Luke Combs Shares Surprising Reason He Is a Fan of Ed Sheeran

He might be a pure country artist, but Luke Combs is still a fan of some pop music, especially Ed Sheeran. The “Does to Me” singer reveals why he is such a fan of Sheeran, which surprisingly has more to do with who Sheeran is off-stage than the kind of music he makes.

“Why do I sing about beer?” Combs reflected to UK’s The Times (via CMT’s Cody Alan). “Why do I sing about boring jobs? Because people who drink beer and have boring jobs are the fabric of our society. They’re also my fans … People who don’t like my music think it is bland, vanilla, songs for rednecks and moms in trucks.

“If I’m honest my music does have a lot of that because I had an everyday upbringing, living right in the middle of struggle and comfort, so I represent everyday people,” he continued. “I’m a fan of humility, which is why I like Ed Sheeran. He seems like a guy I went to high school with.”

Combs famously went to college to become a detective, before dropping out to pursue music. It was Combs’ mother who suggested he learn guitar, by reminding him that Kenny Chesney was 21 when he first learned.

“I had a bland, boring, uneventful childhood in the best possible way,” boasted the North Carolina native. “I went to school, played sports, wasn’t very good, parents were nice. You can be proud of having a regular job, of being a regular guy, a regular woman. There are so many people who grow up like that. And it’s OK.”

Combs might be raking in the big bucks now, with seven consecutive No. 1 singles to his credit, not to mention sold-out tour dates, but he still vividly remembers what it was like before he had any money at all.

“I didn’t have a job. I was just writing songs every day, for seven or eight months,” Combs told Willie Geist on Sunday TODAY. “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.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Jeff Kravitz