MORGAN WALLEN’S WILD RIDE

Morgan Wallen had a bumpy 2020. The “Up Down” and “Whiskey Glasses” hitmaker started the year on tour with Jason Aldean before COVID-19 curbed the world’s concert plans. He blew off a little too much steam downtown and was arrested outside of Kid Rock’s bar. He booked an appearance on Saturday Night Live—something of a white whale for country artists—only to be bumped when social media caught him partying a little too hard in Alabama, making him a COVID risk to cast and crew.

But as is the case with many artists struggling with newfound fame, Wallen, who burst onto the scene with his debut album If I Know Me in 2018 (it would stay on the charts for a record 114 weeks, eventually hitting the number one spot last summer), turned inward. After taking a few weeks off to “dig deep and figure out who I was again,” Wallen reemerged a more thoughtful and seemingly steadied man.

In the months that followed he would win his first, during which he starred alongside host Jason Bateman in a sketch poking fun at his own misstep.