Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs perform onstage during the 66th GRAMMY Awards on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Luke Combs said he accidentally got the lyrics to Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” wrong in his chart-topping cover.
Speaking to fans at a concert, per a TikTok video captured by a concertgoer, Combs said Chapman told him about the mistake, which came in the last stanza.
“She said when you recorded the song, you said, ‘Still gotta make a decision’ instead of, ‘We gotta make a decision.’ And that was the first time I knew that I know that I recorded the song incorrectly,” he said, prompting fans to laugh.
Combs said he was immediately mortified. “I remember when she said it, I wanted to crawl into a hole,” the country artist said.
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“Luckily she was awesome about it, and I think about it every single time I sing the song, and I will think about it every single time I sing the song for the rest of my life,” he continued.
He said he would not sing “still gotta make a decision” during his "Fast Car" performance at the concert, but rather the revised lyrics.
Combs’ account is complicated by a re-listen of Chapman’s original tune, released in 1988. Chapman’s recording of the song goes, “You gotta make a decision,” according to Genius — not “we,” as Combs said.
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Chapman has sung her original lyrics at past concerts. She recited “you gotta make a decision” in her famous performance of the song for Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday at Wembley Stadium in 1988.
But the lyrics might be changing. When the two singers came together on stage at the 66th Grammy Awards to perform “Fast Car," Combs sang the lyrics, “We gotta make a decision.”
Combs’ 2023 recording of “Fast Car” song topped Billboard’s Hot Country songs list and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song won single of the year and song of the year at the 2023 Country Music Awards.
Chapman’s original song in 1988 reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The day after the Grammys performance, Chapman’s music catalogue streams on Spotify saw an increase of 430%, the music streamer shared with TODAY.com.
"When it comes to the performance it’s still hard to process how amazing it really was to be up there on that stage. No doubt a defining moment of my career," said Combs in an Instagram post reflecting on the Grammy Awards performance with Chapman. "Tracy, I want to send my sincerest thanks to you for allowing me to be a part of your moment."
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