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It’s no secret that Morgan Wallen walked out of the CMAs without a single award this year. Morgan has worked his butt off, and his success has not gone unnoticed. Taking home 11 trophies, Wallen was the top winner at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards. Among his wins were Top Male Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Streaming Songs Artist, Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist, and Top Country Tour.
His biggest hit to date ,“Last Night,” earned him an award for Top Hot 100 Song, Top Streaming Song, and Top Country Song. At the Billboard Music Awards, Wallen began his acceptance speech by referencing his song “98 Braves,” saying, “Like the song says, ‘You win some, you lose some.’” Wallen was subtly referencing the fact that he was nominated for three CMA Awards, but walked out empty-handed after an incredible year.
“The last awards show I went to, we came home empty-handed. This one, I don’t have enough hands for them all. So either way, I promise I’m gonna stay the same, whether we come home with 10 or zero. I’m gonna give y’all my all, every single night and every time I go into the studio,” Wallen said. “All these awards are really, it’s for my fans. So thank you guys so much.”
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In a recent interview with Billboard, the 30-year-old shines some light on his true feelings about walking away empty handed.
Morgan shares in the interview, “[The CMA losses] bothered me for like five minutes. And then I’m like, ‘Why am I mad? I’m about to go play for 80,000 people in Atlanta.’”
In 2020, Morgan was arrested for public intoxication and disorderly conduct following an ordeal at Kid Rock’s bar in Nashville. Just five months later, Wallen violated the COVID-19 safety protocols for Saturday Night Live resulting in the show revoking his invitation to perform.
Wallen’s world turned upside down in 2021 when a video surfaced of him using a racial slur casually. In the video, he was telling one friend to make sure the other one got home safely. The reaction to this video from the country music world was severe. His music was instantly pulled from radio playlists, he was dropped by his booking agency, disqualified from awards shows, and even suspended by his own label.
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Wallen has apologized for his actions and says, “That person is definitely not the same person I am now.” He owns up to the fact that his words caused a lot of hurt, and he doesn’t question the consequences he felt for his actions, but he does share he was upset that most people jumped to labeling him a full-blown racist.
“There’s no excuse. I’ve never made an excuse. I never will make an excuse. I’ve talked to a lot of people, heard stories [about] things that I would have never thought about because I wasn’t the one going through it. And I think, for me, in my heart I was never that guy that people were portraying me to be, so there was a little bit of like, ‘D*mn, I’m kind of actually mad about this a little bit because I know I shouldn’t have said this, but I’m really not that guy.”
Morgan Wallen currently has the highest-grossing country tour this year. Bringing in a whopping total of $230 million, Wallen is leading Luke Combs by $97 million! Luke Combs is second highest with a total of $133 million, but nobody can touch Morgan Wallen’s One Night At A Time tour.
Because of the success his One Night At A Time tour has seen this year, he has extended it into 2024 adding 10 additional stadium shows to his schedule. Despite some obstacles, Morgan Wallen’s fans have stuck by his side, and continue to support him.
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