Luke Combs Talks Songwriting After 2021 ACM Honors Milestone Award
Written By: Amanda Tempel
Date Published: August 25, 2021
Luke Combs received the Gene Weed Milestone Award during the 14th Annual ACM Honors at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium in 2021. The award recognized his major career achievements, including a record-setting run of No. 1 singles and the success of his album What You See Is What You Get.
Following his acceptance speech, I caught up with Luke backstage at the Ryman Auditorium to talk about the pressure to continuously release new music, what keeps him inspired as a songwriter, and his gratitude for getting to make music for a living.
Luke Combs on Songwriting and Releasing New Music
Amanda Tempel: Hey Luke! Congratulations on your big night! I think every time I turn on the radio you’ve got a new song out! Do you ever feel pressure, or maybe it’s inspiration, to continuously write new songs?
Luke Combs: I think so a little bit, you know, I mean, it's like, they all go fast, which, hey, I'm not complaining about that one bit, I'm super lucky to be in the position that I'm in. Luckily, I got a bunch of great friends that I write songs with that constantly have good ideas. I'm constantly pumped to be able to get in the room with those guys. It's exciting man, you know, I get to live my dream, which a lot of people would give everything they have to get to do what I do every day. And so I try to be as thankful for that as humanly possible. And enjoy my time and keep writing songs and just and just be thankful for everyone I get.
Why Did Luke Combs Receive the ACM Milestone Award?
The Academy of Country Music selected Luke Combs for the Gene Weed Milestone Award after a major run of career achievements. At the time, What You See Is What You Get had reached double-platinum status, while Combs had become the first country artist to send each of his first 10 singles to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
Ashley McBryde also honored Combs during the 2021 ACM Honors with a performance of “She Got the Best of Me” before he received the award.
About the 2021 ACM Honors
The 14th Annual ACM Honors took place August 25, 2021, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The ceremony recognized special award recipients, songwriters, musicians, and industry honorees from the Academy of Country Music.
Luke Combs was among the night’s special honorees, receiving the Gene Weed Milestone Award for his achievements in country music.