Luke Combs has accomplished a ton in 2024, but there’s one particular moment that can show where he stands really he knew he’d nailed it — and planned to “put it on everybody’s head” at the 2024 Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday night.
While speaking with PEOPLE ahead of Wednesday’s awards show in Nashville, the country superstar reflected on being named PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive this year. As he explained, his mom sent him an article in which he was listed as 34 years old in the “Sexy At Any Age” section.
“Then I thought, ‘The year of the crash, 1990, must have been the year of the crash.’ I thought it was a list of the most eaten cheeseburgers, I thought so,” Combs joked. “And then when I saw that guy there, I was like, ‘Man, these are tough times in 1990 to be the hottest guy.'”
“But I’m putting it over everybody’s head here tonight, you know what I mean? They said, ‘It’s not on the notebook.’ It doesn’t have to be honey, I got a complaint,” he added. “I could come up, you know: I’m the sexiest 34-year-old — not in the room, on the globe, obviously.”
See all of PEOPLE’s complete CMA Awards here.
Nicole Hocking and Luke Combs at the 58th Annual CMA Awards at Music City Center on November 20, 2024.
Jason Kempin/Getty
Luke Combs delivers Twisters to life with the Fiery 2024 CMA Awards Performance
Combs added that his wife, Nicole Hocking, to whom he has been married for four years, “loves to hear” about his latest career success.
“She never heard the end of it,” he said. “So that was the moment I knew, that’s when I knew [I made it].”
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During Wednesday’s CMA Awards, Combs celebrated several other milestones — including nominations for Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year (Fathers and sons) and male vocalist of the year. Although he went home empty-handed, Combs still has plenty to think about after the big 2024, as he told PEOPLE he’s still talking about collaborating with Tracy Chapman for their duet “Fast Car” at the 2024 Grammys in February.
“‘Fast Car’ is a song that people really grabbed onto. And that song is really special to me. I put it on Fathers and sons recorded, and it was the first song me and my dad ever listened to,” Combs said. “So it kind of connects me to that. It wasn’t on that record, but that theme really runs throughout… That was probably my favorite song growing up.”
“I’ll never stop pinching myself,” he said of performing with Chapman, 60. “It was creepy the whole time, and she was so amazing. For her to be able to shine the way she did that night and for me to be a small part that, it was really special.”
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Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs perform onstage during the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards on February 4, 2024.
John Shearer/Getty
Luke Combs Calls ‘Fast Car’ Grammy Duet With Tracy Chapman ‘Total Pinch Me’ Experience: ‘Incredible’
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE in December 2023, Combs previously said he started singing the song because it reminded him of childhood memories with his father, Chester. “When I was 5, my dad and I would be in his truck and he would always play music for me,” he said. “He had a Tracy Chapman tape, and ‘Fast Car’ is one of the first songs I remember. I’ve always been a big fan of that and it reminds me of my dad and our time together when I hear it.”
During his appearance at the CMA Awards last night, Combs shared a fiery performance of “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma” from the hit 2024 movie. Twisters. The 58th annual CMA Awards aired live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday, with the show streaming on Thursday via Hulu.
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Source: HIS Education