Original subtitles

How about it's like someone's in your house and you don't know it yet.

I just heard something in the kitchen.

Hey, what's going on, everybody? For First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans, and

you're watching Hot One. It's the show with hot questions and even hotter

And today we're joined by Luke Combs.

He's an eight -time Grammy Award -nominated artist and mainstay at the

the Billboard country charts for a half decade straight.

He also has a brand -new album on the way as well called The Way I Am, which

scheduled for release on March 20th, followed by the My Kind of Saturday

Tour. Check it out. But first things first, the wings of death, Luke Combs.

Welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here. Excited.

What's going through your head as you prepare to take on the Hot Ones

Are you a spicy food fan by chance? I'm a spicy food fan, but I'm not going to

over -promise and under -deliver. So this will be hot. This will destroy me,

there's no doubt.

But I'm at least mentally prepared. I'm not sure about physically, but we're

about to find out, I feel like.

The smell is the first thing you notice.

Oh, boy. Here we go. All right.

That's a good wing.

That's a good wing.

That's good, man. That's a good flavor on that one.

My favorite song on the new album is Daytona 499, which features this funny,

clever metaphor about a relationship falling just one lap short. Out of my

curiosity, can you give me the origin story of that song?

Yeah, so one of my dear friends, Drew Parker, sent me that song, and it was

of like a half -written thing. When he sent it to me, he was like, is there

anything to this? I was like, I love this. I love it. I grew up a NASCAR fan.

grandfather was a courier.

And he would actually deliver paychecks to the drivers like after races.

I spent a lot of Sundays with my grandfather watching races.

Obviously, I gravitated to the idea for that reason.

But then again, I'm a sucker for a good hook, a clever hook. And that one to me,

it like doesn't get more clever than that in the country space. In my

those are like that's like this super niche country music thing of like these

tongue in cheek, like catchy.

Songs that are, I don't know, that just grab people's attention, and that was

one of those for me.

Okay. We got a flat, dude.

Should I do the push here? There you go.

The push going. This guy's been around some wings. Oh, buddy.

I don't think anyone watching this had any thoughts otherwise, I would imagine.

Clean pull?

Damn.

Yeah. Textbook, that's how you do it.

You have an amazing quote where you talk about how you learn to sing from

listening to the Backstreet Boys.

What is an album like Millennium? Like, how is that a masterclass for a young

singer? Like, what did you learn from them?

I mean, obviously, there's, you know, there's five different singers in the

group, right? And they all kind of get turns to showcase their particular

And everybody's kind of got different ranges and different natural tendencies

that they try to use.

And they're incredibly singable.

Verses and choruses, those songs were engineered to be like musical drugs.

Like you hear them and it's just like, I want to hear this again. I need to hear

this again.

And, you know, as you kind of study those things, learn and write songs, you

realize that was done intentionally.

Like there is a science to writing those kind of songs. And there needs to be a

hook every 20 seconds that people remember and moments that people want to

back to.

And you learn that.

You also learn how to do.

the same chorus melody maybe in a different style because if Nick Carter's

singing it and you know Kevin's singing the next one it's like they just have

these little differences and inflections that ultimately matter and lead to the

success of a group like that and help a young singer who's learning to

find their voice and hone their talent, it helps them learn five different

things at one time instead of hearing one singer do something. You get to hear

how five singers would sing the same chorus instead of one. So it's really

interesting.

That's my favorite one so far.

I feel like the lead top, maybe.

I think there's some sweetness. I think the mustard cuts it just a little bit.

There's kind of a lingering hit and a little bit of a cumulative effect that

starting to pick up.

But you're right. There's a sweetness almost to this one.

Vinegar in there probably helps cut the heat a lot, I would imagine.

So I was reading an interesting story about how early on in your career, you

didn't have enough money.

to master an entire six -track EP. So instead, you put your entire budget on

song, which turned out to be Hurricane.

What was it about that song that made it the one that you put all your chips on?

Well, interestingly and luckily enough, it was the only song that was in any

state close enough to putting out.

So it was basically a Hail Mary of like, well, this is all we got. It's either

this or nothing. So I spent the last $200 that I had.

I hadn't done that previously, so I hadn't put that in my budget as an

that I needed to be aware of.

