Who Are the Newest Country Music Stars?
Keep up with the latest in country music by learning about some of the genre’s newest stars. Find out who’s making waves and why they’re worth your attention.
Luke Combs
Biography
Luke Combs is an American country music singer and songwriter. Combs has released two albums for Columbia Records Nashville, which have combined to produce five singles, all of which have reached the top five on Billboard Country Airplay: “Hurricane”, “When It Rains It Pours”, “One Number Away”, “She Got the Best of Me”, and “Beautiful Crazy”. Born in Asheville, North Carolina and raised in rural Lenoir, Combs began writing songs in high school and self-released his debut EP The Way She Rides in 2014. After signing a recording contract with Columbia in 2016, he released his first album This One’s for You in June 2017. The album’s second single, “When It Rains It Pours”, topped the U.S. Country Airplay chart in September 2017. Combs won the Academy of Country Music Award for New Male Artist of the Year and the CMT Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year for “Hurricane” at the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards and 2018 CMT Music Awards respectively. He also received nominations for Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year at the 53rd CMA Awards.
Music
Luke Combs is an American country music singer and songwriter. Combs has released two albums for Columbia Records Nashville, which have combined to sell more than three million copies in the United States. His debut album, This One’s for You, was released in 2017 and includes the singles “Hurricane”, “When It Rains It Pours”, and “One Number Away”. His second album, What You See Is What You Get, was released in 2019 and includes the singles “Beautiful Crazy”, “She Got the Best of Me”, and “Even Though I’m Leaving”.
Maren Morris
Maren Morris is a country music singer and songwriter who has been making a name for herself over the past few years. She has released two albums, “My Church” and “GIRL”, and has had several hit singles, including “The Middle”, “My Church”, and “GIRL”. She is currently one of the hottest stars in country music and is sure to continue to rise in popularity in the coming years.
Biography
Maren Larae Morris (born April 10, 1990) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She has released four studio albums. Her 2015 extended play, Maren Morris EP, charted on two Billboard magazine charts. Her major label debut album, Hero, reached number five on the Top Country Albums chart and number one on the Country Airplay chart. Hero’s lead single, “My Church”, peaked at number five on the Country Airplay chart, making Morris the first female artist to send a debut single to that peak position since Carrie Underwood accomplished the feat with her 2005 debut single “Jesus, Take the Wheel”. A crossover hit, it peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified sextuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Morris followed Hero with her major label sophomore release, I Could Use a Love Song (2017). The album’s lead single and title track reached number one on Country Airplay in February 2018. It was followed by “Rich” and “GIRL”, which respectively peaked at numbers three and four on the Country Airplay chart. All three singles were certified platinum by the RIAA. In between releasing her albums Hero and I Could Use a Love Song, Morris co-wrote Thomas Rhett’s US number-one single “Craving You”. I Could Use a Love Song was nominated for Best Country Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards.
Music
Maren Morris is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. She has released four studio albums. Her 2015 extended play, Maren Morris EP, featured the Top 40 country radio single “My Church”. Her major label debut album, Hero, reached Number One on the Top Country Albums chart and Number Five on the Billboard 200. It included her first number one single on both the Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts, “I Could Use a Love Song”, as well as the Top 10 country radio single “80s Mercedes”.
Her second album, Girl, was released on March 8, 2019. The album’s lead single “GIRL” peaked at number one on the Country Airplay chart in May 2019, becoming her second career number-one hit on that chart. It also debuted in the top ten of the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Brett Young
Biography
Brett Young (born March 23, 1981) is an American country pop singer and songwriter. From Orange County, California, he was a collegiate baseball player before turning to music. After self-releasing three independent albums, he signed with Big Machine Records in 2016. His eponymous debut album followed and produced his first three number one singles on Billboard Country Airplay: “In Case You Didn’t Know”, “Mercy”, and “Like I Loved You”. A fourth single, “Sleep Without You”, peaked at number five. His second studio album, Ticket to L.A., was released in late 2018 and included the top-five single “Here Tonight”. Young’s third album, Invaders of the Heart, is scheduled to be released in early 2019.
Music
Brett Young is an American country music singer and songwriter. He was born in Anaheim, California and was raised in Yorba Linda, California. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and he was raised by his mother. He graduated from Yorba Linda High School in 2000. He then attended college at Mississippi State University on a baseball scholarship. He played baseball for two years before deciding to focus on music full-time. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2004 to pursue a career in country music.
In February 2016, he released his self-titled debut album, which peaked at number one on the Billboard Country Albums chart. The album’s lead single, “Sleep Without You”, peaked at number two on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. His second album, Ticket to L.A., was released in December 2018 and includes the single “Here Tonight”.
