I know Morgan Wallen doesn’t care about the awards shows.
He made that clear last year when he didn’t show up for the CMA Awards, despite being nominated for Entertainer of the Year. And even after winning the top prize last year, he still hasn’t addressed the award or even acknowledged it, other than posting a picture of the trophy in a slideshow on Instagram.
If that wasn’t enough, he recently drove his point him during a surprise appearance with Ella Langley at the Ryman Auditorium when he took another shot at the CMA Awards, which take place just steps from the Ryman at Bridgestone Arena:
“It takes a lot more than an awards show to get me out to Broadway these days, I’ll tell you that.”
All that to say, don’t be surprised if Morgan isn’t in attendance tonight when the CMA Awards take place on Broadway, despite the fact that he’s once again nominated for Entertainer of the Year. And don’t be surprised if he misses out on winning his second straight award either, because there’s no doubt that some CMA voters didn’t like the way he handled winning last year (by not even acknowledging it).
But if we’re all being honest, the voting shouldn’t even be close. Morgan is far and away the Entertainer of the Year, and there are few if any others even in the same category right now.
And I already know I’m going to get plenty of keyboard warriors in the comments going off about how his music sucks, he’s not even country, he’s a terrible person because of his past controversies, he’s a racist, etc. The usual stuff you see any time Morgan’s mentioned.
The CMA Awards declared, though, that none of that matters when it comes to considering him for the award when they named him Entertainer of the Year last year. He was just a few months removed from his chair-throwing incident, so clearly that’s not a reason to deny him the award. Same for the racial slur incident, which happened back in 2021. If those weren’t taken into account last year, they shouldn’t keep him from winning this year either.
Looking at it objectively, how is Morgan NOT the Entertainer of the Year?
According to the Country Music Association, the award is given to the artist who displays “the greatest competence in all aspects of the entertainment field. Voter should give consideration not only to recorded performance, but also to the in-person performance, public acceptance, leadership, and overall contribution to Country Music.”
Morgan has done more for country music in the past year than any artist in the genre. He’s brought new names and faces into country music and advanced country music into places that it never would have been without him. Whether you think that’s a good thing or not, he’s grown the genre in ways that no other artist has.
Because of his song “Miami,” millions of people now know who Keith Whitley is that never would have heard of him before. As Keith Whitley’s son, Jesse Keith Whitley, told me earlier this year:
“It’s cool as s–t to me that he’s got Lil Wayne and Rick Ross… He had to tell them, ‘Hey, look, this is a song, I got this idea from Keith Whitley’ and they probably have discovered Keith Whitley at this point, right? I don’t have a problem with it at all.”
You even have Drake, one of the biggest rappers in the world, wearing Morgan Wallen gear.
If you think that’s not good for country music, you’re blinded by your own hatred for Morgan. Even if you don’t like his music, getting someone to listen to country music in the first place is the only way to lead them to find other artists that you DO like. It only helps everybody. Hell, there are plenty of smaller artists who only make headlines because they bash Morgan Wallen. They know that even his name will bring them attention.
He’s also continued his domination on the charts. His newest album, I’m The Problem, debuted at #1 on the all-genre album chart and landed six songs in the top 10 of the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album was the most-streamed country album of the YEAR within 12 hours of being released.
And when it comes to touring, Morgan is unrivaled in country music. He didn’t play as many shows this year as he has in years past, but he continues to sell out two nights at ever stadium he attends, setting attendance records and touring records with his I’m The Problem tour after just finishing up his record-breaking One Night At A Time tour.
But if you’re looking at what he does in his community, Morgan’s got that box checked too. Of course he was quick to jump into action after the devastation of Hurricane Helene hit East Tennessee and western North Carolina last year, but his Morgan Wallen Foundation also donated musical instruments to schools in the community on every stop of his tour, sent children to music camp in his community in Tennessee, and renovated baseball fields for underserved communities so that kids would have somewhere to play.
I’m not saying that the other nominees wouldn’t be deserving winners. And honestly, if the category were based solely on who I listen to the most or which artist is my favorite, Morgan would be near the bottom of my ballot with this year’s crop of nominees.
But that’s not what Entertainer of the Year is about. It’s about the biggest artist who’s done the most in and for country music over the past year. And whether you like his music – or him as a person – it’s undeniable that Morgan Wallen should be walking out with the trophy tonight. (Or having it mailed to him because he wasn’t there to accept it in person).
