Chris Stapleton’s Breakthrough Opened Doors for Luke Combs, the Singer Says
Luke Combs says chris stapleton’s moment on the CMA stage and the ripple effects that followed changed Nashville’s expectations and helped make room for artists like him. The observation comes as Combs marks a run that began with his 2017 debut This One’s for You and continues with his most recent album, The Way I Am, released March 20.
Chris Stapleton’s 2015 CMA Performance and Traveler Surge
Combs traces a clear line from Stapleton’s 2015 CMA Awards performance with Justin Timberlake to a broader industry shift. That televised set sent Stapleton’s album Traveler to the top of the country charts, an outcome Combs describes as an undeniable turning point: the moment “you just knew” a life had changed. The chart surge and mainstream attention for Traveler, Combs says, lifted a long-hidden Nashville figure into national prominence and altered what the market expected a country star to look and sound like.
By changing perceptions of marketability—moving away from polished, ‘create-a-character’ stars—Stapleton’s breakthrough made it easier for artists with different images to be taken seriously. Combs captures the effect in vivid terms: “He puts a breaking charge on the door and the SWAT team comes in after. Blows it out, and that gives me an opportunity to be like, maybe this guy doesn’t look the part, but maybe people don’t care as much about that anymore, or right now. ”
Luke Combs’s Rise from 2017 Debut to Stadiums
Combs frames his own ascent as riding the current Stapleton helped build. After entering the industry with This One’s for You in 2017, he has amassed what his public profile lists as 19 consecutive number-one hits on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, beginning with his debut single “Hurricane” and extending through “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma. ” Those singles have been accompanied by 11 CMA Awards, 4 ACM Awards and 6 Billboard Music Awards, and a steady move from packed venues to sold-out stadiums.
Combs described his position in Nashville before his breakthrough as that of a songwriter and struggling performer waiting for his chance. Hearing and seeing Stapleton’s success—particularly the CMA performance—changed the calculus, convincing him that mainstream listeners might prioritize authenticity and voice over image. He recounted the effect of that night on people around him, noting how industry insiders who once considered Stapleton a local legend suddenly recognized the broader commercial possibility.
The Career Link Between Two Artists and the Industry Shift
The causal chain Combs outlines is straightforward: Stapleton’s high-profile CMA appearance produced a measurable commercial boost for Traveler, which in turn shifted industry and audience expectations about what a country star could be. That shift, Combs argues, created an opening for performers like himself to break through without fitting an earlier, more polished archetype.
What makes this notable is the immediacy of the change in both perception and outcome. A single televised performance elevated an album to the top of the charts and helped reconfigure the industry’s image standards; within a few years, artists who had—notably—different looks and backgrounds were achieving sustained chart and touring success. Combs ties his own milestones directly to that environment: a 2017 debut, a catalog that has delivered nearly two dozen chart-topping singles, high-profile awards and a transition to stadium-sized audiences.
Combs delivered these reflections while speaking on Popcast with hosts Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli of, placing the Stapleton moment at the center of his recollection about how Nashville and the wider country market evolved in the late 2010s. For Combs, the lesson is both personal and structural: a breakthrough for one artist can change the parameters for many, remaking who gets the microphone and who audiences will follow.
