LOS ANGELES — The Grammy Awards featured a duet of "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman, the song's composer, and Luke Combs, whose cover of the song topped the charts in 2023.
The pair hit the stage at Sunday's awards show in Los Angeles. Combs, a North Carolina native, told the crowd before the performance about how Chapman's song inspired him from a young age.
Chapman's 1988 hit "Fast Car" reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 list after its release and became a folk classic. She won the Grammy Award for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" in 1989.
Combs released a cover of the song on his 2023 album Gettin' Old. The song hit No. 1 on Billboard Country charts and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. He played covers of the song for years in concert but his recording revitalized the song's popularity and gave Chapman a spot on the top of the country charts with the songwriting credit.
Combs' cover of "Fast Car" won Song of the Year in the Country Music Awards. The honor made Chapman the first Black songwriter to win that award. The cover is up for nomination for Best Country Solo Performance at Sunday's Grammy Awards.