There are many parallels between Morgan Wallen’s young career and the more established rise and fall of Johnny Cash. The Man in Black was banned from participating in Grand Ole Opry after he had a meltdown on stage, smashing the ramp with a microphone stand. The Opry informed the singer that he was no longer welcome, and Cash went on a drinking binge and was hospitalized with a broken nose.
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Drug abuse and public intoxication led to Cash’s seven arrests. You still have to wonder what other scandals would have arisen if cell phone cameras had been present during Cash’s wild days. Wallen has damaged his career several times, but his albums continue to sell. In some cases, controversy only seems to fuel sales. Here are five key moments in Wallen’s rise to fame: Voice to – barely –Saturday Night Life.
1. Voice
Wallen sang Howie Day’s pop song “Collide” at his 2014 season six audition. Voice. The producers encouraged him to choose a pop song, but the singer wanted to perform a country song. Wallen was chosen by Usher, but was ultimately stolen by Adam Levine. In the eighth episode, he defeated the Walker Brothers in a one-on-one fight while performing Avicii’s “Hey Brother”. In episode 14, Wallen was defeated by Stevie Joe on One Direction’s “Story of My Life”. In episode 17, Wallen performed Black Stone Cherry’s “Stay”.
After being eliminated, he performed Kenny Chesney’s “Summertime” and Daryl Hall and John Oates’ “She’s Gone” with the other contestants. During his time in California, Wallen worked with vocal coach Sergio Sanchez of the band Atom Smash. Wallen was introduced to Bill Ray and Paul Trust, who signed the singer to the label. Panacea Records soon released the Wallen EP. Autonomous.
2. Major label deal
In 2015, Wallen’s manager Dirk Hemsath connected the singer with Seth England of Big Loud Records. Wallen was given an audition by England’s business associates, who were so impressed that they offered him a new record deal. He was also offered a publishing deal, which led to Wallen’s songs being recorded by other artists. A Thousand Horses released “Preachin’ to the Choir,” Dallas Smith recorded “The Fall,” and Jason Aldean released “You Make It Easy.”
During this time, Wallen adjusted his image. He changed his hairstyle and modeled it after the mullet he saw in an old photograph of his father. His debut album on Big Loud Records. If I know myselfreleased in 2018. “Whiskey Glasses” hit #1 on the chart Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart. His album reached number one on the chart Billboard Top Country Albums Chart. His next three singles were certified at least 4 times platinum by the RIAA. Time magazine named “7 Summers” one of the best songs of the year.
3. 2020 CMA New Artist of the Year
Wallen has been nominated for numerous awards. The video for “Whiskey Glasses” was nominated for Breakthrough Video of the Year, and Wallen was nominated for New Artist of the Year in 2019. SMT Music Award. He was also nominated for New Artist of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
In 2020, he was nominated along with Jimmie Allen, Ingrid Andrews, Gabby Barrett and Carly Pearce for New Artist of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards. Wallen won. He has been nominated multiple times for the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, iHeart Radio Awards and Country Now Awards.
3. 2020 CMA New Artist of the Year
Wallen has been nominated for numerous awards. The video for “Whiskey Glasses” was nominated for Breakthrough Video of the Year, and Wallen was nominated for New Artist of the Year in 2019. SMT Music Award. He was also nominated for New Artist of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
In 2020, he was nominated along with Jimmie Allen, Ingrid Andrews, Gabby Barrett and Carly Pearce for New Artist of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards. Wallen won. He has been nominated multiple times for the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, iHeart Radio Awards and Country Now Awards. Critical acclaim led to tour slots for Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line and Luke Combs.
4. Fell out Saturday Night Life
In October 2020, Wallen was scheduled to be the musical guest on Saturday Night Life. Days before the show, he was filmed without a mask, drinking and kissing several women in public while he was supposed to be social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lorne Michaels announced that Jack White will replace Wallen as this week’s musical guest. Wallen issued a video apology, and on December 5, 2020, Wallen appeared on an episode hosted by Jason Bateman. During the show, Wallen and Bateman poked fun at the situation in a sketch on the show. Bateman, dressed as Wallen, appears at the bar as “Future Wallen” to warn the singer not to stay in the bar. Record sales were up again.
5. Racial Abuse and Redemption
On February 2, 2021, TMZ published a video from January 31 of Wallen using the N-word. Radio stations temporarily removed Wallen’s tunes. His music was removed from Apple Music, Spotify and Pandora playlists. CMT removed it from its platform. Wallen issued a statement and issued another public apology. His record label Big Loud suspended his recording contract indefinitely. On February 10, Wallen released the following apology video, asking fans not to defend him.
On July 23, Wallen appeared on Good morning America. He said he went to rehab in California and again apologized for using the term. Amid the scandal, the sales of his recently released album Dangerous increased sharply and showed an increase of more than 100%. He donated $300,000 to the Black Music Action Coalition. He was nominated for Favorite Male Artist and Favorite Country Album at the 2021 awards. American Music Awards, but was not invited to it. However, Wallen eventually rebounded – his subsequent headlining tours, The Dangerous Tour in 2022 and One Night at a Time World Tour in 2023, were huge successes.
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