One could argue that most country artists are actively doing their dream job.
But initially, that might not have been the case for Luke Combs, who actually had a different career in mind as he worked his way through college at Appalachian State University. When Combs joined Jimmy Kimmel Live! back in 2019, the longtime late night host asked the country star about how close he was to graduating from App State before he dropped out.
The “She Got The Best of Me” singer wasn’t ashamed to tell his story, and was incredibly transparent and comical talking about his decision to leave school:
“I had 21 credit hours left, so like a semester and a half maybe? I was a pretty bad student, so that helped (make the decision). I had been in school for 5 years at that point, and I had been singing my whole life. I didn’t understand you can do something that you like and people will pay you for it.”
With only a handful of classes left to graduate, Luke Combs walked away to pursue his country music career. Obviously, that worked out well for him, but as he told Kimmel, he had other plans while he was in college:
“My major was criminal justice. I wanted to be a homicide detective. That’s actually what I wanted to do. People are pretty surprised by it. But if you’ve noticed, I don’t actually have the physical build of a police offer necessarily.”
Combs must not be familiar with the “donut eating” stereotype that police officers often fall into. And I’d have to admit that he’s right about people not seeing that potential career path as a match for Combs.
But when he elaborates on why he liked the idea of a career as a homicide detective, it makes more sense:
“I think it was like solving the puzzle. (That) was the intriguing part to me, which is what I love so much about writing songs.”
I’m sure Combs would have been a formidable homicide detective, though I’d venture to say it’s good for the rest of us that he ended up giving the ol’ music thing a try.
You can view the Jimmy Kimmel Live! interview below:
