Morgan Wallen was celebrated with an eruption of cheers during the 15th annual Academy of Country Music (ACM) Honors held at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium on Wednesday night (Aug. 24).
The 29-year-old chart topper took home the prestigious Milestone Award – an honor that goes out to an “artist, duo/group, or industry leader for a specific, unprecedented or outstanding achievement in the field of country music during the preceding calendar year,” per The Academy of Country Music.
It’s no question that Wallen has achieved massive success over the past couple of years. His sophomore project, Dangerous: The Double Album, debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200 and Top Country Album charts.
The album went on to break several records, including collecting over 240 million streams in its first week – the biggest weekly sum ever for a country album – winning the 2022 ACM Award for Album of the Year, and spending the highest number of weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart since the chart’s inception back in 1964.
Now that the country hitmaker has celebrated countless wins with his Dangerous: The Double Album, he has revealed that he is working toward new music.
“I’m working on new music, pretty heavily,” Wallen simply told Entertainment Tonight’s Cassie DiLaura at the 2022 ACM Honors.
Wallen also opened up about the inspiration behind his future music, telling the publication that its subject content will focus on his personal life and the experiences he has gone through since issuing his heartfelt apology to his fans on social media after going off the grid to make some necessary life changes. The news signals a sense of growth and evolution of an artist that fans can be sure to look forward to.
“Just life, you know. I mean, I feel like I’m a lot different than I was when I started writing that last one, so, just growing up a little bit,” Wallen shared of his upcoming songs.
“I mean there’s a lot of things… I’ve had a couple of relationships. I’ve got a little boy now — I mean, I didn’t have him when I was writing the last album,” he added, referencing his adorable two-year-old son, Indigo (Indie) Wilder.
Wallen went on to say that while no date has been set for the release of new music, he is writing with good buddy and tour-mate, HARDY.
“I’ve still got some time left on tour, so, I give those a hundred percent, so, it’s a little hard to come back and work on music, but I’ve been working on the road,” Wallen shared. “I’m on tour with Hardy, so me and him write a lot…. I’ve got a bunch of songs ready already, so I’m excited.”
As for receiving his Milestone Award, Wallen beamed, “It is an honor — first of all, there’s a lot of legends that got this award before, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, names like that. I think, anytime you’re mentioned with them, it’s pretty tight.”
Both HARDY and Wallen’s “Flower Shops” collaborator, ERNEST, paid tribute to Wallen at the ACM Honors, performing several of his chart-topping hits including, “Sand in My Boots,” “Wasted on You” and “More Than My Hometown.” Eric Church, meanwhile, presented Wallen with his award.
“It has been one of the honors of my career and life to get to know Morgan over the last couple of years, whether that has been on a golf cart, a fishing boat, or over guitars,” Church said during the night’s event. “I’ve seen him go through some things. I’ve seen him mature as an artist, I’ve seen him mature as a man. I can tell you this: We are very lucky to have him in country music.”
Hosted by Carly Pearce, the event, which took place on Wednesday (Aug. 24), was filmed for a two-hour broadcast that will air on Tuesday, September 13 via FOX at 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT.
