Morgan Wallen

Morgan Cole Wallen is an American country pop singer and songwriter from Sneedville, Tennessee. He first gained widespread attention as a contestant on the sixth season of the television singing competition The Voice in 2014. Since his mainstream debut, Wallen has become one of country music's most commercially successful recording artists, setting multiple Billboard chart records, receiving several major industry honors, and building broad cross-genre appeal.

Wallen was born on May 13, 1993, to Tommy Wallen, who served as a local church pastor, and Lesli Wallen, a teacher. During his teenage years, the family relocated to Knox County, Tennessee, where he attended Gibbs High School. He played pitcher and shortstop for his high school baseball team and hoped to play in college, but his athletic plans ended when he tore his ulnar collateral ligament during his senior year. Wallen took piano and violin lessons as a child and began teaching himself guitar at age 18 while working in landscaping. His musical influences spanned classic rock, rock bands such as Breaking Benjamin and Nickelback, hip-hop artist Lil Wayne, and country artists Keith Whitley and Eric Church.

In 2014, Wallen auditioned for season 6 of The Voice with Howie Day's song "Collide," joining Usher's team before later being picked up by Adam Levine's team and ultimately being eliminated during the playoffs. Following his time on the show, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and temporarily formed the group Morgan Wallen & Them Shadows with vocal coach Sergio Sanchez. In 2015, Wallen signed with Panacea Records and released his debut EP, Stand Alone, in August 2015. The EP's debut single, "Spin You Around," was later certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2025.

Later in 2015, Wallen signed with the independent record label Big Loud. After co-writing songs for other country acts and opening for Florida Georgia Line on tour, he released his debut studio album, If I Know Me, in April 2018. The album eventually reached number one on the US Top Country Albums chart and featured his breakout singles "Whiskey Glasses" and "Chasin' You."

Wallen's second studio album, Dangerous: The Double Album, was released in January 2021 and debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart. In February 2021, a video surfaced showing Wallen using a racial slur, leading him to issue an apology. Following the incident, his music was temporarily removed from radio and streaming playlists, his label suspended his contract, and he was rendered ineligible for the 56th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Wallen donated $300,000 to the Black Music Action Coalition, and his singles returned to country radio later that year. Dangerous went on to become the best-performing album of 2021 and won Album of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards.

In March 2023, Wallen released his third studio album, One Thing at a Time, which spent 19 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200. Its single "Last Night" topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the 2023 Year-End Hot 100 chart. During this period, Wallen embarked on major stadium tours and collaborated with artists across genres, including Lil Durk and Post Malone, featuring on Malone's 2024 single "I Had Some Help."

Wallen released his fourth studio album, I'm the Problem, in 2025, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and produced nine top-ten hits on the Hot 100, including the number-one singles "Love Somebody" and "What I Want." Wallen has earned an Academy of Country Music Award, fourteen Billboard Music Awards, and Entertainer of the Year at the 58th Annual Country Music Association Awards, while holding records for the most Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits by a modern country artist.