And it comes down. I'm like, well, dude, I don't have enough money to master

these. Like, which one is good enough? And he's like, this one. I'm like,

perfect. Let's do it. Put it out.

Sells 10 ,000 units the first week, which I thought was like, cool, that's

probably what everyone's doing. Or that's less than everyone's doing.

Because, again, I don't know.

And it turns out.

Apparently it wasn't what everyone was doing, and it was a lot more for an

independent kid who's dropped out of college and moved to town and doesn't

anything going on.

And that's kind of what led to a hundred other dominoes falling in my favor. So

I'm very thankful for that moment, and obviously it was supposed to work out

that way.

It just immediately has that, like, taste of, like, this is hotter than all

that. The habanero in particular.

It's a particular. It really announces its presence right up front. You know,

you just get that smokiness. It goes right to the chest.

I feel like that's the one I was smelling when they put the.

When the people came over in the hazmat suits with the wings.

I feel like that's the one you're getting.

As someone who's steeped in the genre and seems intent on making music that

want to hear as a fan, what do you make of phrases like gentleman country or bro

country to define particular subgenres?

There's a huge contingency of people. I'm probably guilty of it at some time

well, but going, well, that's not country or this is too country or that's

or whatever.

It's like I think country music is enjoying a moment of relevancy that it

has never had.

Outside of that early 90s era, the Shania Twain, Garth, Randy Travis, Alan

Jackson, Brooks and Dunn. That was a huge moment, too.

But I feel like we've crossed over into the pop culture zeitgeist. I mean,

there's three country artists selling out multiple nights at stadiums right

That's as many as have ever done it in the history of country music, and it's

all happening at the same time.

So that's really cool to me, to feel like I'm a part of. I think that

conversation is maybe a little unwarranted, but I think ultimately it

the genre.

I'm really worried about the next half.

I don't know that.

It's happening now.

I was just about to say, I think I'm good.

I think it's getting there.

A few drops.

But it's not as bad as the last one to me.

It's not as hot as the last one. The habanero, like we talked about.

It comes out punching, dude. Something different.

It comes out punching, dude. Yeah.

It punches above its weight class.

For sure.

What stands out as the rowdiest room that you've ever had to win over with

a microphone and a guitar?

Oh, gosh.

There was a place we used to play in East Tennessee called the Dew Drop -In.

The guy who I was playing shows with at the time, Adam Kirk, dear friend of

mine. Oh, a ton of my success to him.

And I remember telling his dad he was actually from Boone. He grew up in

I remember telling his dad, he's like, where are y 'all playing tonight?

And I was like, oh, playing the Dew Drop Inn. He goes, oh, the Knife and Gun

Club? He's like, we don't love that place.

So it was like you still smoke in there at that time.

And the stage was about this high.

So you get on stage and it was like a quarter step up onto the stage.

People like dancing in front of you.

But, yeah, I've been in a few rooms like that, you know, middle of nowhere,

South Carolina. And it's a little bit intimidating because people are like.

We can better be good.

You know what I mean? Like, that was the idea. It's like, if I'm in here, I paid

$10 to get in here, better be good.

I have no idea who you are, and I'm going to be pissed if I didn't get my

out of you. Yeah.

So I've had many of those nights.

Homegrown hill.

I like that one.

That's hot, yeah.

And this one a little bit hotter than the white hot mustard, personally

speaking. Definitely.

The White Hot Mustard, that bottle might be walking out the door with me and

everybody. You know what? All the bottles are walking out the door with

today. Even better.

You don't leave here empty -handed. Okay.

So I've interviewed a lot of comedians over the years who will always talk

the importance of doing a thousand shows in a basement club or at an open mic

before ever stepping on stage in front of an arena. Does that at all resonate

with you and your history of playing dive bars to crowds as small as five to

then playing Beaver Stadium in a sold out crowd of 80 ,000 people?

Yeah, there's definitely some disparity there in those shows.

The small shows can be really difficult. If you're having a bad show, it's

amplified by a thousand if there's ten people in there and everyone's kind of

like, ugh.

You can really tell. Feel that energy, yeah. The guy that's sitting two feet

away from you, it's like, man, this guy's pretty rough, huh? You hear that

say that in the small room. You know what I mean?

People don't wear it well when the show's not going well in a room of this

I think in today's social media age, People's careers take off faster and

faster. I don't think that's all bad.

