- 1 day ago
Hot Ones - Season 29 - Episode 09: Luke Combs Feels a Heat Hurricane While Eating Spicy Wings
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00:00It's like someone's in your house and you don't know it yet.
00:04And then I just heard something in the kitchen.
00:15Hey, what's going on, everybody? For First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans,
00:18and you're watching Hot Ones. It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wigs.
00:21And today we're joined by Luke Combs. He's an eight-time Grammy Award-nominated artist and
00:25mainstay at the top of the Billboard country charts for a half decade straight. He also has
00:29a brand new album on the way as well. It's called The Way I Am, which is scheduled for release
00:32on
00:33March 20th, followed by the My Kind of Saturday Night Tour. Check it out. But first things first,
00:37the wings of death. Luke Combs, welcome to the show.
00:39Oh, thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here. Excited.
00:42What's going through your head as you prepare to take on the Hot Ones gauntlet? Are you a spicy
00:45food fan by chance? I'm a spicy food fan, but I'm not going to over-promise and under-deliver. So
00:52this will be hot. This will destroy me. There's no doubt. But I'm at least mentally prepared.
00:59I'm not sure about physically, but we're about to find out, I feel like.
01:25The smell is the first thing you notice. Oh boy, here we go. All right.
01:34It's a good wing. That's a good wing.
01:42That's good, man. That's a good flavor on that one.
01:44My favorite song on the new album is Daytona 499, which features this funny,
01:50clever metaphor about a relationship falling just one lap short. Yes.
01:54Out of my own curiosity, can you give me the origin story of that song?
01:57Yeah, so one of my dear friends, Drew Parker, sent me that song and it was kind of like a
02:04half-written
02:04thing. When he sent it to me, he was like, is there anything to this? I was like, I love
02:08this. I love it.
02:10I grew up a NASCAR fan. My grandfather was a courier and he would actually deliver paychecks to the
02:16drivers after races. I spent a lot of Sundays with my grandfather watching races. Obviously,
02:22I gravitated to the idea for that reason. But then again, I'm a sucker for a good hook,
02:26a clever hook. And that one to me, it doesn't get more clever than that. In the country space,
02:30in my opinion, those are like, that's like this super niche country music thing of like these tongue
02:37in cheek, like catchy songs that are, I don't know, that just grab people's attention. And that was
02:43one of those for me. Oh, okay. We got a flat, dude. But should I do the push here? There
02:52you go.
02:53The push girl has been around some wings. Oh, buddy. I don't think anyone watching this
02:59had any thoughts otherwise, I would imagine.
03:03Cling pull? Damn. Yeah. Textbook. That's how you do it.
03:10You have an amazing quote where you talk about how you learned to sing from listening to the
03:14Backstreet Boys. What is an album like Millennium? How is that a masterclass for a young singer? What
03:20did you learn from them? I mean, obviously, there's five different singers in the group,
03:25right? And they all kind of get turns to showcase their particular style. And everybody's kind of
03:31got different ranges and different natural tendencies that they try to use. And they're
03:36incredibly singable verses and courses. Those songs were engineered to be like musical drugs.
03:43Like you hear them. And it's just like, I want to hear this again. I need to hear this again.
03:48And, you know, as you kind of study those things, learning to write songs,
03:52you realize that was done intentionally. Like there is a science to writing those kind of songs.
03:57And there needs to be a hook every 20 seconds that people remember and moments that people want to
04:02come back to. And you learn that. You also learn how to do the same chorus melody, maybe in a
04:10different
04:10style. Because if Nick Carter's singing it and, you know, Kevin's singing the next one, it's like they
04:16just have these little differences and inflections that ultimately matter and lead to the success of
04:22a group like that and help a young singer who's learning to find their voice and hone their talent.
04:28It helps them learn five different things at one time instead of hearing one singer do something.
04:34You get to hear how five singers would sing the same chorus instead of one. So it's really interesting.
04:44That's my favorite one so far. And I feel like the least hot, maybe.
04:51I think there's some sweetness. I think the mustard cuts it just a little bit. There's kind of a
04:56lingering hit and a little bit of a cumulative effect that I'm starting to pick up.
04:59But you're right. There's a sweetness almost to this one that kind of...
05:03Vinegar in there probably helps cut the heat a lot, I would imagine.
05:07So I was reading an interesting story about how early on in your career, you didn't have enough
05:11money to master an entire six track EP. So instead, you put your entire budget on one song,
05:18which turned out to be Hurricane. What was it about that song that made it the one that you put
05:22all your
05:22chips on? Well, interestingly and luckily enough, it was the only song that was in any state
05:30close enough to putting out. So it was basically a Hail Mary of like, well, this is all we got.
05:35It's either this or nothing. So I spent the last 200 bucks that I had. I hadn't done that previously.
