Despite being actively rejected by his industry after publishing a video of him shouting racial slur, country music singer Morgan Wallen saw an increase in sales and album flows.
The video, published last Tuesday by TMZ, generated a series of consequences for the singer: he was removed from the radio by several large radio groups, suspended by his record label, allegedly dismissed by his booking agency and eligibility denied for a major prize competition. However, Wallen saw an increase of 1,220% in sales of digital albums and 327% in sales of music between Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Rolling Stone.
The country music phenomenon also saw an increase of 6% in audio on-demand broadcasts and 16% in scheduled broadcasts, the magazine reported.
However, the artist saw a 79% drop in the number of radios compared to the previous two days, Rolling Stone reported. The fall came after radio stations – including Cumulus, iHeartMedia and SiriusXM – announced that they were pulling their tunes.
Wallen did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday, but told NBC News on Thursday in a statement that he was “embarrassed” by his behavior.
“I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slander that I would like to be able to remove. There is no excuse for using this type of language, ever, ”he said. “I sincerely want to apologize for using that word. I promise to do better. “
In the video obtained by TMZ and published on Tuesday, a riotous Wallen can be seen arriving at his home in Tennessee and shouting to a friend: “Hey, take care of this” p —- motherfucker —–. … Take care of this p —- ass n —–. ”
TMZ reported that Wallen, 27, and a group of friends were spotted at a party on Sunday night in Nashville. When they returned home late, a doorbell camera captured them by honking their horns and shouting. A neighbor then took out a cell phone to record a video in which Wallen could be heard shouting the slander, according to the website.
Big Loud Label, which releases Wallen’s music with Republic Records, has suspended Wallen’s contract indefinitely.
“Republic Records fully supports Big Loud’s decision and agrees that such behavior will not be tolerated,” the company said in a statement. declaration Wednesday.
Nashville Tennessean reported that talent agency WME removed Wallen from its list.
Wallen emerged as one of the nation’s biggest streamers when “Dangerous: The Double Album” was released last month, staying at number one on the Billboard 200 chart for three weeks – the first country album to top the list in eight. years.
The incident was not the first time that the country music star was involved in controversy.
In October, Wallen was elected the Saturday Night Live musical singer after being seen on TikTok videos partying without a mask and kissing random women, putting you at risk of getting the coronavirus.
Elisha Fieldstadt contributed.