But you welcome in the criticisms of the world.

And if you're a 14 -year -old kid and people online are going, hey, man,

ass. Don't play this anymore.

Don't ever do this.

Well, does that stop the next Bob Dylan from writing songs?

Like, that would be devastating to find out that some kid who's inherently

talented.

And it just hasn't had enough time yet is exposed to the cruelty of the world

the Internet or people's opinion. Yeah. Right. And so that I feel like is the is

the big downside of not going and just playing those little shows and figuring

yourself out on this stage. That's like it's OK to fail or feel like it's OK to

fail. It's still OK to fail. But now you just have to fail in front of millions

of people potentially instead of failing in your.

dive bar in your hometown where there's 10 people and it's not a big deal.

It's an interesting time.

Yeah, it's got some heat.

Yeah, it's hot. Some violence on this one.

This is the gnarliest one since the Habanero one.

First one that has the initial jab.

And we're on the gnarly wave from here on out.

For me, the thing is more like the nose running. It's the thing that drives me

crazy when you have to sniffle and talk. Yeah, it starts to squeeze you like a

sponge the deeper you go.

The milk's making more sense.

There for you. Yeah, that one's hot.

So there's an ad -lib at the end of One Too Many, banger by the way, where you

say, come on, that's a country song.

What does that mean to you exactly that something's a proper tribute to the

genre of country music?

Yeah, I just think, I don't know, because that moment at the end of that

was just truly me in the studio, running it down with the band.

I'm hearing it through the headphones.

They're hearing it through the headphones. I'm singing it full breath,

volume.

You're feeling the vibe of that song come to life for the very first time.

And that was the moment of, like, finishing it, putting it in the frame

going, this is exactly what I wanted this song to be like. Come on, that's a

country song. And it happened. Yeah, for sure. I think I said, I think I'm,

there's an expletive in there that was muted out.

Actually, if you listen to it. Come on, that's a motherfucking country song.

It's literally, that was it. Yeah.

Here we go. The bomb.

I'm not there yet, which is still really freaking me out.

Because I know it's going to be there.

It's like someone's in your house and you don't know it yet.

I just heard something in the kitchen.

Oh, now I'm going to check it out.

There's somebody there.

There's definitely somebody there. And he's masked and armed.

He's not friendly.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah, that sucks, dude.

It's still good, though.

Nice wing.

Not something I would want at the house to, you know, have for dinner. Well, for

better or worse, you will be going, you know, as I promised.

There's a throat.

That's the worst, because then you can't really talk. I'm going milk. Is this

worse to go with milk?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no, no. It's not at all. No. Okay.

Because you said yes.

I know you didn't mean to say yes, but... It's a point of pride now. All

Then I'm right there with you. I'm right there with you.

For the uninitiated, what is cookout, and do you have a go -to tray order and

fancy shake flavor?

When I go to cookout, no one else is allowed to order.

Char -grilled hamburgers, the whole nine. Like, you can get a corndog at the

side.

which is fire.

Quesadillas aside, by the way, you can add a milkshake for like $1 .50. It's

unbelievable.

Imagine Chick -fil -A without all the helpful camp counselors that stand

outside.

And you come up and it's just a guy that's like, he's from the South, but

attitude is giving Philly in the window.

And he's like, cook out, what do you want?

And you're like, um, I think, it's like you can hear him being like, Come on.

Like, you can feel the guy in the thing.

Oh, God. Be careful.

Right when I touched it, I was like, uh -oh. Okay, let's find.

And there's also fresh ones over there. Okay. I was like, I need a safe space.

Yeah.

It's like, big double tray, cheese, bacon, mayo, ketchup, corn dog, Cajun

fries, sweet tea.

Like, I can fire it off like that.

And people hear me order it that quick, and they're like.

What did you just order?

I'm like, I ordered a double cheeseburger with bacon and ketchup. I

really fast.

And the guy is going to know when I pull up to the window. He's like, this guy

knows ball.

He's a veteran, yeah.

This guy has spent 401Ks worth on cooking in his day.

And they're going to be thankful for that. They're going to be thankful.

Oh, man, I'm ready for this.

Here we go. These last two are going to be something, aren't they?

If you're ready. I'm ready, baby.

Bring the pain.

