Morgan Wallen, country music’s hottest star so far in 2021, has suddenly turned very cold. His songs were removed from the record label Cumulus Media, the nation’s second-largest radio station, at midnight CT after an scandal erupted over his capture on video using an N-Word racial slur.
Cumulus, which is especially powerful in the country’s radio sphere, sent a directive to the program directors of its more than 400 stations with the headline “MORGAN WALLEN – EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.” The message read: “Team, unfortunately country music star Morgan Wallen was caught on video Sunday night using a racial slur. Effective immediately, we request that all Morgan Wallen music be removed from our playlists without exception. More to follow.”
The directive was signed by Brian Philips, the network’s executive vice president of programming, and John Dimick, the company’s head of programming operations. In particular, there was no mention of the ban being temporary or waiting for more details about the incident to emerge.
Other radio stations across the country are expected to follow through with an at least temporary ban on Wallen’s music, despite the fact that his release of “Dangerous: The Double Album” is about to have a fourth week in the making. top of the charts, setting a record. for consecutive weeks at No. 1 not seen by a country artist since Garth Brooks in the late 1990s.
Morgan Wallen’s Apology for saying the N-Word
Wallen released a statement Tuesday night after TMZ first reported the incident, saying: “I am ashamed and sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could remove. There are no excuses for using this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using the word. I promise to do better.”
Late Tuesday night, Wallen’s representative said there would be no further immediate comment. Representatives for Republic Records , which releases its music in conjunction with Nashville’s Big Loud label, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The video, posted to TMZ Tuesday night and reportedly recorded by Wallen’s neighbors, shows him yelling profanity after a night in Nashville, including the N-word.
Said a country radio figure who declined to comment for the attribution: “Morgan Wallen appears in practically every half hour of music on 4,000 stations across America right now. How would you like to receive that message at midnight, that you have to get it out of the music blocks that you already set up for Wednesday? If someone has other songs that they wanted to hear in the morning, they might listen to them tomorrow. ”
DSPs also appeared to be taking action. As of late Tuesday night, Wallen, who has been called the biggest streaming hit in country music history, appeared nowhere among the dozens of photos or track listings or playlists on the page. Apple Music Country startup. , where observers said it had appeared earlier in the day. And his songs were no longer anywhere on Spotify’s Top 50 Hot Country Songs list.
It was not the first time in recent months that Wallen had been involved in a scandal, although the previous case passed through his back faster than this one. In October 2020, he was seen making out with fans while partying without a mask in Alabama, costing him a performance of “Saturday Night Live” that he was scheduled to do the following weekend. But “SNL” rebooked him for December after he apologized, and the show did so lightly in a sketch in which he appeared.
While some fans pointed out that Wallen seemed to be using the term as a “term of endearment” among friends rather than an invective, the zero-tolerance policy for the word is unlikely to give him any reprieve anytime soon among major companies. regardless of how fans might react when many of them wake up to the news that a hero of his is in disgrace Wednesday morning.
Wallen has a history of using the N word on social media, quoting rap lyrics. In 2012, when he was 18 years old, the then stranger sent a tweet that is a letter from rapper Meek Mill: “I burn bread and I’m not talking about toast n—-“.
Morgan Wallen Scandal
The Wallen scandal comes at a particularly inopportune time for country music, not that there would have been a timely one, as many involved with the genre have recently been involved in publicly discussing a racial reckoning that they feel is necessary in the country, trying to push the profiles of black artists who have existed mainly on the margins in an effort to show that music is taking small steps towards real diversity. Wallen’s expression, as the face of the genre right now, is likely to represent a major setback in those efforts and reinforces stereotypes, which even some stars of the format say are true stereotypes.
Maren Morris tweeted: “Indeed, he IS representative of our city because this is not his first ‘fight’ and he demolished a great broadcast record last month anyway. We all know that it was not the first time that he used that word. We keep them rich and protected at all costs without recourse.”
It actually IS representative of our town because this isn’t his first “scuffle” and he just demolished a huge streaming record last month regardless. We all know it wasn’t his first time using that word. We keep them rich and protected at all costs with no recourse.
— MAREN MORRIS (@MarenMorris) February 3, 2021
However, others insisted that it was a problem, not an emblematic one. “The Nashville news tonight doesn’t represent country music,” Kelsea Ballerini tweeted.
However, one of the few black singers with a significant presence in contemporary country music, Mickey Guyton, was quick to tweet that this was far from completely unexpected. Hate runs deep. Smfh ”, citing the TMZ story. He then followed his post with: “This is not the first time he’s used that ‘unacceptable’ racial slur and we all know it. So what exactly are they going to do about it? The crickets won’t work this time.”
How popular was Wallen’s music, coming in on Tuesday night? In addition to having by far the best-selling and streaming album in any genre since “Dangerous: The Double Album” made its successful debut three weeks ago, Wallen currently also has five of the top 20 tracks on the Rolling Stone track list.. With the roll it’s been on, Wallen’s album may continue to air in significant numbers, but it won’t be with the help of television appearances or continued mass radio broadcast anytime soon.
Is it possible that some country fans are rebelling at Wallen’s removal from the airwaves? “Any listener who is not offended by the nature of these comments is not a listener we need to entertain,” said an industry figure, who said the text messages that were shared Tuesday night did not indicate hesitation to take action. “The directors of the show say, Oh my God, this guy. Nobody says, Are you sure you want to do that? It is very popular. It’s more like, It’s going to be difficult to make those changes right away, but we will. You can’t be pro-N-word. It is the indisputable word. Will you be able to amend enough to be able to receive the thanks of the national media soon? That’s for him to find out. He’s been out of trouble before, but this is going to be tough.”
We expect Morgan Wallen Record Label to oversee the artists they sign and play on radio.