05:42So I hadn't put that in my budget as an expense that I needed to be aware of.
05:47And it comes down. I'm like, well, dude, I don't have enough money to master these.
05:51Like, which one is good enough? And he's like, this one. I'm like, perfect. Let's do it. Put it out.
05:56Sells 10,000 units the first week, which I thought was like, cool, that's probably what everyone's
06:03doing. Or that's less than everyone's doing. Because again, I don't know. And it turns out,
06:10apparently it wasn't what everyone was doing. And it was a lot more for an independent
06:14kid who's dropped out of college and moved to town and doesn't have anything going on.
06:19And that's kind of what led to a hundred other dominoes falling in my favor. So I'm very,
06:24I'm very thankful for that, for that moment. And, and obviously it was supposed to work out that way.
06:34It just immediately has that like, taste of like, this is hotter than I would have.
06:39The habanero in particular, it really announces its presence right up front. You know,
06:45you just get that smokiness. It goes right to the chest. I feel like that's the one I was smelling
06:51when they put that. When the people came over in the hazmat suits with the wings. I feel like
06:58that's the one you're getting. As someone who's steeped in the genre and seems intent on making
07:04music that you want to hear as a fan, what do you make of phrases like gentleman country or bro
07:09country to define particular sub genres? There's, there's a huge contingency of people. I'm probably
07:15guilty of it at some time as well, but going, well, that's not country or this is too country or
07:20that's this or whatever. It's like, I think country music is enjoying a moment of relevancy that it
07:27maybe has never had, you know, outside of that early nineties era, the Shania Twain, Garth,
07:33Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, like Brooks and Dunn. That was a huge moment too. But I feel like we've
07:40crossed over like into the pop culture zeitgeist. I mean, there's three country artists selling out
07:46multiple nights at stadiums right now. That's as many as have ever done it in the history of country
07:52music. And it's all happening at the same time. So I, that's really cool to me, um, to feel like
07:58I'm
07:58a part of, I think that conversation is maybe a little unwarranted, but I think ultimately it
08:05benefits the genre. I'm really worried about the next half. I don't know that it's happening now.
08:22I was just about to say, I think I'm good. And then I think it's getting there.
08:27A shoe drops, but it's not as bad. It's not as bad as the last one to me. It's not
08:32as hot as the
08:33last one. The habanero, like we talked about, something different. Yeah. Yeah. And punches
08:41above its weight class for sure. What stands out as the rowdiest room that you've ever had to win over
08:47with just a microphone and a guitar? Oh gosh. Uh, there was a place we used to play in East
08:55Tennessee
08:56called the do drop in the guy who I was playing shows with at the time, Adam church, dear friend
09:01of mine. Oh, a ton of my success to him. And I remember telling his dad, he was actually from
09:07Boone. He grew up in Boone. I remember telling his dad, he's like, where are y'all playing tonight?
09:11And I was like, Oh, playing the do drop in. He goes, Oh, the knife and gun club. He's like,
09:14you don't love that. So it was like, you still smoke in there at that time. Uh, and the, the
09:21stage was about this high. So you'd get on stage and it was like, it was like a quarter step
09:25up
09:26onto the stage. People like dancing in front of you. But yeah, I've been in a few rooms like that,
09:32you know, middle of nowhere, South Carolina. And it's a little bit intimidating because people are
09:35like, this fucking better be good. You know what I mean? Like that was the idea. It's like,
09:39if I'm in here, I paid 10 bucks to get in here. Better be good. I have no idea who
09:43you are. And
09:44I'm going to be pissed if I didn't get my $10 out of you. Yeah. So I've had many of
09:48those nights
09:54homegrown Hill. I like that one. That's hot. Yeah. And this one, a little bit hotter than the
10:02white hot mustard, personally speaking. Definitely. The white hot mustard, that bottle might be walking
10:09out the door with me and everybody. You know what? All the bottles are walking out the door with you
10:13today. Even better. You don't, you don't leave here empty handed. Okay. So I've interviewed a
10:19lot of comedians over the years who will always talk about the importance of doing a thousand
10:24shows in a basement club or at an open mic before ever stepping on stage in front of an arena.
10:29Does that at all resonate with you and your history of playing dive bars to crowds as small
10:34as five to then playing Beaver Stadium in a sold out crowd of 80,000 people? Yeah. There's definitely
10:40some disparity there in those shows. The small shows can be really difficult. If you're having
10:46a bad show, it's amplified by a thousand. If there's 10 people in there and everyone's kind of like,
10:52like you can really feel that energy. Yeah. The guy that's sitting two feet away from you,
10:57it's like, man, this guy's pretty rough, huh? You know, like you, you hear that guy say that
11:01in the small room, you know what I mean? It's like you can, people don't wear it well when the
11:06show's not
11:06going well in a room of this size. I think in today's social media age, people's careers take
11:13off faster and faster. I don't think that's all bad, but you welcome in the criticisms of the world.
