UPDATE (Feb. 3): The content and interview in this article were planned and conducted prior to the Feb. 2, 2021 surfacing of a video of Morgan Wallen using a racial slur. MusicRow unequivocally condemns the use of this type of speech and stands together with other members in the industry as one voice against this type of behavior.

Less than five years after releasing his debut single “The Way I Talk,” an ode to his east Tennessee roots, Morgan Wallen has solidified his stardom in country music with his sophomore effort Dangerous: The Double Album.

Now on its third week at No. 1 on both the Billboard Country Albums chart and the all-genre Billboard 200, Dangerous is a wrecking ball smashing through records. It’s the first country album to spend three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in eight years. It debuted at No. 1 atop the Billboard 200 Albums chart and earned the largest streaming week for a country album in history, a feat last achieved by Luke Combs’ What You See Is What You Get.

Upon release 27 of the 30 songs on Dangerous landed inside the Billboard Hot Country Songs Top 50, with six in the Top 10, setting an unprecedented new record.

Organized into two discs, Dangerous Disc 1 shows off Wallen’s more sensitive, romantic side. Songs like “Sand In My Boots,” which has aptly been compared to Kenny Chesney’s longing summer love anthem “Anything But Mine,” sets the tone for the first half. Written by Ashley Gorley, Josh Osborne, and Michael Hardy, the heartbroken sentiment is delivered stunningly by Wallen.

“865,” written by Blake Pendergrass and John Byron, further shows Wallen’s love for his east Tennessee home, a theme that’s been present in his music since his debut single.

“It actually came in with a different area code,” Wallen tells MusicRow. “The original one was 919 when I got the song, but I wanted to make it obviously more personal to me. 865 is the Knoxville area where I’m from. The rest of the numbers are the same. I actually think the last four digits was one of the guys who wrote it, his dad’s number.”

“We’re working on trying to get the numbers so we can put a little message or something on there for people because I know they’re starting to call it. We’re trying to figure something out,” Wallen says.

Disc 1’s “Your Bartender,” “Only Thing That’s Gone (featuring Chris Stapleton),” and “Wonderin’ Bout The Wind” allow Wallen to communicate more heartache and longing. Tunes like “More Surprised Than Me,” “Outlaw (feat. Ben Burgess),” and “Somebody’s Problem” show off Wallen’s flirtatious charm.

“Wasted On You,” one of many fan-favorites, shows Wallen’s moodier side with lyrics about time, money and heartache wasted on the wrong person. The hip-hop infused production—helmed by Joey Moi—allows Wallen’s raspy southern drawl to shine.

“We tried to stay in about three different categories,” Wallen says of the album’s production style. “We did a Fleetwood Mac-inspired sound. Then I wanted to do something with a little bit more [of a beat], and then we stuck to some traditional sounding country music, as well. Those were the three main ones that I wanted to go with because that’s what I’m drawn to. That’s what I listen to already. I really love old-school music like Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles, I really love traditional country music and I really like a good beat. So we tried to stick to those three.”

Dangerous‘ Disc 2 taps into Wallen’s mullet-styled, cut-off-sleeves button up, proud southern identity.

Wallen says that the dichotomy happened by accident. “At the end of the day, it just ended up that way,” he says. “I didn’t write it that way on purpose. I didn’t set out to write 10 songs about love and 10 songs about doing redneck shit or whatever. It wasn’t the plan, it just turned out that way.”

With the Wallen, Hardy, and Ryan Vojtesak-written “Still Goin Down,” Disc 2 kicks off with a familiar lyric: The way I talk, I guess I got it from my pops / Product of some kneelin’ down in a town where the doors don’t lock, And there’s a million other people like me from a scene a little more podunk than pop.

Parts of Disc 2 paint his Sneedville, Tennessee home from the lens of a hometown, Friday night in high school, like “Rednecks, Red Letter, Red Dirt” and “Whatcha Think Of Country Now.” Other songs show Wallen’s wild side, like “Country A$$ Shit” and “Dangerous.”

Perhaps the most compelling song on Dangerous is when Wallen is at his most vulnerable, with “Livin’ The Dream.” He sings: Between alcohol and women and Aderall and adrenaline I don’t ever get no rest / Sign my life away to be the life of the party, yeah, to everybody else. He co-wrote the song with Hardy, Burgess, and Jacob Durrett.

