Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” tops iTunes chart after Grammys performance

After her first TV performance in nine years, Tracy Chapman’s hit song Fast Car topped the US iTunes chart after her moving duet with Luke Combs at the 2024 Grammy Awards.

Sunday, February 4th marked the annual Grammys Award Ceremony which took place in Los Angeles. The biggest wins included Taylor Swift winning Album of the Year, while Miley Cyrus took home Record of the Year for the triumphant “Flowers,” Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell also won Song of the Year for “What Was I Made For?,” the mournful track from the “Barbie” movie, while Victoria Monét was crowned best new artist.

The star-studded award show included a total of 15 performances by Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, and Joni Mitchell, among others. However, viewers seem to agree that the best performance was made by Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs.

Nine years after her last live television performance, Tracy Chapman made a rare appearance at the 2024 Grammy Awards to sing her 1988 hit “Fast Car”. She was joined on stage by country singer Luke Combs, who recently released his version of the song which earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Country Solo Performance.

The duo not only managed to move the audience in the arena, but all the viewers watching at home. Moments after the performance, “Fast Car” shot to No. 1 on the iTunes Top Songs chart. Chapman’s 1988 debut album, Tracy Chapman, also sat at Number 1.

Chapman’s original song peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following its release. She has performed the song on the Grammy stage before when she won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for it at the 1989 Grammys for the song.

Meanwhile, Luke Combs’ cover of the song reached number one on Billboard Hot Country Songs and won the CMA Award for Song of the Year — marking the first time a Black woman received that honor. 

Before the performance, Combs spoke about Chapman’s legacy in a video centered around the song. “Tracy Chapman is such an icon, and one of the greatest artists that I think any of us will be along to see,” the country singer said. “It’s a full circle moment for me. Just to be associated with her and any way is super humbling for me.”

The 66th Grammys were held at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena and were hosted by Trevor Noah.