LIVING DANGEROUSLY
Country singer Morgan Wallen learns the hard way
In a December profile, The New Yorker called Morgan Wallen “the most wanted man in country.”
Wallen, who auditioned for but was eventually eliminated from The Voice back in 2014, was all set to become country music's next big thing with the Jan. 8 release of Dangerous: The Double Album, the followup to his 2018 debut disc, If I Know Me, that reunites him with producer Joey Moi.
But the 27-year-old Tennessean almost self-sabotaged his career when he was cancelled as SNL's musical guest — a huge platform for any artist — last October, after video surfaced a week before on social media of him flagrantly disobeying COVID-19 restrictions as he partied in a bar without a mask, no social distancing and kissing women. Instead, the late-night comedy show invited him back in December where he appeared in a skit making fun of the incident and sang two songs.
An important lesson was learned for Wallen, who was also arrested but not prosecuted for public intoxication and disorderly conduct last May before he welcomed his first child, a son named Indigo, in July, who he's co-parenting with Katie Smith.
“I'm thankful for it,” Wallen said in a Canadian newspaper exclusive with Postmedia.
“I learned a lot. It's hard to really learn anything unless you go through something. At least for me it is. I tend to be someone who likes to learn the hard way. I'm not really ashamed of what I did or anything like that. It just helped me understand the kind of new position I'm in and the weight of what that means. I didn't think I understood that people really cared that much about what I was doing. So it was kind of an eye-opening thing.”
We caught up with the Sneedville, Tenn., native down the line from Nashville. (The interview was conducted before Walmart accidentally leaked Dangerous in some of its stores, prompting the ever resilient Wallen to tell fans to buy it at Target instead.)
Q How did you feel about your eventual appearance on SNL?
A I was proud of it. I was very pleased with it. I had a great time. I would love to do it again.
Q Do you have any acting aspirations given your appearance in the Saturday Night Live sketch?
A I'm down about it. I played some parts in my 7 Summers music video. I did, like, a short film for that. And I feel pretty comfortable. I really enjoyed it. I felt like (it's) a different outlet for me. I don't know if I'm good enough to do it but I really like it. If the opportunity arises and I have the chance to do it, then I would definitely consider it.
Q Do any of the songs reflect what you went through between October and December?
A I think Dangerous is one of them and then Living the Dream, that would pertain to that. Dangerous, if you listen to it, we added a love interest aspect just because I felt people would relate to it but for me it was a song I wrote to myself. And I think if you listen to that song with that perspective it will make a lot of sense. That's one of the reasons that we decided to name the album Dangerous as well.
Q Did anyone tell you it's pretty ambitious to make your sophomore release a double album (which features guest appearance by Chris Stapleton and covers of songs by Eric Church and Jason Isbell)?
A My goal starting out wasn't “let's make sure No. 2 is a double album.” I never even considered that especially with how single-driven people are these days. But I felt like they were all good songs that came from an honest place. I've always been pretty transparent and honest with my fans no matter what. I figured 30 songs was just another way to be more transparent and more open and give them more of my story.
Q Touring, needless to say, remains up in the air due to COVID-19, but might you be playing Canada at some point?
A I'm not sure but I hope so because I love playing in Canada. I haven't seen the whole schedule. I've tried not to go and look and hype myself up just in fear of being let down. If we start getting any optimism, I'll go check that out. I really do adore Canada. It's always been a good time so far. The shows I play there — people — they just eat it up. It's awesome. Probably the best show I've ever played so far in my life is Boots and Hearts (a music festival, which takes place outside Toronto).