Rightfully so, Wallen is proud of himself for putting the message out there. “I’ll be honest, I’m proud of myself for saying something that I felt like I needed to say.”

Since Dangerous‘ release, Wallen has already dropped more songs. “Ran outta patience,” Wallen shared on Instagram before he dropped the songs.

The Big Loud/Republic Records’ artist released two tracks that were previously exclusive to Target, “This Side Of A Dust Cloud” and “Bandaid On A Bullet Hole,” as well as “Sand In My Boots (The Dangerous Sessions),” an acoustic, live recording of the double album opener. Wallen’s hungry fans, after a 30-song album, were much obliged.

After swarming the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart’s upper echelons last week, Morgan Wallen and his Dangerous co-writers hold their positioning on the chart this week. Wallen remains at No. 1, Josh Osborne at No. 2, Ernest K. Smith at No. 3, and Ashley Gorley at No. 4.

Jesse Frasure makes his way into the top five on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart this week, with co-writer credit on Kelsea Ballerini’s “Hole In The Bottle,” Thomas Rhett’s “What’s Your Country Song,” Jordan Davis’ “Almost Maybes,” and Blake Shelton’s “Minimum Wage.”

The weekly MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart uses algorithms based upon song activity according to airplay, digital download track sales and streams. This unique and exclusive addition to the MusicRow portfolio is the only songwriter chart of its kind.

Click here to view the full MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart.

Luke Combs teamed with bluegrass star Billy Strings for a new song called “The Great Divide,” which was released Monday (Feb. 1). Fans can listen here.

The collaboration came about as part of a bluegrass project Combs has in the works. It’s a song with a timely message, including the chorus: We’re all so far so far apart now/It’s as deep as it is wide/We’re about to fall apart now/If we can’t reach the other side/We gotta find a way to cross the great divide.

Written by Combs, Strings and Wyatt Durrette, the song was produced, recorded and mixed by Chip Matthews earlier this month in Nashville. In addition to Combs and Strings, the song features Charlie Worsham (acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo), Royal Masat (bass) and Eric Darken (percussion).

Combs shares, “Something that I’ve always wanted to do is write and put out a bluegrass album. This is a song that was supposed to be a part of that project. It’s not a lead single or a lead-in to that project yet, because that is not done. But it felt like the right time to put this song out. When we wrote it, there were a lot of crazy things going on in the world. There’s still a lot of crazy things going on in the world. And I just felt like I had some stuff to say. It’s not meant to be political. It’s not meant to try and tell you what to think or tell you how to believe. That’s not my job. It’s just a guy kinda saying the way he was feeling when he wrote it.”

Strings, who is nominated for Best Bluegrass Album at the upcoming Grammy Awards, adds, “This song is our interpretation of the conflicts and tension we had been witnessing/experiencing around the time we wrote it. We wanted to shine a little light on the situation and offer a bit of hope during what has been a tough time for many.”

Scotty McCreery has signed on to participate with Special Olympics of North Carolina in its Plunge In Place fundraising event, an adaption to its annual Polar Plunge fundraiser.

Traditional Polar Plunges take place across the state in lakes, pools and even the ocean to benefit SONC. This year, the Plunge in Place event encourages participants to take the Plunge however they want: into a pool, an ice bath, the ocean, using a frigid bottle of water, or even running through sprinklers. All funds raised will directly benefit Special Olympics athletes, and McCreery has created “Team Scotty” to fundraise in support of SONC. He will also video himself taking the Plunge, and the video will be featured during Plunge Week, February 21-26.

“I’m happy to Plunge in Place this year and show my support of the nearly 40,000 athletes who train and compete as part of Special Olympics North Carolina,” said McCreery. “They inspire me.”

Fellow fundraisers can register online to begin the Plunge in Place fundraising process or donate in support of the Plunge in Place initiative. Polar Plungers must raise a minimum of $100 by Feb. 26 to qualify for additional Plunge incentives and contests. Super Plungers must raise a minimum of $100 to receive the official 2021 Plunge in Place T-shirt, the commemorative sweatshirt and to qualify for contests and incentive prizes.