Morgan Wallen has another mega-hit on his hands. The 31-year-old’s latest release, “Love Somebody,” hit No. 1 on 11 charts worldwide in five countries, including the United States, Canada, Ireland, Norway, and the UK Country Airplay chart.
In the United States, the Latin-infused song topped multiple charts, including Billboard‘s Hot 100 Debut, Streaming Songs, Digital Song Sales and Hot Country Songs.
Wallen, who co-wrote “Love Somebody” with John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Elof Loelv and Ryan Vojtesa, admits the song is a bit of a departure for him, and unlike anything he has previously released.
“’Love Somebody’ is a little bit of a new approach lyrically and sonically,” Wallen concedes. “I wanted to try something different, with what I wanted to talk about, how I wanted it to sound, and we were inspired by Latin-leaning influences. I’m really excited about this song and pumped that it is out.”
The video for “Love Somebody,” out now, shows Wallen performing as part of his historic, two-night, sold-out shows at the University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium.
“When me and the boys first started playing shows, we started out playing bars, real small venues. Worked our way up to places like Cotton Eyed Joe,” Wallen said during the second evening’s concert. “Then we worked our way up to clubs, theaters, arenas and amphitheaters – we pretty much played any kind of venue there is, and all of a sudden you guys went and sold out Neyland today. Thank you.”
The East Tennessee native just announced his inaugural Sand In My Boots Festival, taking place May 16 to 18 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Headlined by Wallen, along with Post Malone, Brooks & Dunn and HARDY, the three-day event will also include performances by an eclectic list of artists, chosen by Wallen, including T-Pain, Riley Green, Wiz Khalifa, 3 Doors Down, Chase Rice and more. The event sold out two hours after tickets went on sale.
“We started talking about curating a festival that includes my friends, and artists who have influenced me, years ago. It took a lot of folks a lot of hours to plan Sand In My Boots, and it only took two hours for y’all to sell it out,” Wallen says. “We can’t wait to deliver a special weekend for everyone in May.”
Wallen recently wrapped up his massive One Night At A Time World Tour, donating $3 from every ticket sold to his own Morgan Wallen Foundation nonprofit. The country music hitmaker launched the One Instrument At A Time initiative with his latest tour, partnering with the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation to donate $500,000 worth of musical instruments to schools in the 14 cities where he played stadiums on his One Night At A Time World Tour.
“When I was a kid, access to music profoundly changed my life and gave me a sense of purpose. I want that for others, and I’m blessed to be able to provide instruments to these schools through my foundation,” Wallen says of his generous donation. “We really wanted to say a big thank you to these awesome communities that welcome us in and let us play for our fans.”
Wallen currently has a Top 5 single at country radio with “Lies Lies Lies,” The song, along with “Love Somebody,” is from a forthcoming new album.
Find “Love Somebody” and all of Wallen’s music and upcoming shows at MorganWallen.com.
Photo Credit: David Lehr