Morgan Wallen is an American country 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.
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.
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.
He re-approached his interest in music and began learning guitar. He had grown to love country music, especially artists like Keith Whitley and Eric Church, and he modeled his sound after that lineage.
In May 2020, Wallen was arrested outside Kid Rock’s bar in downtown Nashville for public intoxication and disorderly conduct. He apologized on social media for his charges.
In the midsts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Wallen received backlash on social media after TikTok videos emerged of him partying at a bar in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, following the Alabama vs. Texas A&M football game.
The game was played on October 3, 2020, a week before his scheduled debut on Saturday Night Live on October 10, 2020. In the videos, Wallen was shown maskless, violating social distancing guidelines, singing at a house party, and kissing women.
On October 7, he announced that the producers of Saturday Night Live had postponed his appearance for violating the show’s COVID-19 protocols. Wallen went on to appear as musical guest on the December 5 episode. He appeared in a sketch that parodied the controversy.
On February 2, 2021, TMZ released a video recorded on January 31 showing Wallen using the word “nigger” with friends as they were entering his Nashville home.
