Luke Combs is back at radio with a new single, “Where The Wild Things Are.” The song, from his latest Gettin’ Old album, is one of three that Combs did not write for the project, but fell in love with as soon as he heard it.
“’Where The Wild Things Are’ is a song that my friend Randy Montana wrote with another writer in town,” Combs tells his record label. “[I] had just heard it throughout the years. Something that ended up on my phone, getting passed around town. I had loved it for a long time and just felt like it deserved to be recorded.”
Montana wrote “Where The Wild Things Are” with Dave Turnbull, which was almost recorded by Eric Church before it made its way to Combs. The North Carolina native estimates the song has been around for at least five years, back when hardly anyone was cutting story songs.
“At that time, nobody was cutting story songs at all, outside of Eric Church, probably,” Combs says. “And I would argue that it’s a really tough song to sing, and figure out how you would do you live. We struggle with it even in the studio.”
Fortunately, Combs has crafted a successful career for himself by not running away from challenges musically, and “Where The Wild Things Are” was no exception.
“I remember somebody telling me … I was telling him, ‘Well, we can’t do this, because I’m not going to be able to sing this thing live like this.’ And he was like, ‘Dude, we can’t dumb down the record. But you’ll figure it out.’ Like, ‘We got to make it as good as we can. And you’re gonna figure it out. I promise.’ So I always remembered that.”
Combs is one of the biggest hitmakers in country music right now, but he has no interest in expanding his fame and popularity into any other genre, in spite of the numerous opportunities he has been offered.
“That’s something I haven’t really entertained,” Combs says (via WUSJ). “I’ve been approached about it more than a few times, and I don’t know. It’s just [that] I feel to me, country music is enough. I don’t want to be a pop star … I love our genre and I love writing country songs with my songwriting buddies and singing them with the guys that I like to make records with.”
Combs is currently on the final leg of his massive World Tour. He will then enjoy a few months at home with his two sons, before he kicks off his Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour on March 12 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, playing back-to-back shows in most cities. Cody Jinks, The Avett Brothers and Hailey Whitters are among those opening for Combs on Friday nights, with Jordan Davis, Mitchell Tenpenny, Drew Parker and Colby Acuff opening for Combs for the Saturday night shows. Find music and tour dates at LukeCombs.com.
Read ‘Luke Combs: 11 Things To Know About the Singer’s Life and Career’ here.