11:20And if you're a 14 year old kid and people online are going, Hey man, your ass don't play this
11:27anymore.
11:27Don't ever do this. Well, does that stop the next Bob Dylan from writing songs? Like I would,
11:35that would be devastating to find out that some kid who's inherently talented and has just hasn't
11:41had enough time yet is exposed to the cruelty of the world or the internet or people's opinions.
11:48Right. And so that I feel like is the, is the big downside of not going and just playing those
11:54little shows and figuring yourself out on this stage. That's like, it's okay to fail or feel like
12:01it's okay to fail. It's still okay to fail, but now you just have to fail in front of millions
12:05of people potentially instead of failing in your butt dive bar in your hometown where there's 10 people
12:11and it's not a big deal, you know? So it's, it's an interesting time.
12:20Yeah. Yeah. It's got some heat.
12:23Yeah. It's hot. Some violence on this one.
12:27This is the, this is like the gnarliest one since the habanero one.
12:32First one that has the initial like jab and we're on the gnarly wave from here on out.
12:38It's just more, for me, the thing is more like the nose running. It's the thing that drives me
12:43crazy when you have to like sniffle and talk. Yeah. It starts to squeeze you like a sponge,
12:47the deeper you go. The milk's making more sense.
12:52It's there for you. Yeah. That one's hot.
12:54So there's an ad lib at the end of one too many banger, by the way, where you say,
12:59come on, that's a country song. What does that mean to you? Exactly. That's something's a proper
13:04tribute to the genre of country music. Yeah. I just think, I don't know. It's like,
13:09cause that moment at the end of that song is like, was just truly me in the studio, like
13:14running it down with the band. I'm hearing it through the headphones. They're hearing it through
13:18the headphones. I'm singing it full breath, full volume. Like you're feeling the vibe of that song
13:26come to life for the very first time. And that was the moment of like finishing it, putting it in
13:32the
13:32frame and going, this is exactly what I wanted this song to be like. Come on. That's a country.
13:36And it happened. Yeah, for sure. I think I said, I think I, there's an expletive in there that was
13:41muted out. Actually, if you listen to it, come on, that's a motherfucking country song.
13:46Yeah. It's literally, that was it. Yeah. Yeah.
13:54Here we go. The bomb.
14:02I'm not there yet, which is still really freaking me out. Cause I know, I know it's going to be
14:06there.
14:09How about it's like someone's in your house and you don't know it yet.
14:13And then we just heard, I just heard something in the kitchen.
14:17Oh, now I'm going to check it out. There's somebody there for sure. There's definitely
14:25somebody there. And he's masked in arms. Yeah. He's not friendly. Oh yeah. Yeah.
14:32Oh yeah. That sucks, dude. Yeah.
14:36Still good though. Nice wing. Not something I would want at the house to,
14:41you know, have for dinner. Well, for better or worse, you will be going home. You know,
14:46as I promised, there's, there's a throat. That's the worst. Cause then you can't really talk.
14:51Is this wuss to go with milk? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Go. No, no, no. It's not at all.
14:55No, not at all. Cause you said yes. I know you didn't mean to say yes, but
15:02it's a point of product. All right. Then I'm right there with you. I'm right there with you.
15:06For the uninitiated, what is cookout? And do you have a go-to tray order and fancy shake flavor?
15:13When I go to cookout, no one else is allowed to order.
15:18Char, grilled, hamburgers, the whole nine. Like you can get a corn dog as a side,
15:23which is fire. Quesadilla as a side, by the way. You can add a milkshake for like $1.50. It's
15:28unbelievable. Imagine like Chick-fil-A without all the like helpful, the camp counselors that stand
15:35outside. And like, you come up and it's just a guy that's like, he's from the South, but his
15:41attitude is giving Philly window. And he's like, cookout, what do you want? You know? And you're like,
15:48um, I think it's like, you can hear him being like, come on. Like you can feel the guy in
15:55the
15:55thing. Oh God. Be careful. I, right when I touched it, I was like, oh, okay, let's find.
16:03And there's also fresh ones over there. Okay. I was like, I need a safe space. Yeah.
16:10Um, it's like big double tray, cheese, bacon, mayo, ketchup, corn dog, Cajun cheese fries,
16:17sweet tea. Like I can fire it off like that. And people hear me order it that quick. And they're
16:22like,
16:22what did you just order? I'm like, I ordered a double cheeseburger with bacon and ketchup. I just
16:27said it really fast. And the guy is going to know when I pull up through the window. He's like,
16:32this guy knows ball. He's a guy. This guy has spent 401k's worth in his day.
16:42And they're going to be thankful for that. They're going to be thankful. Oh man, I'm ready for this.
