Luke Combs Opens Up About How a High School Chorus Teacher Nearly Made Him Quit Music On The Armchair Expert Podcast
- All Country News
- Aug 19
- 3 min read
Luke Combs is one of the biggest voices in modern country music, selling out stadiums and topping charts with songs that speak to everyday life. But on a recent episode of the Armchair Expert podcast with Dax Shepard, Combs revealed that his path to stardom nearly ended before it ever began, thanks to an offhand piece of advice from his high school chorus teacher.
Combs, who grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, explained that he spent a quarter of his high school career in chorus class. “My last semester of senior year, first period was chorus,” he recalled. “And last period, I was Miss Bryant’s teacher assistant.” Unlike what most students might imagine when signing up for a teacher’s aide slot, Combs didn’t get a free pass to coast through. “She never gave me that preferential treatment like, ‘do whatever you want.’ She had me printing lesson plans, making copies. It was brutal,” he said with a laugh.
Still, he loved the singing part. What he didn’t love was the technical side of music. “I’ve always hated the theory part. I just don’t take to it well. Math has never been easy for me, and music theory feels like the same part of the brain. It was always my worst subject,” Combs admitted.
When it came time to think about college, Combs asked his teacher for advice. Her words stuck with him, but not in the way she likely intended. “She told me, ‘Don’t do music if you can see yourself doing anything else.’ And I took that very literally. I thought she meant, ‘don’t try to be a music teacher unless you absolutely can’t do anything else.’ So I just figured, okay, I’m not going to do music.”
Looking back, Combs now recognizes the deeper meaning in her challenge. “She was really saying, ‘If you’re going to make it in music, it has to be the only thing you can imagine doing,’” he explained. “But at the time, I didn’t understand that. Growing up in a small town with blue-collar parents, I didn’t think you could just say, ‘I’m going to be Garth Brooks.’ That felt like saying I was going to be an astronaut. I thought life was just about paying bills, hating your job, and working for the weekend.”
Of course, fate and Combs’ undeniable talent had other plans. What could have been a permanent deterrent ended up being fuel for the kind of grit and authenticity fans now hear in every song. His teacher’s words may have momentarily shaken his confidence, but they also tested his resolve. And in true Luke Combs fashion, he found a way to turn that test into triumph.
Today, as Combs headlines stadiums and racks up awards, it’s hard to imagine a world where he walked away from music. Yet his story on Armchair Expert is a reminder that even the biggest stars are shaped by moments of doubt and sometimes, by the very people who almost talk them out of chasing their dreams.
You can check out the full episode below.
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