Luke Combs performs during the 55th Annual Country Music Association Awards at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 10, 2021 in Nashville.
John Shearer/Getty Images for CMAFollowing his entertainer of the year win at Wednesday's (Nov. 10) CMA Awards, Luke Combs has announced several stadium shows for next year, including performances at Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High on May 21, Seattle’s Lumen Field on June 4 and Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 30.
Joining Combs for these shows will be Zach Bryan, Cody Johnson and Morgan Wade.
Combs currently has a top 5 hit on Billboard's Country Airplay chart with "Cold As You," which is the seventh single to be released from his What You See Ain't Always What You Get project. During his CMA Awards performance on Wednesday, Combs debuted a new song, "Doin' This."
“This song means a lot to me personally," Combs said via a press release. "Not to recite the lyrics, but for me, it’s truly about playing country music for a crowd, whether that’s 70 people or 70,000 people, and playing country music with my buddies in the band. It really doesn’t matter where we’re playing or how many people we’re playing for because it isn’t about the fame, the fortune, the name, or the glory. It’s about getting to make and play country music."
Combs also noted the swirl of career happenings over the past few days, saying, “This week has been a whirlwind - got to debut a new song on the CMAs, release the song and music video to my fans, and announce three stadium shows at NFL stadiums. Talk about a week! It will be hard to top this one.”
Tickets for these newly confirmed stadium shows will be available for pre-sale beginning Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. local time via Ticketmaster Verified Fan. The general on sale will open Friday, Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. local time.
Combs also recently released the track "South On Ya," which was added as the official theme song for the SEC Network's 2021 football season.
At the BTS concert in Tokyo on Friday (April 17), j-hope opened up to ARMY with heartbreaking news. His grandmother, who played a major role in raising him and had always been proud of his journey with the group, has passed away.
Speaking to the packed crowd at the Tokyo Dome, the K-pop star chose to be open with fans about what he was going through. “Honestly, this might be a bit of a heavy thing to share, but I really wanted to express how I’m feeling today,” he said, translated from Korean into English. “Right after we arrived in Japan, I got the news that my maternal grandmother, the one who raised me from when I was little, had passed away.”
“I felt completely stunned and did not really know how to process it at first, but being around the members, sitting down together for meals, and focusing on rehearsals helped me more than I thought it would,” j-hope went on. “My grandmother was always incredibly proud, not just of me but of all the members. She truly believed in what we do. So I feel like if she was watching from above today, she would have loved every second of it.”
He closed by thanking the audience for making his first performance after the loss feel meaningful and full of support.
BTS are currently touring in support of their new album ARIRANG, which has just earned a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Following three opening shows in Goyang, South Korea, the group is set to perform twice at the Tokyo Dome before heading abroad for the North American leg. Before the tour wraps in March next year, they will also visit Latin America, Europe, Australia, and several other regions across Asia.
On the same day as the first Tokyo concert, j-hope’s solo interview with Rolling Stone was released. During the conversation, he spoke about stepping into a leadership presence within the group. “I think that’s my role on the team,” he shared. “It just comes naturally. It feels strange to even call it a role, but I just try to handle things as they come and support the other members in any way I can.”
Additional reporting from Billboard Korea.
