coming out of town right now. 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. And that's kind of what drew me to it, is like it just felt like this kind of moment that was unexpected, not just from me but from anyone. ...(It's) like something George Jones would be singing, you know, 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,” Combs continued in his conversation with Jay Shetty. The song “felt like an absolute layup of a song to do.
“I’m so OK with the way that I am now. Honestly, at risk of sounding ironic, it's like I, at 35, 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,” Combs continued. “I feel like my mental health is way higher than it's ever been. My mindset, my outlook, is all so great, and I have so many people to thank for that. My wife, obviously, my kids have helped a ton. And just great friends, great teammates, great band members, great collaborators and great, you know, everybody just does so much for me. …That title in itself really I felt like encapsulated the message I was trying to say with this album…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 it's time, and I just, you know, I hope it's as received as I want it to be. And if it's not, it's OK, you know. But you just have to put what you feel like is your best foot forward and you just have to be willing to live with with the results of that no matter what. And I'm more OK with that now than I've ever been.”
Before the full record’s debut, Combs released “Back in the Saddle,” “My Kinda Saturday Night,” “Days Like These,” “Giving Her Away” and more.
- Back in the Saddle
- My Kinda Saturday Night
- Days Like These
- 15 Minutes
- Alcohol of Fame
- Daytona 499
- The Way I Am
- Wish Upon a Whiskey
- Soon As I Get Home
- Rethink Some Things
- Giving Her Away
- Seeing Someone
- Sleepless in a Hotel Room
- I Ain’t No Cowboy
- Ever Mine, featuring Alison Krauss
- Can’t Tell Me I’m Wrong
- Miss You Here
- Tell ‘Em About Tonight
- Be By You
- The Me Part of You
- Rich Man
- A Man Was Born
The Way I Am follows Fathers & Sons, a 12-track album that arrived in June 2024, offering a glimpse of the singer-songwriter’s life as a dad. Before that, he relased back-to-back projects Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old. Combs said when he announced The Way I Am and released “Sleepless in a Hotel Room” earlier this year that he’s “really glad you guys love that song. I’ve loved that song for a long time. ...I’m really proud of this record. I really, really am. I’m proud of my whole team for working on this. (It’s) a long process, getting this thing going. Excited for you guys to hear it, obviously. Got a new baby on the way, pretty much due any day now, so (I’m getting) all this press done. Excited that this song is out, excited you guys love it so much. Again, new album. March 20. Love you guys. You’re gonna like it.”
The “Back in the Saddle” superstar and his wife, Nicole Combs, announced last month that they’d welcomed Baby No. 3. Son Chet Wiley Combs joins big brothers Tex Lawrence Combs, born on Father’s Day in June 2022, and Beau Lee Combs, born in August 2023. When the couple announced Nicole’s pregnancy, they set the sweet announcement to Combs’ “Days Like These,” one of the first tracks to arrive from The Way I Am.
Combs is kicking off his headlining run with special guests Dierks Bentley, The Script, The Teskey Brothers, Thomas Rhett, Ty Myers, Jake Worthington, Thelma & James and The Castellows on select dates. See the list of tour stops here.
Listen to some of the tracks from The Way I Am below, and find the full album on iHeartRadio here.