Country music shaken by cultural earthquakes this week

Country music shaken by cultural earthquakes this week

by

The world of country music was rocked this week, when two great artists were swept away by the changing cultural winds of racial and sexual norms.

The news was released on Tuesday of a drunk Morgan Wallen, videotaped over the weekend, being loud and disturbing outside his home. Wallen has achieved country music stardom in recent years and was named New Artist of the Year at the 2020 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards in November.

Wallen and some friends returned home Sunday morning after a turbulent party night in Nashville. His neighbors were irritated by the antics of the morning and began to record the events. What happened next resulted in Morgan Wallen losing his superstar status in country music overnight.

According to the neighbor’s videos obtained by TMZ:

When Morgan seems to stumble towards his home, he tells someone to look after a guy in his group. He says… “take care of this“ p **** – mother ass ****** ”- and then continue saying:“ take care of this p **** – ass n ***** ”… Before finally entering .

Before that incident, Wallen was at the top of the country music charts with his newly released album, ironically titled “Dangerous”. This album currently tops the Billboard Country chart, as well as several Wallen singles from “Dangerous”.

Wallen, 27, released and apologized after the initial TMZ report, stating: “I’m ashamed and I’m sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slander that I wish I could remove. There is no excuse for using this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using that word. I promise to do better. “

However, the reaction to Wallen’s racial insults recorded on tape and his turbulent behavior was swift and severe across the country music industry. Wallen’s music label, Big Loud Records, suspended its recording contract almost immediately after the news. This was followed by Wallen being ‘deplatform’ on most country radio stations, when two of the top station owners – Cumulus and iHeartMedia – ordered their music to be taken out of rotation. Sirius / XM also announced that Wallen’s songs will no longer be broadcast on his country music stations. The damage to his career culminated in the middle of the week when the Academy of Country Music announced that Wallen now did not qualify for awards and involvement in this year’s 56th ACM Award.

Interestingly, fans responded by buying their music in record numbers this week.

While Wallen’s radio volume declined on February 3, sales of his music have increased, according to preliminary reports from MRC Data. Its album and song catalog sold a total of 22,500 copies in the United States on February 3 – an increase of 339% compared to sales on February 2 (5,000).

Dividing the album vs. music sales, Wallen’s albums sold just over 8,000 copies on February 3, 593% more than 1,000 on February 2, while his songs sold 14,000 downloads on February 3, 261% more than 4,000 in February 2 nd.

However, it remains to be seen whether Wallen will have a future in country music after this week’s scandal.

Literally on the same day that Morgan Wallen’s career was crumbling due to self-inflicted cultural suicide, the news that TJ Osborne, the lead singer of country music group Brothers Osborne, had declared himself gay in a Time Magazine interview.

What may surprise fans of the band is the news that TJ, 36, is gay. This is not a recent revelation for him; he has been known since he was young and he has been out to family and friends in his Nashville community for years. In some ways, he says, taking on publicly is no big deal. “I feel very comfortable being gay,” he said later, in a quiet room in his management company’s office. “I’m being cautious about not wanting to talk about something that I personally have no problems with. This is so weird. “

Osborne’s announcement was a culture shock as much as Wallen’s. The country music industry, and its heart in Nashville, is one of the most conservative entertainment sectors in the United States. Osborne is now the most successful openly gay country music artist, with his career at its peak, with no signs of decline. There were low-profile country music singers who announced they were gay, including Ty Herndon, Billy Gilman and Chele Wright. But none had the Osbourne Brothers’ current star power. It is the pop music equivalent of a Backstreet Boy emerging at the height of the band’s career.

Due to the evolving national climate about gays and lesbians, Osborne’s announcement was met with joy and applause from the band’s fans and colleagues in country music.

However, unlike Hollywood types who are not risking their careers trying to be cool with their sexual identities in their ultra-liberal bubbles, Osborne’s decision is a risk for him and his brother, as they operate in the Nashville world.

The country music market is heavily determined by its fans in a way that many other entertainment sectors are not. Not even five years ago, it would be unheard of that the country music industry would be reacting to this pair of bombs the way it did this week.

.Source