Calling on his star-studded group of friends.
Though Ella Langley has been nothing short of dominant the past year, it’s hard to imagine an artist having a better five-year stretch than Morgan Wallen has had lately. Riding the highs of his fourth studio album, I’m The Problem, the Tennessee native broke all sorts of records in 2025.
In addition to dethroning Garth Brooks and becoming the highest-selling country artist of all time (4th all-genre), Wallen also scored the most-listened-to album on Apple Music globally, the #1 most-listened-to album in the U.S. on Spotify and became the second male country artist in history to be named Billboard’s Top Artist of the Year.
Couple all of those accomplishments with a constant presence on nearly each and every chart imaginable — country and beyond — selling out stadiums at every stop on his recent One Night At A Time, I’m The Problem and Still The Problem tours over the past few years and seemingly never delivering enough music for fans despite releasing 30+ song-albums every outing, there’s simply no signs of slowing down the Tennessee native.
There’s no denying that, before Ella Langley came along and began smashing chart records with “Choosin’ Texas,” Wallen stood alone as the most commercially successful artist in country music we’ve seen in decades that simultaneously had the most crossover appeal beyond the genre. Of course, this was thanks to his insane history on charts such as the Billboard 100 and 200, with four all-genre #1 singles, twenty Top 10 hits and three #1 albums over the past half-decade.
One thing, in particular, about Wallen that has stood out over the years is just how many artists he’s collaborated with ever since his debut album, If I Know Me, back in 2018. In just eight years, the “Be By Now” singer has collaborated with the likes of legends such as Eric Church, Brooks & Dunn and Chris Stapleton, modern stars like Ella Langley, Florida Georgia Line, ERNEST, HARDY, Thomas Rhett and Post Malone, and even non-country acts such as Tate McRae, Diplo and rappers, Lil Durk, Moneybagg You, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross.
Considering how many collaborations he’s had over the years, especially with the likes of McRae, Lil Durk and Lil Wayne, one might think that Wallen is simply handing out and taking on features at will with little to no thought. As it turns out, however, it’s quite the oppposite.
During a recent episode on his SiriusXM channel, Morgan Wallen Radio, the 33-year-old singer/songwriter revealed that he typically employs his friends — or at least artists he’s personally a big fan of — on a majority of his features.
“Well for the most part, who is on my projects are people who are actually friends for me. There’s been a couple where I’ve just been fans of that other artist, where I’ll have my team or I’ll reach out personally, and say hey I think this song’s perfect for you… blah blah blah, and they’ll either say yes or they’ll say no.”
After clarifying that he will sometimes have his team send out songs to people he’s not particularly close with, he’d reference the fact that he enjoys bouncing back and forth between projects with friends. Of course, this is in reference to both HARDY, ERNEST and Post Malone making multiple appearances on records and vice versa.
“But for the most part, it’s been my friends who I do songs with, and that’s usually who I choose to work with on their projects as well.”
He’d also add that there are plenty of collaborations he’s been sent in the past that he said no to, explaining again that he’d rather work with people that he’s worked with previously.
“I’ve said no to a lot projects of other artists and I just stick to people I know.”
Simply put, it should be no surprise that Wallen, who is by far the biggest country artist this century, is receiving feature request nearly every day, and it’s well within his right to reject whatever he wants. While Wallen’s strategy might not work for most artists in Nashville, when you’re as big as the “Chasin’ You” singer, you can essentially do whatever the hell you want creatively. And so far, it’s paid absolute dividends.
“Man Made a Bar” (feat. Eric Church)
“Only Thing That’s Gone” (feat. Chris Stapleton)
“I Had Some Help” (with Post Malone)
