Been waiting for this duet.
Back in 1988, Tracy Chapman released her debut single, “Fast Car.” To this day, it’s been a massive and nostalgic hit, bringing in listeners of all genres, including Country superstar Luke Combs.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and even then you’d probably still know it) Luke Combs released his cover of Fast Car off his fourth studio album, “Gettin’ Old,” last year. It was streamed over 65 million times on Spotify alone in less than two months, solidifying it as the most popular song on the record and forcing Luke Combs to release it as a single to both pop and country radio.
The day Luke’s cover became the No. 1 song on Billboard’s country airplay chart back in June of last year, Tracy Chapman shared a post to Instagram congratulating the 33 year-old country star, while also hinting at a future collaboration between the two:
“Who would want to see this collaboration? Congratulations to @lukecombs success with Fast Car.”
Well, after seven months, it’s finally happening. According to Variety, Tracy and Luke will take center stage to perform the hit song together for the first time at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
Tracy has only performed three times since she wrapped up her “Our Bright Future Tour” in 2009. Thanks to the newfound success and popularity of Luke’s version, Tracy has been in high demand to come out of “hiding.”
Fast Car won both Single and Song of the Year at the 57th annual CMA Awards. It was Luke’s first-ever win for Single, while Tracy became the first female black artist to ever win a CMA Award.
Luke Combs never intended for “Fast Car” to be such an explosive hit, but it soared to the top of Billboard’s Country Airplay charts anyway, and quickly became one of the top songs in all of music.
Luke recounted this in his acceptance speech, sharing he just recorded it because he “loved the song so much.” He immediately thanked Tracy Chapman for “writing one of the best songs of all time.”
The Grammys will air live at 8pm EST this Sunday, February 4th, on CBS and Paramount+.