Over the last five years, there have been plenty of ongoing storylines throughout country music. Whether it’s the rise of the independent scene spearheaded by Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers, the increasing divide between consumers and country radio, the evolving music landscape thanks to social media and, of course, the meteoric rise to fame from the likes of Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and other superstars in the genre.
With Combs and Wallen in particular, it’s hard to truly separate the two. Despite having radically different music styles, with Combs’ harkening back to the turn of the century offerings of the late 1990s and early 2000s and Wallen spearheading the push of pop/trap elements through the use of his highly-criticized 808 beats and hip-hop-inspired production, the two are nearly inseparable when it comes to discussing country music today. Of course, this is also due to the fact that they not only debuted within one year of each other but also due to the fact that they’re two of the most successful country artists in the history of the genre.
Thanks to their monster success over the past eight or so years, which has resulted in Wallen becoming the highest-selling country artist of all time and Combs comfortably sitting as the third-highest, the two have continually been pitted against each other by fans and the industry alike. While it is certainly nothing new in a genre that loves its rivalries, these two in particular have constantly been at the epicenter of debates given their popularity.
Even though fans of both artists frequently like to criticize the other, Combs ultimately has nothing but love for the “Whiskey Glasses” singer.
In a recent interview on Zach Sang’s podcast, Zach Sang Show, the “Hurricane” singer was directly asked if he has a feud with Wallen. Immediately, Combs would shut down the notion, noting how much he loves him and that the two stay in touch frequently.
Combs would also note how the competition between the likes of himself, Wallen, Zach Bryan and other superstars is great for country music. Particularly, he’d explain how debates around who is the best and what is or isn’t country music keep the genre relevant.
“Oh gosh, there’s no feud at all… Listen man, I love him. He’s always been really great to me. We text; we stay in touch. It’s not like I call him every Sunday… but we stay in touch. I ask him stuff; he asks me stuff.
I want nothing but success for everybody, to be honest. I think there’s room for everybody at the table. I think it’s really good for country music for there to be these conversations of “Who’s the best?”, “What’s country?”, “What’s not country?” It used to be this thing that maybe even I considered [to be] a toxic argument to have. But I think, ultimately, it keeps country music in the conversation. It keeps people talking about our genre. People care, and people are interested.”
Additionally, Combs would express how healthy it is for the genre to see artists such as himself, Wallen and traditionalists such as Zach Top all experience success in the same time period, noting that both the diversity and competition are helping country music experience the success its had over the past decade.
“I think it’s healthy to have guys like [Wallen] that are on the way poppier side or guys that are on the way traditional side like Zach Top and having similar amounts of success doing this massively broad lexicon of the same genre… I think it’s cool. I think the diversity is cool. I think the competition between any artist is a good thing.”
Well, there you have it. As much as some fans of each artist want to see the two butting heads and going after each other like some sort of sports rivalry, that’s simply not the case between Combs and Wallen. As Combs has said in the past, the two are both wildly successful in their own unique way, and for the “Beautiful Crazy” singer, he’s perfectly content with it.
My Kinda Saturday Night Tour Dates
March 21 Allegiant Stadium – Las Vegas, NV
April 4 Scott Stadium – Charlottesville, VA
April 11 Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, IA
April 18 Notre Dame Stadium – South Bend, IN
April 25 Ohio Stadium – Columbus, OH
May 2 Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN
May 9 Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium – Norman, OK
May 15 Lambeau Field – Green Bay, WI
May 16 Lambeau Field – Green Bay, WI
May 30 Parc Jean-Drapeau – Montreal, QC
June 5 Rogers Stadium – Toronto, ON
June 6 Rogers Stadium – Toronto, ON
July 4 Ullevi – Gothenburg, Sweden
July 7 Accor Arena – Paris, France
July 11 Johan Cruijff ArenA – Amsterdam, Netherlands
July 18 Slane Castle – Slane, Ireland
July 19 Slane Castle – Slane, Ireland
July 25 Scottish Gas Murrayfield – Edinburgh, UK
July 31 Wembley Stadium – London, UK
August 1 Wembley Stadium – London, UK
