Morgan Wallen has undoubtedly been the most successful country artist of the 2020s so far. The 29-year-old singer and songwriter has had two of the biggest albums of the decade: his 2021 release “Dangerous: The Double Album” and his recent 2023 collection “One Thing at a Time.” But Wallen has also been relevant for his controversies, whether it is partying during lockdown or his infamous drunk incident where he said the N-word. Especially since it happened amid widespread public discussion about racial inequalities in the US, Wallen was ostracized from the country music industry, although his fans seemed more enthusiastic than ever to support him. Wallen has since apologized and been welcomed back into the industry, but he’s still being ignored by Grammy voters. However, it’s 2023, and a new era of Wallen’s music is upon us. Will this year change things, or will Wallen remain goose-egged?
A lot of Wallen’s misses at the Grammys could be explained by factors other than his persona. For instance, Grammy voters have never been particularly fond of bro-country, so it’s not really a shocker that someone like Morgan Wallen wouldn’t be first on their minds. It also doesn’t help that country Grammy voters tend to prioritize established favorites over newer artists; just look at the last Grammy ceremony, where Zach Bryan was weirdly shut out of most categories despite being the year’s inarguable breakout in the genre. Instead, voters went with known names: Maren Morris, Willie Nelson, Miranda Lambert, Luke Combs, and Ashley McBryde, all previous nominees.
Granted, Bryan still got a nomination for Best Country Solo Performance, and artists like Maren Morris have been nominated and won on their first try. However, without a nominations review committee to filter contenders anymore, it does look like newer acts could face an uphill battle, only made worse for Wallen by his style of country and the fact that he’s down at the bottom of the alphabetical ballot; even in some songwriting categories, where the list is sorted by song title and not the artist’s name, a couple of his hits like “Whiskey Glasses” and “Wasted on You” have been unlucky.
So that begs the question: do Grammy voters just dislike Morgan Wallen? They have embraced controversial figures before. Producer Dr. Luke, infamously known for sexual assault allegations made against him by Kesha, has been nominated in the rap and general fields this decade for his work on Doja Cat’s discography. Of course, one could argue that it’d be unfair to punish Doja for Luke’s alleged actions. But he’s not the only example. Chris Brown is another, having won his first Grammy not long after assaulting Rihanna and being nominated as recently as last year — over expected artists like Summer Walker, Ari Lennox, and John Legend no less.
Grammy country voters seem to be more politically aware, though, especially in comparison to the stereotypically more conservative country audiences. They have celebrated queer ambassadors in the industry Brothers Osborne and Brandi Carlile, country music outcasts The Chicks, and pioneering Black country artist Mickey Guyton, despite being less commercial than some of their white, cishet, mainstream peers. So it’s possible voters are intentionally snubbing Wallen and it’s not just a fluke based on his style or ballot placement.
So will Wallen get in this year? Hard to tell exactly. His hit “Last Night,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100, has been rising on the pop charts, so a lot of voters outside of country music could have his back. That said, when it comes to the general field, country has struggled recently, with pretty much the only country nominees in the last three years being Ingrid Andress and Jimmie Allen, both in the less crowded Best New Artist category. If you squint you could count Brandi Carlile and Bonnie Raitt too, but their general field nominations in the last three years have been for works classified as Americana and not country music, per se.
But “Last Night” could be a genuine contender for nominations for both Song of the Year and Best Country Song; it enjoys a better ballot position than some of his other songs, it will likely be the biggest country hit of the year, it’s crossing over to pop audiences, and perhaps most importantly, Wallen didn’t write it. That means that if the song gets nominated, Wallen wouldn’t, so voters who enjoy the track could nominate it without feeling conflicted about awarding the singer. As for Album of the Year and Best Country Album, the latter is definitely a possibility, especially since Wallen has been slowly let back into country music industry awards like the CMAs and ACMs. Still, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him yet again snubbed.
So keep an eye out for one or two Wallen nominations. I wouldn’t bet on it if I had to, but it’s possible, and there is a way to recognize his song without having to recognize him. Many would argue that a nomination for his work is still a way to support him, though, which is a completely valid point. It’ll be up to the voting membership to decide what to do, and whether, even if they ignore the controversies, Wallen genuinely makes awards-worthy music or not.
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