This one is the Smoked Serrano Squash Reaper X.

Oh, man.

It's like your X. Like, it's already bad. That reads like your order from

Cookout, you know? It really does.

I love how they put Serrano in there like it's going to have any flavor at

Butterfly Bakery. Yeah, they make that sound nice, don't they?

This one already has more flavor.

There we go.

It's got some flavor, though. Mm -hmm.

I'm liking that.

So I understand that when you were rejected for the singing competition

The Voice, they gave you a piece of feedback that read, you're a great

but lacking in TV entertainment value.

Athletes are often motivated by perceived slights. I'm curious if it's

for a musician.

In what way did early rejection, what kind of role did it play in your

motivation as an artist?

That situation gave me so much confidence because I'm like, okay, if

this at face value, which I did, it could have very easily been like, well,

can't tell this guy's a terrible singer.

Just tell me he's not interesting.

Maybe that will make him less sad, you know?

Which it did. It worked, by the way.

So I'm like, so you're saying I'm a good singer is what you're saying. You're

saying I'm good.

All I was looking for at that time was some sort of validation, like, hey, I'm

an above average singer. I feel that way in my soul.

So that was a big moment for me. I'm really honestly thankful for that

experience. You have a glass half full perspective on the whole thing, but when

it comes to your actual milk glass, totally full to the brim. Totally full,

baby. I feel like that's about to change.

I'm not going to be the first country thing around to not.

Oh, man. That's scary.

Okay.

I get it all here.

Okay. You got to get it all.

Cheers. Cheers.

Oh, that went right on the tongue, too.

Direct hit.

Yeah. Nowhere to hide.

Target. Target. Engage.

Yeah. Yeah.

Oh.

But the good news is, Luke Combs, we've reached the end of the line.

We're at the summit of Spice Mountain. And as we've learned today, you know,

you're somebody whose music has taken you to Nashville and then around the

and back. But I know at the end of the day, you'll always be a North Carolina

boy. The outdoors, it served like an escape from the blinding lights of fame.

And with that in mind, I was wondering if you could give us.

A turkey call tutorial on Wing 10.

Do you have some mouth calls?

I have some mouth calls. No one ever put these mouth calls in after we put them

in with this hot sauce, by the way.

That's what I'm saying.

We're breaking new ground over here. Where did you find these? I mean, I

you can find anything in New York.

I'm surprised that these are these little guys in here.

It's the New York version of the turkey call over here.

It's like the cool hair clip to wear while you're calling turkeys, you know?

I don't know that I'm going to be the best teacher because it was just years

struggle and annoyance to everyone around me to get any kind of good at

And I'm still not good at all. If you hear a good turkey caller after this,

up good turkey calls. This video is not going to show up, by the way.

I don't want any of the turkey owners out there to think I'm claiming to be

any kind of expert at this.

So you're going to this way front.

reed here like this. The diaphragm is actually going to be in the front of

mouth like this.

So you're going to sit it like in the roof of your mouth up here.

Press your tongue against it and you want to force air between those reeds.

Give it a shot.

Pretty good.

Pretty good.

Yeah. Luke Combs, taking on the wings of death, living to tell the tale. Now

there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you.

100%. This camera, this camera, this camera. Let the people know what you

going on in your life.

Luke Combs, can't wait for turkey season.

New album season, March 20th, The Way I Am.

This is the only PR thing I've ever wanted to do in, like, my 10 years of

forever. So thank you for having me on. Thanks for letting me be the first

country artist. The wings were insane.

Very good. Hot sauce. Very hot.

Thank you guys so much.

Woo!

I've been dreaming of that, dude.

I remember asking years ago, like, asking Carl, I was like, how do we get

Wheels? He was like, I don't know. Like, I don't know.

Thanks for coming in, man. You did great.

It was fun, dude. Thanks for having us. That was a blast, dude.

Come on, that's a motherfucking country car.

People think Hot Ones is chaos, but this table runs on precision.

Every bottle has a job.

And right now, Los Calientes Verde is missing.

Bill, we have a situation.

Relax, Sean. Hot Ones hot sauces are available in over 10 ,000 grocery stores

nationwide. I have an extra for you. Thanks so much, Bill.

Crisis averted.

Now let's roll.

Find Hot Ones Hot Sauces at major retailers and grocery stores near you.