What a year for Morgan Wallen.
His 2021 double album Dangerous has continued to smash records, and he spent much of 2022 playing sold out shows across the country in support of the record… which usually means there’s a lot of partying and drinking going on as artists travel from one town to the next constantly.
But in the wake of Morgan’s highly publicized racial slur incident, which occurred in February of 2021, it led some to speculate about his relationship with alcohol.
And he revealed himself in an interview with Michael Strahan last year that he actually checked himself into rehab because he knew he needed some sort of help, though he didn’t specify exactly what came of it, and has certainly been seen drinking at public events since:
“I went and checked myself into rehab. And for 30 days I spent some time out in San Diego, California.
Just trying to figure it out, why am I acting this way? Do I have an alcohol problem? Do I have a deeper issue?”
And ahead of the 56th annual CMA Awards show last week, he talked to Extra about his life this year and what it was like being on the road, which was actually a really interesting interview.
When asked what stands out about what he’s learned about himself in 2022, he responded that he treated the Dangerous tour run how an athlete would treat a sports season, and he mostly even stayed away from alcohol while performing:
“I think we played like 75 shows or something like that this year, and I did them all mostly in a sober state of mind. I was really, really focused.
I kind of treated it like an athlete would a season, and I think that was really key to me. I feel like I really thrived in that. So I think that’s really stood out to me.”
It’s no secret that many artists have struggled with alcohol in the past due to the nature of the lifestyle of being a country artist, many of which have since become totally sober (Morgan Wade, Evan Felker, Jason Isbell, just to name a few).
While I certainly don’t think that means Morgan’s totally sober now and no longer enjoys a few drinks post-show, it seems like an overall step in the right direction for the country superstar.
Mostly, it’s cool to see Morgan take his on-stage performance so seriously and give the fans the show they deserve… and likely spent quite a nice chunk of change on to see in person.
Love him or hate him, he’s the biggest thing in the genre right now, and I think it’s encouraging to hear him talk about his career like this and maybe taking it a bit more seriously than how it sometimes came across in the past.
He also noted that, with Thanksgiving coming up next week, he’s most thankful for his family and little boy Indie:
“My little boy, that’s gotta be my number one. I’m going to just try to teach him to be grateful for the things that really matter. He’ll grow up in a way that I didn’t, just because of me and who I am.
I didn’t really have a whole lot growing up, so I got to learn the importance of just values, and I just hope I can really instill in him the same that my parents did.”
You can check out the whole interview here:
He also performed his most recent #1 single “You Proof” on the show:
