Luke Combs brought his latest single, “Forever After All,” to the ACM Awards on Sunday night, marking the song’s debut live performance. The North Carolina native performed from the Grand Ole Opry stage, wearing a suit and backed by a masked orchestra.
The ultra-romantic track was inspired by Combs’ wife, Nicole Hocking, and was written by Combs with Drew Parker and Rob Williford. “They say nothing lasts forever / But they ain’t seen us together / Or the way the moonlight dances in your eyes,” the chorus reads. “Just a t-shirt in the kitchen / With no make-up and a million / Other things that I could look at my whole life / A love like that makes a man have second thoughts / Maybe some things last forever after all.”
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Also during the show, Combs appeared in a segment highlighting his partnership with Ford and Guitars 4 Vets, a program that helps veterans cope with PTSD through music. In the segment, the 31-year-old met with veteran Damon Williams, and the two had a jam session in the woods together playing a song Williams had written.
Combs was up for three awards during the evening, though he did not take home any trophies. Following the show, he took to Instagram to assure fans that he’ll be back, sharing his message alongside a photo of himself with Nicole.
“Had a great time at the @acmawards last night. 0 for 3 but we’ll get ’em next time,” he wrote. “Still have the best fans in the world and got to spend the whole day with this beauty and some damn good friends so it was a win in my book. Thanks to my wife, my team, my family, and most importantly you, the fans, for all that you do for me. Album 3 here we come. Live shows here we come. See y’all real soon.”
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“Forever After All” was released on What You See Ain’t Always What You Get, the deluxe edition of Combs’ sophomore album, What You See Is What You Get. Parker told The Boot that the song was written in January 2019 at Combs and Nicole’s home, which they had just moved into at the time.
“I think there was something special in that moment of it being the first song in their house together, and we kind of just started chasing a love song, and it really took on its own thing… and it was like, ‘Hey, I think this is something important to say in a time like this — I mean, we just bought a house together,’ that kind of thing,” he recalled. “And at that point, it’s like, ‘Hey, let me just step out of the way and watch where he’s wanting to go with this and be there to support wherever that song goes.’”
