Only 18 Country Songs Have Ever Done This—Now a Cover of a Beloved 1988 Classic Is One of Them
Country star Luke Combs has notched his third song to surpass one billion streams on Spotify, this time with his cover of Tracy Chapman's 1988 classic "Fast Car". The milestone is notable because only 18 country songs have ever reached one billion streams on the platform, placing Combs alongside artists such as Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan, Taylor Swift and Chris Stapleton. The achievement caps a memorable run for the track, which began when Combs covered it on his 2023 album "Gettin' Old" with Chapman's blessing.
Combs performed "Fast Car" alongside Chapman at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, a moment widely seen as a highlight of his career. With this third billion-stream song, Combs trails only Morgan Wallen, who leads the genre with four tracks past the milestone, including "Last Night" and "Whiskey Glasses". Other songs on the list include Zach Bryan's "Something in the Orange", Chris Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey" and Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)".
In short
- Luke Combs' "Fast Car" cover hits one billion Spotify streams.
- It's the 18th country song ever to reach that mark.
- Combs now has three such songs, trailing leader Morgan Wallen's four.
Explained simply
“Fast Car” is a song written and first recorded by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman in 1988. It tells the story of someone hoping to escape poverty and build a different life, and became one of Chapman’s best-known songs.
Country singer Luke Combs released a cover of the song in 2023, with Chapman’s blessing. Covers are new recordings of songs first made famous by another artist; Combs’s version introduced the song to many country listeners.
Spotify is a music-streaming service, and a billion streams means a song has been played there one billion times. The milestone puts Combs among a small group of country artists whose songs have reached that figure, showing the scale of streaming audiences for the genre.
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