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Chris Janson, Craig Morgan and John Conlee stunned Luke Combs Tuesday night with an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry.
The North Carolina native had just finished his third song when the men — all Opry members — walked on stage.
“We just want to touch you,” Conlee quipped to Combs as the crowd cheered. “What a career this guy is having. It is incredible. You all know that. We all know that. The Grand Ole Opry wants you to know that we just love you.”
Then Janson laid his hand on Combs’ shoulder and led the men in saying: “How would you like to be the next member of the Grand Ole Opry?"
Combs doubled over in surprise, took his hat off and wiped his eyes with his shirt.
“This is the absolute feather in my cap for me as far as career goals,” Combs said after the curtain dropped on the show. “It is the absolute No. 1 thing for me. It cannot be surpassed. It’s something I’ve dreamed about since I made my debut. It’s such a storied thing. I was like, ‘I will do whatever it takes to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.’ I just can’t believe it. It doesn’t feel real.”
The singer’s unexpected path to the Opry’s circle started five years ago on his first trip to Nashville. Over the period of a week in Music City, Combs met frequent co-writer Rob Snyder, had breakfast with Conlee at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store through mutual friends and co-wrote “She Got the Best of Me.”
Combs' memorable moments piling up
When Combs saw Morgan, Conlee and Janson walk out, he said he thought, ‘Oh, this is how they invite people to become members, but I don’t deserve that yet.’ When the men said they walked out to sing with him, Combs believed them.
“You just never think it’s going to happen,” he said of the invitation. “When they asked, I literally couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even know what to say. There’s nothing to say but yes, and I didn’t even say yes. I just cried the whole time. Let me go on the record and say, ‘Yes.’”
The mountain top moment is one of many Combs has accumulated since releasing his 2017 debut album “This One’s for You.” Combs made history as the first artist to simultaneously top all five Billboard country charts for multiple weeks. He scored five No. 1 hits at country radio with songs including “Hurricane,” “One Number Away” and “Beautiful Crazy,” which spent seven weeks atop Billboard’s country radio charts.
“Since making his Opry debut a little less than three years ago, Luke Combs has become a favorite of fans and fellow artists here at the Opry while simultaneously becoming a chart-topping bona fide country music superstar,” said Opry General Manager Sally Williams in a statement.
She continued: “We’ve loved every minute of his Opry visits and are thrilled to invite him to become an official part of the Opry family. Luke’s heart is filled with love and genuine appreciation for the Opry, and we are excited this will be his musical home for the rest of what will no doubt will be a long and rewarding career full of great music.”
Combs released his EP “The Prequel” earlier this month, which is home to his current hit “Beer Never Broke My Heart.”
Last week, Combs won Performance of the Year at the 2019 CMT Music Awards. In May, he earned Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist and Top Country Album at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards. And, the month before, he scored New Male Artist of the Year at the 2019 ACM Awards. Combs was also nominated for Best New Artist at the 61st GRAMMY Awards.
Combs will join 2019’s recent inductees Mark Wills and Kelsea Ballerini when he officially becomes a member later this year. A formal induction date will be announced soon.
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