Do you know Luke Combs? I ask because before he released his cover of “Fast Car”, I have to admit that I didn’t know him until I heard about him through the media. Excuse me, but in my native France, country music is not a very popular genre of music. I see that in the fall of 2023 he will be performing in Paris at La Cigale, a venue that holds a maximum of 1389 people, or only 954 if the audience is seated, while he performs in stadiums in North America. This gives you an idea of his popularity on this side of the ocean and an excuse not to know him. But now I do!
Luke Combs is an American country music singer and songwriter who has released four albums, the latest of which features the Fast Car cover. His music has earned him three Grammy Award nominations, two iHeart Radio Music Awards, four Academy of Country Music Awards and six Country Music Association Awards.
He released a cover of “Fast Car” and I don’t like it. Yes, I know, I’m being direct and honest. But in my opinion, very few artists are able to cover a Tracy Chapman song and make a completely different interpretation of the original while making it their own.
If you want to form your own opinion of his cover, listen to the studio version on Youtube (below), Spotify or Apple Music
He also released an official live version:
I have to admit that for me the only one who managed to do this for “Fast Car” is the Portuguese artist Maro, whom I like very much. Here is her partial cover, because unfortunately she has not (yet?) released a full version of the song.
Why did Luke Combs release a cover of “Fast Car” ?
But back to Luke. Apparently, “Fast Car” has been in his setlists a lot over the years, and he recently explained what the song means to him in an interview with Zane Lowe on New Music Daily on Apple Music 1:
I said I didn’t like his cover because I don’t see the point of covering “Fast Car” if he’s going to sing it the way Tracy sings it, and obviously less well since he doesn’t have her voice, and bring nothing musically to the way it’s played on the guitar.
But apparently that’s on purpose. That’s what he told Lowe:
But Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” is a huge success
Whether I like it or not, who cares? In fact, he sent it to the US Pop Top 40 and as of April 18th, the song has had 46 million streams worldwide, is currently at #14 on the US Spotify chart and #9 on the US Apple Music chart. It has also charted in Ireland, the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
Opinions about Luke Combs cover are divided
I see on Twitter that I’m not the only one to dislike it. Some tweets are really
Someone on fb said Luke Combs sings Fast Car better than Tracy Chapman so I unfriended them
— mergan (@itsmergan_) April 25, 2023
just found out luke combs covered tracy chapman’s fast car….. sick to my stomach…. dazed and confused…. send thoughts and prayers pls
— Marciana (@anhoelica) April 26, 2023
But ALOT of others do
Luke Combs cover of Fast car is soooooo good lol
— Troy Hunter (@ballertroy22) April 26, 2023
Luke Combs’ rendition of “Fast Car” is a gift from God
— Caleb Denorme (@caleb_denorme) April 25, 2023
Luke Combs “Fast Car” while it doesn’t hit as hard as Tracy Chapman’s version (because of nostalgia) is pretty damn good. . .and captures the essence of the song.
— Chris Kleene (@ckleene) April 21, 2023
And just because he allowed a new generation to discover this song, we should thank him. Although some people think he’s the one who wrote “Fast Car” And that’s not acceptable! :)
