By Lora Kallenberg
Early last year, country singer Luke Combs released a cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” after performing the song at many of his live concerts. His cover shot up Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and peaked at No. 2. This new version attracted new attention to the song and reinvigorated nostalgia for the original.
Hearing the new buzz for the song last year, I was intrigued but not particularly interested in listening to the new cover as I hold a lot of love for the original. Like many others, I solely revisited Tracy Chapman’s debut album of the same name to savor the sentiments from the first time I listened to it in the sixth grade.
I unfortunately did not get to view the show live since, like many college students, I do not own a TV and cable box. But as soon as I heard news of the performance of “Fast Car” at the Grammys, I dropped everything to watch it. I was amazed and delighted that Tracy Chapman was performing the song with Luke Combs at her side. As with many audience members, I was under the impression that it might have just been Combs performing his cover. However, seeing the spotlight hit Chapman’s face instantly brought me to tears.
Chapman and Combs together gave a beautiful performance of “Fast Car,” the two of them combining their individual styles to create a beautifully harmonized melody that rang out through the auditorium. Combs did a great job supporting and respecting Chapman’s vision and command of the song, allowing the focus to be on the singer’s return to the stage.
Before last Sunday night, Chapman had not performed live since her European tour in 2009 and has since been a fairly reclusive artist. Per her wishes, not much is known about her private life. Regardless, throughout the years, lesbians and other queer people have embraced Chapman as one of their own, following some rumors of her dating life and the simple facts of her demeanor and style. Many lesbians came together on social media that night, showering the singer with support. As a lesbian myself, I too have always attributed queer themes to her music, which contributed significantly to my emotional reaction to the performance.
Though it is not my wish to have Chapman appear and perform more, as I respect her decision to stay out of the spotlight, I hope the overwhelmingly warm and delighted response to her return to the stage reminds her of the love many of us have for her.
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