Morgan Wallen
Morgan Cole Wallen (born May 13, 1993) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He competed in the sixth season of The Voice, originally as a member of Usher's team, but later as a member of Adam Levine's team. After being eliminated in the playoffs of that season, he signed to Panacea Records, releasing his debut EP, Stand Alone, in 2015. He has received several awards including an Academy of Country Music Award and fourteen Billboard Music Awards.[6]
Morgan Wallen
- Singer
- songwriter
2014–present
1
- Vocals
- guitar
- piano
In 2016, Wallen signed to Big Loud, releasing his debut album, If I Know Me, in 2018.[7] The album includes the singles "Up Down" (featuring Florida Georgia Line), "Whiskey Glasses", and "Chasin' You". If I Know Me reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.[8] Wallen's second album, Dangerous: The Double Album, was released in January 2021, and in February 2021 became the only country album in the 64-year history of the Billboard 200 to spend its first seven weeks at No. 1.[9] It spent a total of ten weeks at that spot, the first album to do so since Whitney Houston's Whitney in 1987.[10] The album included singles "More Than My Hometown", "7 Summers", and "Wasted on You".[11]
His third studio album, One Thing at a Time (2023), topped the Billboard 200 for 19 non-consecutive weeks, with all of its 36 tracks entering the Billboard Hot 100. This broke the record for most songs by an artist on the chart at one time.[12] The single "Last Night" peaked atop the Hot 100 in 2023, becoming Wallen's first single to do so, and later set the record for the most weeks at number one for a non-collaboration song, as well as tying for the second most weeks of all time and topping the year-end chart.
Early life, family and education[edit]
Morgan Wallen was born to Tommy and Lesli Wallen on May 13, 1993, in Sneedville, Tennessee.[13] Tommy served for a time as a local church pastor,[14] while Lesli worked as a teacher. In his teens, the family moved south to Knox County, where he graduated from Gibbs High School.[15] He was a pitcher and shortstop for the school's baseball team, and hoped to continue in college, but tore his ulnar collateral ligament his senior year.[16]
As a child, Wallen took piano and violin lessons. He was raised on a diverse musical playlist, with his father exposing him to classic rock mainstays. In his teens, he gravitated towards bands like Breaking Benjamin and Nickelback, as well as rappers like Lil Wayne.[17]
Wallen has characterized his early adulthood as adrift; he worked in landscaping after high school and was disappointed by his inability to continue his baseball career.[14] He re-approached his interest in music and began learning guitar.[17] He had grown to love country music, especially artists like Keith Whitley and Eric Church, and he modeled his sound after that lineage.[17]
Career[edit]
Early career and The Voice (2014–2017)[edit]
In 2014, Wallen competed on season six of the music competition program The Voice. He auditioned with the song "Collide" by Howie Day. Judges Shakira and Usher complimented his stylings, and Wallen joined Usher's team. He was later taken by Adam Levine's team after his second round, and later eliminated during the playoffs.[16] Wallen was disappointed by the setback, but doubled down on his ambition: "Some things in life are out of your control. Being the best you can be isn't. I didn't feel like I was the best I could have been. So I practiced harder."[17] Still, The Voice was instrumental in raising Wallen's profile, and he began to establish connections in the music industry.[15]
While in California to appear on The Voice, Wallen began working with Sergio Sanchez of Atom Smash, a vocal coach on the program. Wallen relocated to Nashville to further his career, and he and Sanchez started a temporary band: Morgan Wallen & Them Shadows.[15] Sanchez introduced Wallen to Bill Ray and Paul Trust of Panacea Records.[18] In 2015, Wallen signed to Panacea Records where he was joined by Dominic Frost on guitar and released an EP Stand Alone on August 24, 2015. "Spin You Around" was Wallen's debut single under Panacea Records; it was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2021.[19]
In 2015, Wallen's manager, Dirk Hemsath of Working Group Artist Management, sent a demo of Wallen to Big Loud Shirt's Seth England, who had Wallen audition for his partners in Big Loud Records. They signed Wallen to the label and the publishing company,[18] who began pairing his songs with other artists. That year, he released his debut single "The Way I Talk";[20] his first music video for the song followed in 2017.[21] Wallen co-wrote the A Thousand Horses's single "Preachin' to the Choir",[16] Dallas Smith's "The Fall",[22] as well as Jason Aldean's "You Make It Easy" with Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, and Jordan Schmidt.[23] He joined Florida Georgia Line on their Dig Your Roots Tour.[16] He collaborated with the group on the single "Up Down", his first song to reach the top five of Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.[24]
Personal life[edit]
Wallen and ex-fiancee KT Smith have a son together who was born in July 2020.[75]
In October 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple videos were posted on TikTok showing Wallen ignoring CDC guidelines (to lower the risk of catching and/or spreading the coronavirus) in bars and other locations in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama area after attending a University of Alabama football game. Wallen was shown partying maskless, not following social distancing guidelines, and kissing several women in these videos. Wallen was criticized for his conduct, partly as his ex-girlfriend had recently given birth. As a result of his actions, Wallen was suspended from appearing as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live for two months; he ultimately performed in an episode hosted by actor Jason Bateman, in which Bateman, Wallen, and several cast members parody the incident and resulting fallout.[76][77][78][79]
On April 7, 2024, Wallen was arrested after allegedly throwing a chair off the roof of Eric Church's newly-opened bar on Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee. He was charged with three counts of felony reckless endangerment and one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct after the projectile landed near two police officers on the ground.[80]
Headlining
Opening
