Morgan Wallen is arguably the biggest star in country music right now. And his parents, Lesli Wallen and Tommy Wallen couldn’t be more proud of his wild achievements. The married couple caught up with Joe & Nancy on WIVK in a rare interview, where they talked all about the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year’s superstardom, musical journey, and live show moments.
Morgan Wallen’s Mom Lesli And Dad Tommy Talk His Superstar Journey
During the nearly 30-minute conversation, Lesli and Tommy were given the question of whether or not they cultivated the“I’m The Problem” singer’s talent early on or if it was something he developed naturally. It turns out that the East Tennessee native, who had written poetry as a child, was somewhat of a musical prodigy straight out of the womb.
“It wasn’t hard to see that Morgan was going to be very musical. I mean, he came out almost talking by the time he was eight months old,” Lesli recalled her son’s obvious musical talent early on. “He was talking, and then he moved on to singing so early. He would sing adult songs, and he was on key with them. So we knew that he had a musical ability.”
Recall Wallen Singing In Church At Age 3
According to Lesli, Wallen sang all of the words to his first song at church at the age of three. He belted out a version of “Tell You About Jesus,” providing his parents with a moment they will never forget.
“He could just belt that song out,” Lesli said, praising Wallen’s vocal prowess as an adolescent. “I mean, how he sang it as a very young child was just amazing. You would just sit back and go, ‘Wow, this is different.”
“All of our children had great musical ability,” she noted. “So we looked for the things our children were interested in, and then we tried to foster that within them. So it was important to us to see what they liked and how we could develop that.”
Lesli Saw Wallen Had A Unique Star Quality To Him, Leading To His Stint On The Voice
Even though all of the Wallen kids could sing, Lesli recalled folks telling her that Morgan had a unique star quality — what some might describe as the “it factor.” Trusting their compliments, she took it upon herself to sign Wallen up for season six of the popular reality sing-off show, The Voice.
“I was watching The Voice and I thought, ‘Morgan needs to try this’ because he was singing, actually singing in church at the time, and people would come up to me and be like, ‘He’s a star. He’s a star.’ So I signed him up, and I said, ‘Hey, will you do The Voice?’ Lesli said of Wallen’s interest at the time.
“He’s like, ‘What’s The Voice?’ And I’m like, ‘The TV show.” He’s like, ‘Well, if you’ll take me, I’ll do it.’ I’m like, ‘Yes.’ So I took him to St. Louis, and he had one song prepared, and he made it through the first round.”
“So, they had to drive back from St. Louis to Knoxville, get another song, and then drive back to St. Louis,” Wallen’s father, Tommy, intervened, clarifying that their song, “had one song ready and then when he made it [into the second round], they had to [drive] back [and forth to prepare for] another song.”
“That’s not a short drive,” WIVK’s Joey pointed out, to which Lesli confirmed, “It’s eight hours.”
Wallen would never make it to the finals on The Voice. He auditioned with Howie Day’s “Collide,” in front of The Voice judges Shakira, Usher, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton.
Opened Up About A Baseball Injury That Forced Wallen Off The Baseball Field
Although he spent time on both Usher and Levine’s teams, he got eliminated during the playoffs. Luckily, however, The Voice is just a thing of the past as Wallen has gone on to break records, release albums, and win awards and accolades. Speaking of the past, Wallen’s parents also shared insight into their son’s other passion in sports. Folks may recall that Wallen played baseball as both a pitcher and shortstop for his Gibbs High School team in Knoxville. While he showed talent and promise early on in the 13 years that he played the sport, he injured himself to the point where he could play no more.
“They won the state championship in 2010. And, in between, they played summer ball, and he was pitching,” Tommy said, remembering the day Wallen got hurt. “I was there, and I heard it snap. I’m not sure what the injury is called, but he had to have the Tommy John surgery (a surgical procedure to repair a torn UCL in the elbow). But, yeah, it was so loud out from behind the plate. He went to throw a curveball and probably hadn’t warmed up enough, so I think it has something to do with the tendon, but It just snapped. It was on the collateral ligament in his elbow. It’s detrimental to the sport, to baseball.”
“That was in between his junior and senior years. So his senior year, he didn’t get to play any other than he got the bat a few times and that’s about it,” he added. Aside from baseball, Wallen is a huge fan of the Tennessee Volunteers, who play at Neyland Stadium. Morgan Wallen is one of just a few artists who have been given the chance to headline at the college football venue. He broke a record after his two-night run, on Sept. 20 and Sept. 22, 2024, attracting a total of 156,161 fans.
Soaking In Morgan Wallen’s Live Show Moments
And when it comes to his shows — big or small — Wallen’s parents always make sure to soak in specific details and the atmosphere. “We always do that,” Lesli said. “I mean, we really do. We always stop and look at the crowd, the audience. We are always looking and just amazed by how enthralled people are and singing and crying, and it’s always an amazing experience. No matter how many times we’ve been there. You just stop every time, and you just can’t believe it.”
As far as when they first noticed Wallen’s star on the rise, Tommy said, “I think, for me, it was like when people started singing every word to every song from start to finish. It didn’t matter if he’d been out two years or two days, they knew him. So I think, for me, that’s when I realized something special.”
“Yeah, it’s surreal,” Lesli added. “It’s really hard to believe that someone would have 50 different shirts in their closet of Morgan, and they sing his songs every single day. It’s hard to comprehend, really.”
Fans will be singing every word to all of Wallen’s songs while wearing his merch soon as the country superstar begins his 2025 I’m The Problem Tour, titled after his current album of the same name. The trek, which features 20 dates, kicks off June 20 at NRG Stadium in Houston and features a rotating lineup of guests, including Brooks & Dunn, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett, and Koe Wetzel as direct support, with Gavin Adcock, Corey Kent, Ella Langley, and Anne Wilson as first-of-three across select dates.
