{"id":20100,"date":"2019-11-14T09:51:06","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T16:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1814721"},"modified":"2019-11-14T09:51:06","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T16:51:06","slug":"backstage-and-upfront-luke-combs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/music-news\/backstage-and-upfront-luke-combs\/","title":{"rendered":"BACKSTAGE AND UPFRONT: Luke Combs"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alison Bonaguro<\/a><\/span>
\n19m ago<\/span>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

Technically, Luke Combs didn\u2019t win the CMA Award for entertainer of the year on Wednesday night (Nov. 13), and yet, he was still winning. <\/p>\n

Because as Garth Brooks accepted that particular trophy, he said that the award had Combs\u2019 name on it down the road. And to Combs, that alone felt like a win. <\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up listening to Garth. I know every song by heart. And for him to say something like that is pretty unreal. And the pressure is on,\u201d Combs said backstage after picking up his awards for male vocalist and song of the year. <\/p>\n

And it was the latter award that meant the most to Combs, he said, because he wanted it for his guys: his \u201cBeautiful Crazy\u201d co-writers Wyatt Durrette and Robert Williford. <\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted it for these guys. You know, I get to be on stage and and talk and be heard all the time. But the people who help me do that don\u2019t necessarily always get the credit that I feel like they deserve. And tonight,\u201d he said, \u201ctwo great people have gotten exactly what they deserve. And I\u2019m so proud to call these guys really great friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking home two CMA Awards made Combs one of the night\u2019s biggest winners (it\u2019s a tie between Combs and Kacey Musgraves) and that\u2019s not lost on him. In fact, it hasn\u2019t even really sunk in yet. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve even begun to process what it means or how I feel about it yet. Thankful is a word that comes to mind: to have my parents here, my fiance, my friends, my entire team and crew and from labels to managers and friends. It\u2019s just an absolute dream come true. Something that I thought would never ever happen to a guy like me, especially not this fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

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