Luke Combs Offers Profound Perspective On Why His Music Career Doesn’t Define Him: “I Don’t Build Much Self-Worth From My Job”

He just gets it.

This week, Luke Combs appeared on the Mostly Sports With Mark Titus and Brandon Walker podcast, where he of course talked about country music, the recent viral moment where he broke down during his set at the Newport Folk Festival, and he also talked about the longevity of his career and his very realistic outlook on it.

Of course, these days, viral TikTok success is unfortunately the name of the game for major label and mainstream artists, which to some extent did help Combs’ early career (he used to post tons of videos on Vine in his college days). But because of that more and more artists are having flash in the pan success, rather than building a career song by song that produces a solid fanbase and career that will last much longer than one hit song that went viral on TikTok.

So when Combs was asked “what’s next” in his career, and if he has aspirations to ever do acting or any huge, unexpected song collaborations, he explained that he has a “why mess with what’s working” approach to his career, and understands that it will eventually fade and a new crop of artists will become the “next big thing,” similar to what he experienced.

Now, the man has the ability to sell out stadiums, so I have to disagree when he says the time is quickly approaching the part of his career where “only old guys listen to him,” but his comments on what he values and how he views his music career is super interesting and I think really healthy and admirable when it comes to how he defines success and what’s most important:

“I’m a big believer of, why I mess with what’s working. Just do the thing, and like, ultimately everything is a season, right? Ultimately, there will be a day where like, Luke Combs, he’s the old guy, only old guys listen to him. Like we’re fastly approaching that, you know what I mean. So that’s just the way it is, and I think just having awareness and acceptance of that… I’m never gonna chase it down.

I’m not gonna be a guy that’s like, oh, let’s just just burn it until it’s just burnt out and it’s over. I don’t build much of self-worth from my job or my accomplishments. I build it from the relationships I have with my family and my friends. I’m an only child, so I had a ton of friends growing up and that was always a big thing in my life. You know, my friends were my brothers essentially, and so that’s that’s a thing that I put most stock in is you know fostering the relationship that I made and friendships I’ve made over the years.

Helping my kids grow up, I look forward to those things, and that comes with eventually slowing down. The music stuff, man, just being realistic about you know, I don’t know that one day I’ll be laying on my death bed going, I wish I would’ve made a 10th album, or an 11th album, you know I mean? I just don’t imagine that.”

He’s just so humble and down-to-earth, because even when a lot of artists might say that’s the mindset they have, I’m not inclined to believe them like I believe him. And here’s the thing, you don’t even have to be a country music superstar to think that way. A LOT of people wrap up their sense of identity and self-worth in fleeting things like their jobs, their accomplishments, how much money they make, what kind of house or car they have… all of that can end in a second and you’re left with no sense of who you are as a person.

Combs also explained that when it comes to collaborations with other artists, his first thought is never what kind of “hit” it might be, but whether or not he actually likes the song… a novel idea these days, indeed.

His thoughts on longevity in his career are so important and really the way I wish more artists thought about their careers, because Luke has always been authentic and true to the person he is and the music that inspires him:

“I just go, for me, it’s like, I just have to like the song. It’s never, oh, is this gonna be really popular? Obviously that would be great, and that’s ultimately is the end goal, but I think if you’re doing it for that reason then you’ve already kind of lost the race. You’re not chasing, longevity you’re chasing a moment in time. You’re chasing, I need a moment.

Instead of, I need to build… nobody’s thinking about how these 20 decisions stack up in five years. It’s how does this one decision impact me next week. And that’s where I think a lot of people get trapped in in the music business, is like, I’ve gotta stay popular, I’ve gotta do this. I’ve got to constantly be making content all the time, doing TikTok’s, and if I’m not seeing all the time… and it is beneficial, and you have to do those things, you have to change with the times, so there’s some balance in there as well.

Being willing to adapt, but not living and dying by what everyone else is doing at the same time.”

It sounds obvious and simple, but it really is rare for someone at his level to not only say these things and think this way, but really back it up with a career full of integrity and genuinely great music.

Of course, success and doing well in your dream job is fun, but Luke is right, it’s fleeting… doing what he does for a living, there’s always someone coming up behind you ready to become a star, and that’s just the natural progression. His outlook on it, though, is different from most at his level, and will only contribute to the longevity of his career.

I think a lot of what makes Luke so successful, aside from his obvious talent, is his relatability and down-to-earth, humble nature, which is probably a huge part of why he has become so mega successful and popular. Though he thinks that level of relevance is going to start fading, I beg to differ, and ironically, that kind of mindset and outlook will only help him stay at the top, where I imagine he’ll be for years, and even decades, to come.

You can watch the full interview below.

The post Luke Combs Offers Profound Perspective On Why His Music Career Doesn’t Define Him: “I Don’t Build Much Self-Worth From My Job” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.