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Everything you need to know about the ‘Beautiful Crazy’ hitmaker's long-awaited ode to missing your love when you're out on the road, which was first teased back in 2020.
- Song Sleepless in a Hotel Room
- Lyrics“I can hear the lonely howling out my window
I can feel the whiskey not doing a thing
Two in the morning, TV's on and I've never felt so far from home
I can hear the lonely howling out my window
The morning light can't come too soon... - Artist(s)
- Label Sony Music Entertainment
- Songwriter(s)Luke Combs, Jonathan Singleton, Randy Montana
The Background:
It's safe to say we've been waiting on this one for a minute. Luke Combs first blessed our Instagram feeds with his unreleased gem, ‘Sleepless in a Hotel Room’, back in 2020. Then, on January 7th, in tandem with announcing his brand new album, The Way I Am, Combs made ‘Sleepless in a Hotel Room’ available everywhere.
This heartfelt, introspective offering has a heartwarming origin story. As Combs was preparing to perform at the Billboard Music Awards in 2020, the North Carolina native was tossing and turning in a hotel room, unable to get any rest because of how much he was missing his wife. It reminded him of a song he'd penned a few months earlier, and he decided to showcase the track for his fans via social media.
Since then, as various Combs albums came and went with no sign of ‘Sleepless in a Hotel Room’ on the tracklist, we'd resigned ourselves to the prospect of never getting to hear the studio version. Then, in the midst of the rollout for his then-untitled 2026 album, the ‘Beautiful Crazy’ hitmaker surprised fans with a new clip of the song.
Sharing a snippet of a studio recording of ‘Sleepless in a Hotel Room’, Combs teased us by captioning it, “Y’all remember this one? A lot more where it came from”. Eagled-eyed fans noticed the clip was labelled as “File 13 of 22”, which had us wondering if ‘Sleepless in a Hotel Room’ would be the 13th song on Combs’ forthcoming album. Shortly after, he proved these internet sleuths correct, and finally dropped this yearning ode on all platforms on Wednesday, January 7th 2026.
The Sound:
While we first got to hear a stripped-back, acoustic performance of ‘Sleepless in a Hotel Room’, which allows the focus to remain on the heartfelt, yearning lyrics, the more recent studio version adds a little more weight and gravitas to the composition.
The hook takes on a newly charged, anthemic feel courtesy of the surging electric guitars and driving drum pattern, with Combs matching this intensity with his powerhouse vocals. It's ensured the excitement is sky-high ahead of hearing the full track.
The Meaning:
‘Sleepless in a Hotel Room’ finds Combs lamenting how much he's missing his wife, Nicole, when he's performing on the road. The ‘Beer Never Broke My Heart’ singer-songwriter has been open about how tough he finds it being away from his family, particularly now they have two young children (and a third on the way). For instance, Combs has opened up about how he still carries the burden of being away from home on tour in Australia when his second son, Beau, was born.
He viscerally describes the loneliness as being akin to the wind, howling outside his window, which conveys how the pained screech of the gusts mirror his internal turmoil.
Combs is simply sat watching TV at 2am, because he is in too much discomfort from missing his wife. He's wide awake, but even so, he can't help but dream of being back in her arms.
What has Luke Combs said about ‘Sleepless in a Hotel Room’?
In the caption to his initial teaser, Combs shared, “Trying to take a nap before my Billboard Music Awards performance tonight and I couldn’t sleep. It reminded me of this song I wrote a few months ago right before everything shutdown. Had this idea one night when I was missing Nicole Hocking, like I am right now. Hope y’all dig this preview of it. Wrote it with Jonathan Singleton and Randy Montana”.
For the full lyrics so far to Luke Combs’ ‘Sleepless in a Hotel Room’, see below:
“I can hear the lonely howling out my window
I can feel the whiskey not doing a thing
Two in the morning, TV's on and I've never felt so far from home
I can hear the lonely howling out my window
-
The morning light can't come too soon
Lying here not next to you
Wide awake I dream of you
Sleepless in a hotel room
-
Whoa
Whoa
-
I wonder if you're staring at our bedroom ceiling
Lying right beside a glass of wine
I wonder if you're tossing, turning, wishing you were kissing me
Staring at our bedroom ceiling
-
The morning light can't come too soon
Lying here not next to you
Wide awake, I dream of you
Sleepless in a hotel room
-
Whoa
Whoa
-
All four walls are painted blue, sleepless in a hotel room
A thousand miles past missing you
-
The morning light can't come too soon
Lying here not next to you
Wide awake, I dream of you
Sleepless in a hotel room
-
Whoa
Whoa
Sleepless in a hotel room
Whoa
Whoa”
For more on Luke Combs, see below:
