Luke Combs Says ‘The Voice’ Rejected Him for Being “Too Boring”

Since breaking into the music industry back in 2014, Luke Combs released four studio albums, with his last Gettin’ Old hitting shelves last year. But besides spending time in the studio, the country star received numerous accolades for his contributions to music. But like any artist, Combs once found himself on the outside looking in. Before he became a recipient of the Entertainer of the Year Award, Combs hoped to gain his footing in the industry by auditioning for a hit singing competition. But to his surprise, the producers found him too boring. 

For any fan who attended a concert by Combs, they know that boring and the country singer don’t mix. But when discussing his career on the Full Send podcast, the country singer decided to take fans and the hosts on a trip back before he gained the spotlight. Revealing that he once auditioned for The Voice, Combs shared some details surrounding the audition process. He admitted that during the audition he wanted to do a country song but the producers noted, “’Oh, well, you didn’t sing country before.’ I’m like, ‘So I have to sing one kind of [music]? The show is just about being a singer.’”

That was just the start for Combs as he tried to entertain the producers with his audition and to his surprise, he made it through one round. But before he even thought about making it to the televised auditions, he received a haunting letter that informed him his short time on The Voice was over. “I still have the [rejection letter] in storage that says, ‘You’re a great singer but…’ [So] it’s essentially about ratings right?” 

[RELATED: Luke Combs Teases New Tear-Jerker and Duet With Post Malone]

Luke Combs Recalls First Conversation With Tracy Chapman

While not taking the rejection to heart, Combs went on to find his own place in country music. Just a few months ago, he performed at the Grammy Awards alongside Tracy Chapman. Performing “Fast Car”, Combs discussed his first interaction with Chapman and how it happened over a phone call. 

Appearing on God’s Country, Combs said, “We talked for 40 minutes probably, and I think that was the — for her, it was the ‘am I gonna do this with this guy at all? Who’s this guy? What’s he really about?’ You know what I mean? At least, I think that’s maybe what it was. It was just really easy, man. We just talked. Just talked about music, talked about that song, I fangirled for sure. …You hardly ever get to have those conversations with people that you admire. So, that was really cool, man. And I feel like we just connected on that call.”

(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)