Why Women Love Chart-Topping Country Singer Morgan Wallen

Despite past controversies and scandals, Morgan Wallen is more popular than ever. His latest album, One Thing At A Time, has a whopping 36 songs and has broken multiple records since its release on March 3. At the time of writing, his hit single “Last Night” is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and he has six songs in the top 10. This makes him the first male country solo artist to have a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1981. He currently has 36 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, beating the record of most songs on the chart at the same time. The last artist to hold this record was Drake with 27 songs. Another significant record was the record for the most streamed country album. With 315 million streams in four days, One Thing At A Time is the most-streamed country album in the history of Spotify, a record previously held by Taylor Swift for Red (Taylor’s Version).

But why is he so popular? And why is he so popular among young women? It’s more than just being an incredibly talented musician.

His Music Is Real, Vulnerable, and Relatable

Other than having a beautiful voice (if you’re not in awe of his live or acoustic performances, I don’t know what to tell you), there’s something unique about Wallen’s music that separates him from other country artists. One of the main factors is that his music is brutally honest about his life experiences, including the ugly ones.

In his No. 1 hit “Last Night,” he sings about a relationship that he knows should end, but he knows it won’t because they always find a way back to each other. The chorus says, “Last night we let the liquor talk / I can't remember everything we said but we said it all / You told me that you wish I was somebody you never met / But baby, baby, something's tellin' me this ain't over yet / No way it was our last night.”

Some of his most popular songs revolve around heartbreak and unhealthy relationships, two things that most of us can relate to. Like Taylor Swift, he recognizes that heartbreak is a universal language, making his music appealing and relatable to both men and women. The same goes for the unhealthy relationship aspect, since toxic relationships are romanticized in our culture. Both men and women fall into their own “traps” – women tend to want to tame or change a man to “save” him, and men tend to want a woman to take care of them like a mother.

Another topic he touches on in several songs is using alcohol to cope with a breakup. In “You Proof,” he sings, “Hey, I've been mixin' liquors tryin' to get you gone / Aw, but I must be doing somethin' wrong / 'Cause I've been working hard to fade your memory / Baby, but the only thing faded is me.”

Using alcohol as a coping mechanism is common. Relying on alcohol during the aftermath of a breakup is also common: According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, "young adults make up 31% of all alcoholics." I’m not saying that Wallen or any of his fans have a problem with alcohol, but these numbers clearly show that many of us use alcohol to numb pain. Even though we know it’s unhealthy, this adds another level of relatability to his music.

Women Love His Bad Boy Persona and His Confidence

I asked some of my girlfriends and fellow Evie writers what they thought about why so many women love Wallen, and fellow Evie writer Alicia Bittle said it best: “He gives off major ‘damaged’ or sensitive vibes that turn on our desire to ‘save’ him.” Wallen embodies the tortured bad-boy persona that many of us love. 

In a way, Wallen is equivalent to the f-boy that you can’t resist. The bad boy energy is sexy AF, and it’s displayed in his music. In “Money On Me,”  he sings, “But, baby, if you're lookin' for a sure bet, smooth ride / Dogs-come-and-meet-him-at-the-door-every-night / Kinda right man at the right time / Change your last name while the church bells chime / A soft place to land, arms you can trust / I ain't a bettin' man but, baby, if I was / Honestly, I wouldn't put my money on me.”

He makes it clear who he is, and that plays into the myth that you can "tame the bad boy." Plenty of young women look at him and think they can “fix” him, and we all know that’s a false tale as old as time. 

Not only is his bad-boy image attractive, but it also helps that he’s confident and not arrogant. He’s not the most conventionally attractive guy in the world, but his sense of confidence is sexy. TikTok user Rachel Seymour summed this up perfectly. She said, “Honestly, what Morgan Wallen proves and continues to prove is you don’t need to be ‘hot’ in order to be hot. You just have to have the aura of hotness, that’s my Morgan Wallen theory. You don’t have to be hot, you just have to be confident.” 

Women Crave Masculinity in Pop Culture

If the popularity of shows like Yellowstone and movies like Top Gun: Maverick proves anything, it's that modern audiences like masculinity in their entertainment, but the same isn't always true for music. Though I adore popular artists like Harry Styles, he’s not the most masculine artist in the world, and I prefer some masculinity in all forms of entertainment (which is probably why country is my favorite genre). With Wallen and other country artists gaining in popularity, like Luke Combs and Zach Bryan, country music is having a resurgence in pop culture.

Obviously, Wallen and other famous male country artists aren’t perfect or even perfect examples of masculinity, but their popularity might signal the music industry shifting toward masculinity in a similar way that television and movies have. Some might scoff at songs about trucks, beer, whiskey, or driving down a dirt road, but there’s a raw type of masculinity to this type of country music, plus the draw of a “simpler life” in a time where homesteading is also growing in popularity. In a culture that demonizes masculinity as toxic, it’s refreshing to see a resurgence of masculinity in pop culture.

Closing Thoughts

Despite country music being a genre that many brush off in comparison to pop music, Morgan Wallen is arguably the most popular artist in the music industry. The haters can say what they want, but we can’t get enough of him!

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