ENTERTAINMENT
Luke Combs Posts Touching Message to Tracy Chapman Following Grammys: ‘A Defining Moment of My Career’
Luke Combs and Tracy Chapman. PHOTO: LUKE COMBS/INSTAGRAM
Luke Combs honored Tracy Chapman after their they shared the stage at the 66th Grammy Awards.
On Friday, the country star reflected upon Sunday’s whirlwind awards ceremony and his moving duet of “Fast Car” with the singer-songwriter, 59, on Instagram.
The carousel featured two photos of the 33-year-old Grammy nominee beside Chapman. The first included a photo of the two widely beaming the night of their performance. The second photo included the musicians embracing on stage after they concluded their duet.
Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs perform onstage during the Grammy Awards on Feb. 4, 2024 in Los Angeles. JOHN SHEARER/GETTY
“What an unreal Grammy week to say the least. There were so many laughs, tears, hugs, and cheers that it almost doesn’t seem real,” wrote Combs.
“When it comes to the performance it’s still hard to process how amazing it really was to be up there on that stage. No doubt a defining moment of my career,” he added.
“Tracy, I want to send my sincerest thanks to you for allowing me to be a part of your moment. Thank you for the impact you have had on my musical journey, and the musical journeys of countless other singers, songwriters, musicians, and fans alike,” the post continued. “I hope you felt how much you mean to the world that night. We were all in awe of you up there and I was just the guy lucky enough to have the best seat in the house.”
Along with thanking Chapman, Combs also thanked his team ”for working tirelessly to make this happen” and thanked his wife, Nicole, “for always being by my side.”
At the 2024 Grammy Awards, the pair serenaded the audience with a duet of Chapman’s 1989 hit song.
Beforehand, Combs recalled memories of listening to Chapman’s original version of “Fast Car.” He explained the hit was his “favorite song before I even knew what a favorite song was.”
Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs perform onstage during the 66th GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 4, 2024 in Los Angeles. KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY
But securing the performance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday was “a long process,” Grammys executive producer Raj Kapoor told Rolling Stone.
He detailed how the pair’s full-circle “Fast Car” team-up came to be. Kapoor and Grammys executive producer Patrick Menton first came up with the idea of a “Fast Car” duet in May 2023 — and the producers asked the songwriter last year with help from SVP at Nonesuch Records (and Chapman’s friend) Matthew Rankin.
Kapoor added to Rolling Stone that getting an eventual nod of approval from Chapman in January “felt like a long yes.”
Combs’ longtime manager, Chris Kappy, told the outlet that the country star insisted Chapman had full creative control of the performance and wanted her to have “every opportunity to shine.”
The two musicians finally met for the first time in person at SIR studio in Los Angeles on Jan. 31, three months after they initially touched base on the phone.
Their duet follows Combs’ chart-topping cover of the hit song, which topped the country charts and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 more than three decades after its first release. His cover was nominated for best country solo performance at this year’s ceremony.