16:47Here we go. These last two are going to be something one thing. If you're ready,
16:51I'm ready, baby. Bring the pain. This one is a smoked Serrano squash reaper X.
16:59It's like your X, like it's already bad. That reads like your order from cookout. You know,
17:04it really does. I love how they put Serrano in there. Like it's going to have any flavor.
17:12Butterfly bakery. Yeah. They make that sound nice. Don't they?
17:22This one already has more flavor.
17:27There we go. It's got some flavor though. I'm liking that.
17:33So I understand that when you were rejected for the singing competition series, The Voice,
17:38they gave you a piece of feedback that read, you're a great singer, but lacking in TV
17:42entertainment value. Athletes are often motivated by perceived slights. I'm curious if it's the same
17:48for a musician, like in what way did early rejection, what kind of role did it play in
17:52your motivation as an artist? That situation gave me so much confidence because I'm like, okay,
18:00if I'm taking this at face value, which I did, it could have very easily been like,
18:06well, we can't tell this guy's a terrible singer. Like, just tell me he's not interesting.
18:10Maybe that will make him less sad, you know, which it did. It worked by the way.
18:15So I'm like, so you're saying I'm a good singer is what you're saying. You're saying I'm good.
18:20All I was looking for at that time was some sort of validation. Like, hey,
18:24I am an above average singer. I feel that way in my soul. So that was a, that was a
18:29big moment for
18:29me. I'm really honestly thankful for that experience. You have a glass half full perspective
18:34on the whole thing, but when it comes to your actual milk glass, totally full to the breath.
18:39Totally full, baby. I feel like that's about to change.
18:47I'm not going to be the first country singer on the knot. Oh man, that's scary. Okay.
18:54I get it all here. Okay. You got to get it all. Cheers. Cheers.
19:01Oh, that went right on the tongue too. Direct hip. Yeah. Nowhere to hide. Target, target, engage.
19:12Yeah. Yeah.
19:16But the good news is Luke Combs, we've reached the end of the line. We're at the summit of Spice
19:23Mountain. And as we've learned today, you know, you're somebody whose music has taken you to Nashville
19:28and then around the world and back. But I know at the end of the day, you'll always be a
19:34North Carolina
19:35boy. The outdoors, it served like an escape from the blinding lights of fame. And with that in mind,
19:42I was wondering if you could give us a turkey call tutorial on wing 10.
19:50Do you have some mouth calls? I have some mouth calls.
19:53No one ever put these mouth calls in after we put them in with this hot sauce.
19:57That's what I'm saying. We're breaking new ground over here.
20:01Where did you find these? I mean, I guess you can find anything in New York.
20:04I'm surprised that these are available. These little guys in here.
20:08It's the New York version of the turkey call over here.
20:12It's like the cool hair clip to wear while you're calling turkeys, you know?
20:17I don't know that I'm going to be the best teacher because it was just years of struggle
20:22and annoyance to everyone around me to get any kind of good at this. And I'm still, I'm not good
20:28at
20:28all. If you hear a good turkey caller after this, look up good turkey calls. This video is not going
20:33to show up, by the way. I don't want any of the turkey hunters out there to think I'm claiming
20:38to be
20:38like any kind of expert at this. So you're going to this way front. So this reed here,
20:44like this, the diaphragm is actually going to be in the front of your mouth like this.
20:49So you're going to sit at like in the roof of your mouth up here,
20:54press your tongue against it, and you want to force air between those reeds.
20:59Give a shot. Let's hear it.
21:02Pretty, pretty good. Pretty good.
21:16With some style on it and look at you. Yeah. Luke Combs taking on the wings of death,
21:22living to tell the tale. Now there's nothing left to do, but roll out the red carpet for you.
21:26A hundred percent. This camera, this camera, this camera, let the people know what you have going
21:29on in your life. Luke Combs, can't wait for turkey season. New album season, March 20th,
21:35the way I am. This is the only PR thing I've ever wanted to do in like my 10 years
21:41of forever.
21:42So thank you for having me on. Thanks for letting me be the first country artist. The wings were insane.
21:46Very good. Hot sauce. Very hot. Thank you guys so much.
22:00I've been dreaming of that, dude. I remember asking years ago, like asking Carl, I was like,
22:05how do we get on hot? And she was like, I don't know. I don't know. Thanks for coming in.
22:10Oh my
22:10God. You did great. It was fun, dude. Thanks for having us. That was a blast, dude. Come on.
22:14That's a mother country song. People think hot ones is chaos, but this table runs on precision.
22:23Every bottle has a job. And right now, Los Calientes Verde is missing. Bill, we have a situation.
22:34Relax, Sean. Hot ones hot sauces are available in over 10,000 grocery stores nationwide.
22:39I have an extra for you. Thanks so much, Bill. Crisis averted. Now let's roll.
22:45Find Hot ones hot sauces at major retailers and grocery stores near you.
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