Drew Baldridge Reveals Luke Combs Recorded His New Single, ‘Tough People,’ And Then Encouraged Him To Release It
Baldridge co-wrote the song, and Combs encouraged him to release it.
Drew Baldridge, Luke Combs; Photos via Facebook
Drew Baldridge and his co-writers behind his history-making No.1 hit, “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” recently gathered at BMI’s Nashville office to celebrate the success of the song. Ahead of the backyard barbeque-themed party, Baldridge sat down with Country Now and other outlets to reflect on the song’s groundbreaking run at country radio and look ahead to what’s next.
First-Ever No.1 Single
With “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” Baldridge made history as the first self-released artist to reach the top spot on the Country Aircheck/Mediabase chart with their first No.1. The Illinois native admitted that he was hoping and praying for a Top 40 single and that the idea of a No.1 seemed nearly out of reach at the time they released it.
“Everybody was like, ‘What do you want out of this?’ And I was like, ‘Man, I don’t have a manager. I don’t have a booking agent. I don’t have a label. I just hope that we can create enough steam there. Maybe somebody will want to help me. Maybe I can get a booking agent out of this, maybe I can get in the Top 40.’ And man, by the grace of God, it just kept going.”
What’s Next
Now, with a historic No.1 under his belt, Baldridge has been tasked with finding a follow-up single to keep the momentum going.
“Tough People”
“We’ve been working on the next single and it’s a song called ‘Tough People.’ And we just found out that it’s going to be out on October 25. We’re going to be going to Country Radio. November 4th is the plan,” he revealed. “The song is literally the story that we are going through. The hook of it says ‘hard work pays off, good beats evil, and tough times make tough people.”
Baldridge said that the song was born during a tough time when he had to remind himself “Don’t give up, keep going no matter what’s going on in your life, and you can come out stronger because of it.”
He recorded it last year, however, another artist got ahold of the song in the meantime.
Luke Combs Recorded The Song
“The next month, Luke Combs recorded it. And I was like, ‘That’s cool.’ But also… I wanted it. And mind you, I was in the fifties at this time, so it made tons of sense for Luke to record it. And then his timing, he had the Fathers and Sons album come out and I remember we were top 10 and I called him probably just a month or two ago. I was like, ‘Hey man, I don’t know what you’re doing with that song, but if it doesn’t mean as much to you, as it does to what we’re doing, just let me know.’
Combs was quick to reply with a kind and empowering message.
Combs Responds
“He sent me this sweet voice message. I’ve still got it. He was like, ‘Drew, you wrote it. You should sing it. It’s your message. I’ll root you on all the way to number one with it.”
At this point, Baldridge says he felt a bit conflicted.
“Now I’m freaking out again. I was like, ‘Did I mess up by not letting Luke Combs record my song?’ But I just really love it.”
The singer/songwriter returned home to Patoka, Illinois to shoot the music, which will showcase real-life “tough people” from his hometown.
Touring in 2025
Baldridge’s career momentum will keep building after the release of his new single, as he prepares to hit the road with Cody Johnson in early 2025.
He predicts the tour is going to be “a lot of fun” and went on to tease more tour announcements on this way.
“We have a lot of other announcements coming up…other tours that we’re going to be on throughout the summer, which is really exciting,” he said.
Album In The Works
2025 may also see the release of a full-length album.
“I want every song to be something special, and we’re still writing for that,” Baldridge shared of the project.
With exciting career moments still to come, the rising star continues to pinch himself over the success he’s experienced this year.
“I think [about] a year ago where we were, and are now, and what’s coming up in 2025…it is wild.”
Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
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