When it comes to country music, Luke Combs and Morgen Wallen are the two heavy hitters of the current generation. In terms of global popularity, they're two of the heaviest hitters in the history of the genre.
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Of course, when you have two titans operating at the top of the same industry, the notion of compeition is bound to become a talking point. Even though Combs and Wallen produce significantly different styles of country, fans appear to believe the two are pushing for the bona fide top spot.
When speaking with Popcast's Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli of The New York Times, Combs addressed those notions, noting that neither he nor Wallen views themselves as being in compeition.
"I mean, dude, listen. Me and Morgan have been on tour together," Combs said. "It feels like everybody but us plays that game of like, who has got this, who is releasing that, who is doing this and who is doing that."
Combs then continued to explain why he and Wallen aren't in competition, and why neither of Country Music's titans see it that way.
"And I just don't think me and him see it that way in the sense of, I don't feel like I'm competing against him and I'm pretty sure he doesn't feel like he's competing against me in any way. I'm running my own race, maybe he's on the same track that I'm on, but the finish line isn't the same. You know, I think there's healthy competition you can have inside your own mind of, I want to put out the best music I can."
Luke Combs Likes the Variety on Offer Within the Country Music Scene
Country music has experienced a major surge in global popularity in recent years. So much so that the genre is being pulled in multiple different directions. For Combs, that's the perfect way for multiple stars to share the top spot.
"If you picked the right Morgan song, the right my song and the right Zach (Bryan) song and played them back to back for someone who had never heard any of us, they'd be like, 'There's no way any of these guys are in the same genre.' And I think that's awesome for country music."
In truth, Combs' stance is the best one to take for the continued growth of country music. Collaboration will always defeat competition. And with so many styles to choose from, there will be plenty of collaboration opportunities in the coming years, for all of country's biggest stars.
