Luke Combs Feels the Pressure After Double CMA Awards Wins

For some artists, winning multiple CMA Awards means they have reached a pinnacle in their career successes. For Luke Combs, who won double trophies for Male Vocalist of the Year and Song of the Year (for “Beautiful Crazy”), it means the hard work has just begun.

“I feel like the pressure’s on now,” Combs shared with PopCulture.com and other media backstage at the CMA Awards. “I’m going to celebrate. I’m going to have a good time tonight, with [fiancée Nicole Hocking] and with my parents and my buddies right here, but we’ve got three sold-out shows this weekend. I got four shows next week and then I got Thanksgiving. So I think Thanksgiving will be a time to really reflect with my parents, her parents, her sister. Just having the immediate family there, I think will be really special and I’m looking forward to it.”

Combs also hints there might be a special gift in store for Hocking, who served as the inspiration for “Beautiful Crazy.” Combs is grateful for the accolade, but even more grateful that the song’s co-writers, Wyatt B. Durrette III and Robert Williford, finally received recognition for their talent.

“I wanted it for these guys,” Combs said of the Song of the Year trophy. “I get to be on stage and talk and be heard all the time. But, the people who helped me do that don’t necessarily always get the credit that I feel like they deserve. And tonight, two great people have gotten exactly what they deserve and I’m so proud to call these guys really great friends, really phenomenal co-writers, and CMA winners. That’s awesome.”

The North Carolina native, who previously won one CMA Award for New Artist of the Year in 2018, acknowledges it will take a bit for him to come to terms with his latest industry recognition.

“I don’t know if I’ve even begun to process what it means or how I feel about it yet,” said Combs. “I think shock is where I’m kind of at with it right now. Thankful is a word that comes to mind, to have my parents here, my fiancée, my friends, my entire team and crew and labels, to managers and friends. It’s just an absolute dream come true, something that I thought would never ever happen to a guy like me, especially not this fast. So I’m just real thankful.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Image Group LA