The inspiration behind one of his many hits.
Last week, Morgan Wallen played a very special, intimate show at The Pinnacle in Nashville, which helped celebrate the launch of his forthcoming new SiriusXM channel, Morgan Wallen Radio. He performed a longtime fan-favorite in “Chasin’ You” and several other hits, and he also explained some of the personal experience that wen’t into writing “I Got Better” with Ryan Vojtesak, Ernest Keith Smith, Michael Hardy, Chase McGill and Blake Pendergrass.
The song is about how Morgan’s life has drastically improved following a breakup, and how that one relationship was holding his life back in so many ways, which was apparently directly inspired by his real life. We all know about Morgan’s list of public scandals, most recently including the infamous chair-throwing incident at Chief’s in 2024, almost two years ago to the date.
The song served as the fifth radio single from his most recent album I’m The Problem, and has since been certified Platinum 1,000,000 by the RIAA. It peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and #7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 all-genre chart.
During the Pinnacle show, he remarked that it was written about “a serious time” in his life, and he knew there was “one thing” he needed to get rid of in order for his life to “be okay again.” He explained that he felt like there were a lot of people who could relate to that sentiment, whether it was about “a person, a drink or a drug,” and he knows what it feels like to finally be able to let those chains go:
“When I was going through a serious time in my life, and I feel like there was one thing that I had to get rid of in order for my life to be okay again. So I wrote this song as kind of a letter to that situation, and it ended up being a #1 hit on the radio.
[It’s] a song I feel like a lot of you guys can relate to, whether it’s a person, whether it’s a drink, whether it’s a drug, whatever it is that’s got you feeling captive. It’s nice to let those chains go every once in a while, and that’s what this song’s about.”
Morgan previously described it as his “most personal song” from the record, and you can make your own inferences about what he might be referring to:
“‘I got better since you got gone’ would be how I feel right now. I’d say that’s one that really came from my heart, and it can mean many things. It’s not just a song to a girl, it could be a song to anything that’s holding you back. That’s why I like that song so much, for a long time I had a lot of things holding me back.
I’ve finally said goodbye to a lot of those things, and I’m proud of the results that have come from doing that. So, I’d say ‘I Got Better’ is my most personal song right now.”
Morgan’s been through a lot in the public eye, obviously a lot of it has been self-inflicting and avoidable, but it seems like he’s grown a lot from all of that and has certainly matured as he’s found himself on top of the world over the last several years with a booming music career.
I think we’ve probably witnessed a lot of the growing pains from that, and like a true artist, he’s been able to get some good songs out of it too:
@yourfuzzyscarf Morgan Wallen explaining his life changes before singing “I Got Better” at The Pinnacle in Nashville. #morganwallen #morganwallenconcert #morganwallenmusic #livecountrymusic #countrymusicnews ♬ original sound – Yourfuzzyscarf | Nashville Fun
The music video says a lot in terms of how much the song means to him personally too, and you can watch here:
“I Got Better”
His Still The Problem tour kicks off this Friday in Minneapolis, Minnesota at U.S. Bank Stadium:
‘Still The Problem’ Tour Dates
April 10 || Minneapolis, Minn. || U.S. Bank Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason
April 11 || Minneapolis, Minn. || U.S. Bank Stadium w/ HARDY, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason
April 18 || Tuscaloosa, Ala. || Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Vincent Mason, Zach John King
May 1 || Las Vegas, Nev. || Allegiant Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason
May 2 || Las Vegas, Nev. || Allegiant Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason
May 8 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Lucas Oil Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Zach John King
May 9 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Lucas Oil Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Flatland Cavalry, Zach John King
May 15 || Gainesville, Fla. || Ben Hill Griffin Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King
May 16 || Gainesville, Fla. || Ben Hill Griffin Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King
May 29 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason
May 30 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason
June 5 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King
June 6 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King
June 19 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King
June 20 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King
June 26 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat
June 27 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat
July 17 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat
July 18 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat
July 24 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten
July 25 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ HARDY, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten
July 31 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten
August 1 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ Ella Langley, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten
