Luke Combs hit the CMT stage looking like any regular bloke who had just fronted for pub karaoke. But the North Carolina crooner was there to sing with his childhood heroes, the legendary Brooks & Dunn, and he sure stepped up to the plate! Combs brought the fire to the classic Brooks & Dunn hit “Brand New Man” by adding his husky voice, creating an epic vocal trio. Combs, Brooks, and Dunn playing off each other created an electrifying energy at the venue, which the crowd hyped up by singing along to every line.
Combs’ smoky voice sounded delectable when kicked into gear on the opening verse over the band’s rollicking groove. The vocal firepower just kept coming when all three stars sang together in the chorus. The Music Man has to say their voices really sounded like they were made to be together. Is Brooks, Dunn & Combs about to be the next big thing?
CMT uploaded the “Brand New Man” performance to YouTube, where it hit a hefty 4.7 million views. Fans loved the collab and added comments such as “I love how Luke seems to be fan-boying over singing this with Brooks & Dunn! His excitement is contagious!!” and “Luke looks like a guy that just stumbled out of one of those bars and found himself on a stage singing lol.” Viewers also appreciated that Dunn gave Combs his approval at the end by smiling broadly and saying “That was pretty good!” as they shook hands.
Combs has made no secret of how big of a fan he is of Brooks & Dunn. The North Carolina star also covered “Brand New Man” in an acoustic cut with his three-piece band at 1201. It’s great to hear Combs handle all the lead vocals on the song, and the acoustic format just goes to show what an incredible voice he has. His bandmates deliver some on-point harmonies that really bring out the layered Brooks & Dunn vocal sound beautifully.
Combs has collaborated with Brooks & Dunn a number of times over the years. He even got in the studio with the duo and re-recorded “Brand New Man” for their 12th studio album, Reboot. Brooks & Dunn were evidently fans of this cut of “Brand New Man,” as they chose it to open the album. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that upon the release of Reboot, Combs told Taste of Country that Brooks & Dunn’s music “heavily influenced” him. He said that when the duo’s classic albums were coming out, “it was kind of like the heyday of me being a kid in the car with my parents listening to the radio, so I just gravitated heavily towards Brooks & Dunn.”