Morgan Wallen bags top 3 album spots and half of Top 10 songs in US iTunes charts despite N-word row
There's a slew of criticism targeted at country singer Morgan Wallen after he sparked backlash for a racial slur and even labels and radio networks have dropped him, but many of his fans don't want to let him go anytime soon.
Earlier this week, TMZ shared a video that showed the country singer shouting a racial slur in which Wallen and his friends can be seen pulling up in cars to his Tennessee home. As Wallen is seen heading inside, he shouts to a friend, "Hey, take care of this "p**** a** motherf*****... Take care of this p**** a** [expletive]," apparently in reference to one of the people in his group.
RELATED ARTICLES
According to CNN, the singer later apologized and expressed he could retract what he said. "I'm embarrassed and sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back," he said in a statement. "There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using the word. I promise to do better."
His apology wasn't enough to attain forgiveness from his label, Big Loud Label, as his contract was suspended indefinitely. "Republic Records fully supports Big Loud's decision and agrees such behavior will not be tolerated," the company said in a statement on February 3. Country Music Television and iHeartRadio also announced the same day that they were dropping his music from their lists.
The picture is different on Top 10 US iTunes Songs chart
Either caused by a curiosity of his music or simply by loyal fan support, several of Wallen's songs have now shot up in streaming numbers and made their way onto the iTunes songs chart. His songs claim five of the top 10 while he shares the chart with artists like Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Tom MacDonald, Olivia Rodrigo and CJ, who all have one entry on the chart. Tom MacDonald's 'Fake Woke' sits atop the chart while Wallen's 'Wasted On You' and 'More Than My Hometown' occupy the second and third positions respectively. His track 'Sand In My Boots' is at No 5, '7 Summers' is at No 7, and 'Whiskey Glasses' is at No 10.
Additionally, earlier on February 3, Page Six reported that Wallen has occupied the Top 3 positions on the US iTunes album chart. The explicit version of his recent 'Dangerous: The Double Album' is No. 1, 'If I Know Me' is No. 2, and the clean version of 'Dangerous' is No. 3.
While we can't be sure how this would affect his career in the future, his suspension from his label and removal from radio play will certainly leave a mark. Furthermore, the ACM Awards halted his eligibility to receive awards or perform at this year’s ceremony and CMT announced its plan to remove him from programming. No doubt, crucial networks and music industry leaders will be discussing his fate.